Washington Unemployment Insurance Tax (WA UI)

Washington's unemployment-insurance program is an experience-based system. Employer tax rates depend on how much former workers collect in unemployment benefits and the size of the employer payroll.

There are two major components of WA UI taxes:

1. An experience-rating tax based on an average of the employer's layoff history over the past four fiscal years
2. A shared-cost (social) tax based on costs from the previous year not attributed to a specific employer.

Employers with delinquent tax bills also may receive a range of delinquent-tax rates.

The business tax rate for the following year is sent out in December and applies for the entire calendar year.

New employers wont' have enough "experience" to get their own tax rate. Instead, new employers will be assigned a rate based on the average rate for all businesses in their respective industries, with the minimum rate being 1.00% as set by federal law.

Source: https://esd.wa.gov/employer-taxes/determining-rates

Exemptions: 

Corporate Officers who provide services in Washington are automatically exempt from unemployment insurance unless the employer specifically requests to cover them.

Corporate Officers are defined here: https://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=23B.08.400

Exempt professions are professions and services that are exempt from Washington Unemployment Insurance. Review the list as listed services MAY NOT BE EXEMPT under certain circumstances

Exempt professions/services: https://esdorchardstorage.blob.core.windows.net/esdwa/Default/ESDWAGOV/employer-Taxes/ESD-exempt-professions-chart.pdf