Washington Paycheck Calculator

Washington workers frequently expect a no-income-tax state to mean a payslip with nothing but federal lines on it. Two state programmes break that assumption.

Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) launched in 2020 and provides paid time off for serious illness, caring for a family member, or bonding with a new child. It is funded by a premium on wages up to the Social Security wage base, split between employer and employee, with the employee share deducted each pay period. Small employers are exempt from the employer portion but employees still contribute.

The WA Cares Fund is the more distinctive one — Washington is the first state to run a public long-term care insurance programme funded by a payroll premium. It is charged on all wages with no cap, which means unlike PFML it keeps applying at high incomes. In exchange, vested workers can claim a lifetime long-term care benefit. A limited set of exemptions exists, mostly for workers who bought qualifying private coverage before the original deadline or who live out of state.

Neither premium is an income tax, and neither is deductible in the way state income tax is, but both reduce your take-home pay and should be in any honest Washington paycheck estimate.

Washington relies heavily on sales tax and business taxes. The state sales tax is 6.5%, and local add-ons push the combined rate above 10% in parts of the Seattle area — among the highest in the nation. Rather than a corporate income tax, Washington levies the Business and Occupation (B&O) tax on gross receipts, which affects businesses regardless of profitability.

There is one important caveat to the no-income-tax rule: Washington has levied a 7% capital gains excise tax on long-term gains above an annual threshold since 2022, upheld by the state Supreme Court in 2023. It does not touch wage income and is not withheld from paychecks, but high earners selling appreciated assets should be aware of it.

Property taxes in Washington sit close to the national average, which is a meaningful contrast with Texas — the no-income-tax advantage is less likely to be clawed back through housing.

Washington has the highest statewide minimum wage of any US state, and Seattle sets its own higher local minimum. These affect gross pay rather than withholding, but they are part of why Washington take-home figures look strong relative to other states.

What Washington does not have is a local income or wage tax. Seattle attempted a high-earner income tax in 2017 that was struck down in the courts, so no city in the state withholds income tax from wages. Whether you work in Seattle, Spokane or Tacoma, your withholding is the same.

One further note for commuters: Washington borders Oregon, which does have an income tax. If you live in Washington but work in Oregon, Oregon taxes the income you earn there. If you live in Oregon and work in Washington, Oregon taxes you as a resident even though Washington withholds nothing — a common and expensive surprise for people who move across the river assuming they have escaped income tax.