by Joe Heinrich, SCORE Seattle
Congratulations!! You’ve grown your small business so much that you need help, and so you’ve hired your first employee. Now you’re confronted with the task of paying that employee properly in accordance with IRS regulations and State of Washington statutes, along with making payments to taxing authorities and reporting to them periodically. And now you’re stomach’s churning!!
Overview
To correctly pay an employee in Washington, the employer needs to deduct the following taxes from the employee’s pay and report and remit timely these amounts to the relative taxing authorities:
- Social Security Tax and Medicare Tax (just the employee’s share)
- Federal Income Tax
- Washington Labor & Industry Premiums (just the employee’s share)
- Washington Paid Family & Medical Leave Tax (just the employee’s share)
There may be other withholdings from the employee’s pay, such as garnishments for child support, contributions to a retirement plan, donations, and the like. Continue reading