The Washington ESD Quarterly Tax and Wage Report is the form every Washington employer with at least one covered worker must file with the Washington State Employment Security Department to report gross wages, hours worked, and unemployment insurance (UI) tax owed each quarter. Most employers file the report electronically through the Employer Account Management Services (EAMS) portal, while a small number of paper filers still mail the legacy Form 5208 A (Tax Report) and Form 5208 B (Wage Detail).
Filing this report on time matters more than most new employers realize. ESD processes roughly 800,000 quarterly reports each year, and the agency reports that nearly 1 in 6 reports are filed late or with errors that trigger penalty notices, according to data published by the ESD Quarterly Reports page.
Here is what you will learn in this guide:
- 📋 How to gather every piece of payroll data EAMS asks for before you log in
- 🧮 How to calculate gross wages, excess wages, and hours worked the way ESD defines them
- 🖥️ How to complete each EAMS screen and each box on paper Form 5208 A and 5208 B
- ⚖️ How to handle tricky issues like corporate officer coverage, multi-state workers, and SOC codes
- 💸 How to avoid the late-filing, incomplete-report, and interest charges that quietly drain small employers
What the Washington ESD Quarterly Tax Report Is and Who Must File It
The Washington ESD Quarterly Tax and Wage Report is the combined unemployment insurance tax return and wage detail filing required by RCW 50.12.070 and WAC 192-310-010. The report tells ESD how much each worker earned, how many hours they worked, and how much UI tax the employer owes for the quarter. ESD uses the wage detail to pay future unemployment claims and to set each employer’s experience rate.
Every employer with a Washington UI tax account must file, even in quarters with zero payroll. That includes corporations, LLCs, partnerships, sole proprietors with employees, nonprofits that elected contributory coverage, and household employers who hire nannies, caregivers, or gardeners. The same EAMS submission also captures the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) premium report under RCW 50A.05 and the WA Cares Fund long-term care premium report under RCW 50B.04, so a single quarterly filing now satisfies three programs.
A common misconception is that an employer with no wages in a quarter can skip filing. ESD treats a missing report as delinquent, charges a $25 incomplete-report penalty, and can lock the employer’s account from receiving a tax-rate notice. The plain rule is simple: if you have an open ESD employer account, you file every quarter until the account is formally closed.
The agency that receives the report is the Employment Security Department, Tax and Wage Services Division, in Olympia. The deadline is the last day of the month following the quarter’s end, meaning April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31. Missing the deadline triggers tiered penalties of $25, $75, or $250 depending on lateness, plus 1% interest per month on unpaid tax under WAC 192-310-030.
Before You Start: Documents and Information You Need
Gather everything below before you open EAMS, because the portal times out after 20 minutes of inactivity and the paper forms have no save feature. Missing data is the single biggest reason filers receive an “incomplete report” notice from ESD.
- ESD Employer Account Number (EAN). This is the 12-digit number printed on every notice ESD has sent you. Without it, EAMS cannot match your filing to your account, and a paper report filed without it will be returned.
- Unified Business Identifier (UBI). The 9-digit UBI from the Department of Revenue ties your ESD account to your business license. A mismatch between EAN and UBI freezes processing.
- NAICS industry code. The 6-digit NAICS code drives your industry tax rate. Filing under the wrong NAICS can move you into a higher rate class for years.
- Each worker’s full legal name, SSN, and date of hire. ESD cross-checks names and SSNs with the Social Security Administration, and a mismatch suspends benefit eligibility for that worker.
- Gross wages paid this quarter for each worker. Use the actual paid date, not the pay-period date. Wages paid on April 1 for March work belong in the second quarter, not the first.
- Hours worked this quarter for each worker. ESD wants hours actually worked, including paid leave but excluding severance. This number drives benefit eligibility for your employees if they ever file a claim.
- Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code for each worker. Use the BLS SOC lookup to assign the 6-digit code that matches each job’s duties. SOC reporting has been mandatory in Washington since 2022.
- Corporate officer coverage election on file. If you elected to exclude corporate officers under RCW 50.04.165, confirm the election is active before omitting their wages.
- Bank routing and account numbers. EAMS accepts ACH debit at no fee, while credit-card payments through the third-party processor carry a 2.5% surcharge.
- Your current UI tax rate notice. ESD mails the tax-rate notice each December; the rate has four components and you cannot recompute tax without it.
Where to Get the Form and How to Access It
Most employers never download a paper form. Instead, they sign in at secure.esd.wa.gov using a Secure Access Washington (SAW) account, then launch the EAMS service. New users create a SAW login at SAW registration, add the EAMS service, and request access to their employer account using the EAN and the activation code from any recent ESD notice. Activation typically takes one to two business days, so do not wait until the deadline week.
Employers who qualify to file on paper download Form 5208 A for the tax summary and Form 5208 B for the wage detail directly from the ESD forms library. Note the revision date in the lower-left corner of each form; ESD’s optical scanner rejects expired versions and mails the report back, costing you weeks. The current revision dates are 12/2022 for Form 5208 A and 12/2022 for Form 5208 B, the latest editions ESD accepts in 2026.
Bulk filers — payroll services and large employers with more than 100 employees — use EAMS for Single Filers or upload an ICESA-format file through EAMS Bulk Filer. Third-party payroll providers such as Gusto, ADP, Paychex, and QuickBooks Online Payroll file on the employer’s behalf using the same EAMS API. Even when a payroll provider files for you, the legal duty to file accurately rests on the employer, not the provider.
