Nanny Taxes & Payroll in Washington State

Minimum Wage

Household employees must be paid at least the highest applicable federal, state, or local minimum wage rate. Washington’s minimum wage rate of $17.13/hour applies.

• In Seattle, the minimum wage rate is $21.30.
• In King County, the minimum wage rate is $18.32/hour for employers with 15 or fewer workers.
• In Bellingham, the minimum wage rate is $19.13/hour.

These local rates supersede the state minimum wage and become the applicable rate.

Overtime Pay Rules

Household employees in Washington must be paid at least time-and-a-half for hours worked over 40 in a seven-day workweek. Overtime compensation is not required for live-in employees or when work is performed on a holiday.

State Unemployment Tax & Rate

In Washington, new employers will pay 115% of the average rate for all businesses in their industry. Federal law sets the minimum rate at 1.00 percent. This rate applies to the first $78,200 of wages for each employee. Employers with previous employees may be subject to a different rate. This is an employer-only tax.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Household employers in Washington must carry workers’ compensation coverage if two or more domestic employees work 40 or more hours per week. Workers’ compensation can be purchased through the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries.

Disability Benefits Insurance

Washington does not have disability benefits insurance requirements related to household employment.

Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights

Seattle Domestic Worker Protections

Seattle’s domestic worker protection law provides minimum wage, days of rest, civil rights protections, and meal break rights to nannies, senior caregivers, and other employees who work in a private home. The law includes full-time, part-time, and temporary household employees. Household employers must also follow document retention rules.

Seattle’s domestic worker protection laws provide:

• right to earn Seattle’s minimum wage
• 30-minute uninterrupted meal period when the shift is more than five consecutive hours
• 10-minute uninterrupted rest break for each four consecutive-hour shift.
• One day of rest after six consecutive days of work.
• Hiring entities are not allowed to retain an employee’s original documents or personal effects (e.g., passport)

Learn more about Seattle’s domestic worker protections.

Paid Leave Laws

Paid Family and Medical Leave

Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program (PFML) allows household employees to receive paid leave for:

Medical Leave

• A serious health condition preventing the employee from working
• For prenatal or postnatal care, including complications
• Any leave taken by a birthing parent in the “postnatal period”

Family Leave

• Care for a family member with a serious health condition
• Bond with a new baby or child in your family (i.e., adoption, birth, or placement of a child)
• Spend time with a family member who is about to deploy overseas or is returning from overseas deployment (military exigency).

Family members include:

• Child (including biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis, is a legal guardian, or is a de facto parent, regardless of age or dependency status)
• Parent (including biological, adoptive, de facto, or foster parent, stepparent, or legal guardian of an employee or the employee’s spouse or state-registered domestic partner or an individual who stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a child)
• Grandchild
• Grandparent
• Spouse, child’s spouse, or state-registered domestic partner of an employee
• Sibling
• Any individual who regularly resides in the employee’s home or with whom the relationship creates an expectation that the employee cares for the person and that individual depends on the employee for care

Employees can take up to:

• 12 weeks of medical leave or family leave
• 16 weeks of combined medical and family leave if they have more than one qualifying event in the same claim year
• 18 weeks of combined medical and family leave if they experience a condition during pregnancy that results in incapacity

The mandatory contribution is 1.13 percent of gross wages up to the Social Security cap of $184,500. Since families with household help have fewer than 50 employees, they are not required to pay the employer share (28.57 percent) of the contribution. You must still collect the employee portion (71.43 percent) or pay it for your worker and submit those premiums every quarter. Employers must also report a worker’s wages, hours worked, and other information to the Employment Security Department.

The maximum weekly benefit will also be capped at $1,647/week.

Benefits are calculated as a percentage of the employee’s gross wages while on approved leave. Employees must have worked at least 820 hours for any Washington employer during the previous 12 months to be eligible for paid leave.

Employers can provide paid family and medical leave benefits through the state-run program or purchase a voluntary private plan that provides benefits equal to or greater than the state minimum requirements.

Download the required poster and notices in the workplace.

Learn more about Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave.

Paid Sick Leave

Under the state’s paid sick law, virtually all Washington employers, including household employers, must provide paid sick leave to their workers.

Paid sick leave can be used for:

• Illness or injury
• Physical or mental health conditions
• Doctor or dentist visits
• Preventive care
• Workplace, child’s school, or daycare closures ordered by a public official for any health-related reason or after the declaration of an emergency by a local or state government or agency, or by the federal government
• Leave that qualifies under Washington’s Domestic Violence Leave Act.
• Preparing or participating in a judicial or administrative immigration proceeding involving the employee or their family member

Employers may allow employees to use paid sick leave for additional purposes.

