Washington State Pay Stub Generator -- Free

Washington State has one of the most remarkable economic concentrations in the world: a single metropolitan area -- Seattle and its surrounding Eastside communities -- houses the global headquarters of Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing's commercial aviation division, and dozens of other Fortune 500 companies. The state's port complex at Seattle and Tacoma is the primary Pacific gateway for US trade with Asia. Apple, Google, Meta, Salesforce, and virtually every major technology company have significant engineering offices in the Seattle area. Eastern Washington, separated from Seattle by the Cascades, is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the country, growing apples, hops, wheat, and wine grapes.

Washington has no personal income tax -- one of nine states with this distinction. However, Washington has introduced two new payroll deductions in recent years that represent significant employee contributions: the WA Cares Fund (long-term care insurance) and the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program. These make Washington's pay stubs more complex than a simple "no state tax" calculation. This generator handles all Washington-specific deductions plus federal taxes.

Washington State Income Tax Rates

Washington State has a 0% personal income tax. The state constitution has been interpreted to prohibit a graduated income tax, and an initiative to impose a capital gains "excise tax" (which the state has reframed as not an income tax) passed in 2021 and was upheld by the state Supreme Court in 2023. However, this capital gains excise applies only to capital gains over $262,000 and does not affect wage income or appear on pay stubs.

On a Washington State pay stub, you will not see any state income tax withholding. Instead, you will see two unique Washington State deductions:

WA Cares Fund (Long-Term Care Insurance): Washington became the first state in the country to create a public long-term care insurance program. The employee premium rate is 0.58% of gross wages, with no wage cap. This deduction funds future long-term care benefits for Washington workers who meet the vesting requirements (working at least 500 hours per year for 10 years, with no gap of more than 5 consecutive years). Benefit: up to $36,500 in lifetime long-term care benefits (adjusted for inflation), usable for in-home care, assisted living, or nursing home care.

Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML): Washington's PFML program provides paid leave for qualifying family and medical events. The total premium rate is approximately 0.74% of gross wages (2024 rate), with the employee's share at about 71.4% and employer's share at 28.6%. On a pay stub, you will see only the employee's portion, which is approximately 0.528% of gross wages. PFML provides up to 12-18 weeks of paid leave for qualifying events, paying 60-90% of wages up to the state median wage.

Both of these deductions apply to essentially all Washington workers, making Washington unique among no-income-tax states in having meaningful state-level payroll deductions.

Does Washington Require Pay Stubs?

Yes. Washington State's Minimum Wage Act and associated regulations require employers to provide workers with a written statement showing hours worked, rate of pay, gross pay, deductions, and net pay at each pay period. This is a mandatory requirement under WAC 296-126-040.

Washington's requirement specifically mandates that deductions be itemized. Given the multiple Washington-specific deductions (WA Cares, PFML, and potentially others), showing each deduction separately is both legally required and practically important for workers to understand their compensation.

Pay Stub Requirements in Washington

A compliant Washington State pay stub must include:

• Hours worked during the pay period
• All rates of pay (regular and overtime if applicable)
• Gross wages earned
• All deductions itemized separately, including:
  • Federal income tax
  • Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%)
  • WA Cares Fund premium (0.58%)
  • Washington PFML employee premium (~0.528%)
  • Any voluntary deductions (health insurance, 401(k), etc.)
• Net wages paid
• Employer's name and business address

Washington's requirement to show all deductions separately is important -- WA Cares and PFML must each be labeled distinctly on the stub, not lumped into a generic "state taxes" category.

Pay Frequency Laws in Washington

Washington Revised Code § 49.48.010 requires that employers pay wages at least monthly, but in practice most Washington employers pay bi-weekly or semi-monthly. The monthly minimum is the least restrictive pay frequency requirement in the country and is essentially never used by private employers outside of very small operations.

Washington's minimum wage is among the highest in the country: $16.28 per hour for 2024, with Seattle's minimum even higher at $19.97 per hour for large employers. These high minimum wages significantly affect pay stub calculations for hourly workers -- Washington's take-home pay for minimum wage workers is substantially higher than in lower-wage states even after the WA Cares and PFML deductions.

Washington's Tech Economy and Pay Documentation

Amazon workers: Amazon's Seattle headquarters employs tens of thousands of software engineers, product managers, and operations staff. Amazon also employs massive numbers in fulfillment centers across Washington State. Tech workers at Amazon often have base salaries, restricted stock unit (RSU) vesting, and signing bonuses that make their total compensation significantly higher than their base salary. When generating pay stubs, use only taxable wage income (not stock vesting events, which are handled separately at vesting).

