Paid Family & Medical Leave premium rates change starting Jan. 1, 2025
Premiums, collected from employees and employers through quarterly reporting, fund the Paid Leave program. By law, the Employment Security Department (ESD) recalculates the Paid Leave premium rate annually in October. We adjust the premium rate based on premiums contributed and benefits paid during the previous year.
Starting Jan. 1, 2025:
- The premium rate will increase to 0.92%.
- Employers will pay 28.48% of the total premium and employees will pay 71.52%.
- Businesses classified by ESD as having fewer than 50 employees for the 2025 calendar year are not required to pay the employer portion of the premium. However, you must still collect the employee premium or pay employees’ premiums on their behalf.
Next steps for employers
- Notify your employees the new rate applies to wages paid on or after Jan. 1, 2025. We will update the employer toolkit, mandatory poster and paystub insert in early November. These resources are available on the Employer Roles and Responsibilities page on the Paid Leave website.
- On Jan. 1, 2025, start collecting the new premium rate each pay period from your employees’ total gross wages, not including tips. Once an employee meets the Social Security cap, you need to stop collecting premiums but continue to report their wages. The Social Security cap for the 2025 calendar year will increase to $176,100.
- First quarter premiums using the new rate are due by the end of April 2025. Remember: You cannot retroactively withhold premiums from employees.
Learn more on our website
We will have more updated resources available online for you and your employees. By the end of the year, visit the Updates page on the Paid Leave website for:
- An updated premium estimator.
- Premium rate calculations.
- More reporting information for you.
Source(s): Washington State Employment Security Department (received via 2024.11.07 e-mail); Employer Roles (Paid Leave Website), accessed on November 12, 2024.