Employees can use paid sick leave to care for a family member, including a worker’s child, grandchild, grandparent, parent, sibling, or spouse, and any individual who regularly resides in the employee’s home or where the relationship creates an expectation that the employee care for the person, and that individual depends on the employee for care. 

Employees accrue at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. Paid sick leave must be provided to an employee regardless of their full-time, part-time, temporary, or seasonal status. All hours an employee works must be counted toward accrual, regardless of how many hours they work in a given week or pay period, including overtime. A new employee begins accruing paid sick leave on their first day of work.

There is no cap on the number of paid sick leave hours an employee can accrue in a year. Unused paid sick leave balances of 40 hours or less must carry over from one year to the next.

Employees must be allowed to use their accrued paid sick leave no more than 90 calendar days after starting work. After that, they must be allowed to use accrued paid sick leave in a manner consistent with normal payroll practices, but no more than 30 days after it is earned.

Employers must record and credit accrued paid sick leave to an employee’s available balance during usual pay cycles (e.g., weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, monthly, etc.).

At least once a month, employees must be given a notice that shows:

• the amount of paid sick leave they accrued since the previous notice,
• the amount of paid sick leave used since the previous notice, and
• the employee’s current, unused paid sick leave balances available for use

For more information, visit Washington State Paid Sick Leave Requirements.

Other State Regulations

WA Cares Fund

WA Cares Fund is a state-operated public insurance program for long-term care services.

Employers must collect 0.58% of an employee’s gross wages for the fund. Employers must report their employees’ wages and hours and pay premiums every quarter and can report both the WA Cares Fund and PFML on the same report.

Unlike PFML, premium contributions are not capped at the Social Security taxable maximum.

All full-time, part-time, and temporary workers in Washington contribute to the WA Cares Fund.

Employees receive a long-term care benefit of up to $36,500. Benefits become available on July 1, 2026

For more information, visit WA Cares Fund Employer Information.

Employer Driver Requirements

Employers are prohibited from requiring a valid driver’s license as a condition of employment or stating in a job posting that an applicant must have a valid driver’s license, unless driving is one of the essential job functions.

Helpful Links for Nanny Taxes in Washington

• Washington Department of Labor and Industries
• Washington Department of Revenue
• Seattle Domestic Workers Ordinance

Federal Regulations

All household employers need to follow certain federal regulations, including:

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Classification Guidelines

• Household workers are considered employees and not independent contractors. Learn more about misclassifying employees as independent contractors.
• Household workers are also non-exempt employees, meaning they receive at least time-and-a-half for hours worked over 40 per workweek. Learn more about overtime pay.

FICA Taxes

Social Security and Medicare taxes are commonly referred to as FICA taxes.

If you pay cash wages of $3,000 or more to any household employee in 2026 (or paid a domestic worker $2,800 or more in 2025), you must withhold and pay FICA taxes. FICA taxes are 15.3 percent of cash wages.

As an employer, you pay 7.65 percent (6.2 percent for Social Security and 1.45 percent for Medicare).

Your employee's share is also 7.65 percent, which you may withhold from their wages or pay yourself.

You don't withhold or owe FICA taxes on wages you pay to your spouse, child under the age of 21, parent, or any employee under 18 at any time during the calendar year.

Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)

If you pay a household employee total cash wages of $1,000 or more in any calendar quarter, you'll owe federal unemployment tax. This is an employer-only tax. FUTA is 6% of cash wages on the first $7,000 of wages paid to an employee.

Mileage Reimbursement

If your employee uses their own car in the course of their work, you can reimburse them for mileage. For 2026, the IRS has set the optional standard mileage rate at 72.5 cents per mile driven. Paying mileage is not mandatory in most states, and you can reimburse your employee at a different rate. However, if mileage costs cause your employee to fall below the minimum wage, you must reimburse them for mileage.

Remitting Taxes Quarterly

Household employers can remit taxes, including FICA, employee income, and federal unemployment, quarterly using Form 1040-ES. If a household employer does not remit their taxes quarterly, the entire amount will be due when they file their personal tax return. This could cause an underpayment penalty.

Year-End Requirements

By January 31, household employers must provide Form W-2 to their employees and submit Form W-3 and Copy A of Form W-2 to the Social Security Administration. Then, a household employer must file Schedule H with their personal tax return. Learn more: How to File Schedule H