Microsoft employees (Redmond/Eastside): Microsoft's Redmond headquarters and surrounding Eastside campuses employ tens of thousands. Like Amazon, Microsoft workers often have RSU compensation that makes total compensation complex. The base salary portion appears on regular pay stubs; RSU vesting creates separate taxable income events. Microsoft's payroll system handles this, but contractors and new hires need to understand the distinction when generating documentation.

Boeing workers: Boeing's commercial aviation manufacturing, while centered at the Renton and Everett plants, also employs thousands of engineers and support staff. IAM (International Association of Machinists) represented Boeing workers have union dues that appear as deductions on pay stubs. The 2023 Boeing machinists' contract negotiations and the dynamics of aerospace manufacturing affect worker pay documentation needs.

Agricultural workers in Eastern Washington: The apple orchards of Wenatchee and Yakima, the hop yards of the Yakima Valley, and the vineyards of the Columbia Valley employ significant seasonal agricultural workforces. H-2A visa workers and domestic agricultural workers alike need income documentation. Agricultural workers in Washington are entitled to the same minimum wage as other workers (unlike some states that have lower agricultural minimum wages).

What a Washington Paycheck Looks Like -- A Worked Example

A tech worker earning $90,000 per year in Washington on a bi-weekly schedule ($3,462 gross per check) pays: $0 in Washington state income tax (no state income tax) plus $20 in WA Cares Fund (0.58%) and $18 in PFML (~0.528% employee share), $215 in Social Security (6.2%), $50 in Medicare (1.45%) -- net take-home approximately $2,711 per paycheck.

2024 minimum wage in Washington: $16.28/hr statewide (2024). Seattle's minimum wage is $19.97/hr for large employers -- one of the highest city minimums in the country.

Frequently Asked Questions for Washington State Workers

Washington has no income tax, but I see WA Cares and PFML on my stub. What are these exactly?

Both are mandatory social insurance programs funded through employee payroll deductions. WA Cares Fund (0.58% of wages) is the country's first public long-term care insurance program -- it will pay up to $36,500 in lifetime benefits when you need long-term care, if you meet vesting requirements. Paid Family and Medical Leave (~0.528% employee share) provides paid leave for having a baby, caring for a sick family member, or your own serious health condition -- up to 90% of wages, for up to 18 weeks, for qualifying employees. Both programs are administered by the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD).

I'm a self-employed Washingtonian. Do I pay WA Cares and PFML?

Self-employed individuals can voluntarily opt into both programs. You are not required to participate unless you opt in, but if you do not opt in within the initial enrollment windows, you may be subject to penalties and waiting periods to join later. Self-employed workers who opt into PFML pay both the employee and employer shares. If you opt into WA Cares, you pay the full 0.58% on your self-employment income. Many self-employed Washington residents opt out, finding private long-term care insurance to be an alternative. If you opted out and your payroll documentation should not reflect these deductions, simply exclude them from your generated stubs.

I work at Microsoft in Redmond. Can I exclude WA Cares from my paycheck?

WA Cares Fund premiums apply to all employees in Washington. However, certain workers are exempt from the WA Cares deduction: federal employees, employees of tribal nations (unless the tribe opts in), and certain workers on non-immigrant visas who do not expect to ever be able to claim benefits. If you were one of the workers who successfully applied for an exemption during the original exemption window (before November 1, 2021), you received a permanent exemption and your employer does not withhold WA Cares. If you did not apply for an exemption at that time, the deduction applies. The exemption window is now closed for new applicants.

How do WA Cares and PFML combine to affect my take-home pay?

Combined, WA Cares (0.58%) and PFML (approximately 0.528% employee share) total about 1.1% of gross wages in additional deductions compared to states that have no such programs. For a tech worker earning $150,000 annually, this equals approximately $1,650 per year in WA-specific deductions beyond federal taxes. For a minimum wage worker earning $16.28/hour full-time ($33,862 annually), the combined deductions are about $372 per year. Compared to a state like California that has SDI plus high income taxes, Washington's total deduction burden on high earners is still significantly lower.

Seattle's minimum wage is higher than the state minimum. Does that affect my pay stub?

Yes. If you work within Seattle city limits, your employer must pay at least Seattle's minimum wage ($19.97/hour in 2024 for large employers, $17.25/hour for smaller employers or those providing qualifying healthcare contributions). The stub shows your actual hourly rate and hours, so if your rate reflects Seattle's higher minimum, the gross pay calculation is higher accordingly. The state and federal tax calculations then apply to that higher gross. Seattle does not have a city income tax, so no additional city-level deductions appear -- just higher gross pay leading to higher federal and FICA deductions.

Related Tools

For neighboring state comparisons, see the Oregon pay stub generator (income tax, Portland economy, similar West Coast worker protections), the California pay stub generator (also has SDI plus income tax), or the Nevada pay stub generator (no income tax, no state programs). The salary pay stub template covers salaried tech worker documentation in detail.