Households that hire domestic workers can use the same EAMS portal but must first register a household employer account through the DOR Business Licensing Service and elect coverage under RCW 50.04.160.
Step-by-Step: How to Fill Out the Washington ESD Quarterly Tax Report Line by Line
The walkthrough below mirrors the order EAMS presents the screens and matches the boxes on paper Form 5208 A and 5208 B. Every field below uses the exact label printed on the official form.
Box 1: UBI Number
This box asks for your 9-digit Unified Business Identifier issued by the Department of Revenue. Enter the UBI as a continuous 9-digit string with no dashes or spaces, for example 601234567. Maria Lopez, who runs Lopez Bakery LLC, types 602998881 in Box 1 because that is the UBI on her business license.
A common edge case is a sole proprietor who has both a personal account and a business account; always use the business UBI tied to the ESD account, never a personal tax ID. The most frequent mistake is transposing two digits, which causes EAMS to reject the submission with a “UBI/EAN mismatch” error and forces the filer to start over. A misconception is that the UBI changes when you change your business name; it does not, so reuse the same UBI you have used since the business was first licensed.
Box 2: ESD Employer Account Number (EAN)
Box 2 asks for the 12-digit ESD-issued employer account number that controls your UI tax record. Enter all 12 digits with no dashes, for example 000123456789. Marcus Chen, owner of Chen Construction Inc., enters 000456789012 exactly as printed on his most recent ESD tax-rate notice.
A nuance: if you operate two business locations under one corporate parent, ESD may issue two separate EANs, and each must file its own report. The biggest mistake is filing two locations under one EAN, which collapses the wage detail and triggers a manual audit. People often think the EAN and UBI are interchangeable; they are not, and both must appear correctly on every filing.
Box 3: Quarter and Year
This box asks which calendar quarter and year the report covers. Enter the quarter as Q1, Q2, Q3, or Q4 and the four-digit year, such as Q2 2026. Aisha Patel, filing for the April–June 2026 quarter for her Patel Marketing LLC, enters Q2 2026.
The edge case is a short final quarter when a business closes mid-quarter; you still file for the full quarter and check the “final report” box later. The most common mistake is filing the prior quarter’s report by accident in EAMS, which posts wages to the wrong period and forces a corrected report. A misconception is that the quarter is set by pay-period dates; ESD always uses the paid date, so a paycheck issued July 1 belongs in Q3.
Box 4: Total Number of Covered Workers Each Month
Box 4 asks for the count of covered workers who worked during the payroll period that includes the 12th day of each month in the quarter. Enter three numbers, one for each month, such as Month 1: 7, Month 2: 7, Month 3: 8. Janet Kim, who runs Kim Tech Solutions, lists Month 1: 12, Month 2: 13, Month 3: 13.
A nuance is that a worker on unpaid leave during the 12th of the month is not counted, but a worker who earned even one hour during that pay period is counted. The most common mistake is reporting total quarter headcount instead of the snapshot for each 12th-day pay period, which inflates the count and skews ESD’s labor-market statistics. People wrongly assume part-timers do not count; they do, as long as the work is covered employment.
Box 5: Gross Wages Paid This Quarter
This box asks for total gross wages paid to all covered workers during the quarter, including bonuses, commissions, tips reported to the employer, and the cash value of taxable non-cash compensation. Enter the dollar amount with two decimals, for example $84,512.00. Lopez Bakery LLC enters $48,750.25 for Q2 2026.
The edge case involves tips: only tips reported in writing by the employee to the employer count, per WAC 192-310-040. The most frequent mistake is using gross wages from your federal Form 941, which includes pre-tax deductions ESD treats differently; the amounts rarely match. A misconception is that owner draws from an LLC count as wages; for a single-member LLC taxed as a sole proprietor, draws are not wages and stay off this line.
Box 6: Excess Wages
Excess wages are the portion of each worker’s wages above the 2026 taxable wage base of $72,800 set under RCW 50.24.010. Enter the cumulative amount paid above the base across all workers, for example $12,300.00. Chen Construction Inc. lists $31,400.00 in excess wages for Q3 2026 because three foremen crossed the base mid-quarter.
A nuance is that the wage base is per worker per calendar year, so each new year resets the count back to zero. The most common mistake is calculating excess wages per quarter instead of cumulatively across the year, which overstates excess and understates taxable wages. People often think excess wages are exempt from PFML and WA Cares; they are exempt only from UI, not from PFML or WA Cares premiums.
Box 7: Taxable Wages
Taxable wages equal gross wages (Box 5) minus excess wages (Box 6). Enter the difference with two decimals, for example $72,212.00. Patel Marketing LLC enters $48,750.25 − $0.00 = $48,750.25 for its first reporting quarter because no worker had crossed the wage base yet.
The edge case is a quarter where excess wages exceed gross wages because of timing; the correct entry is zero, never a negative number. The biggest mistake is leaving Box 7 blank when Box 5 has a value; EAMS rejects the screen until taxable wages are present. A misconception is that taxable wages drive PFML premiums too; PFML uses a separate wage base ($176,100 in 2026) under the SSA wage base schedule.
Box 8: UI Tax Rate
This box pre-fills in EAMS but must be entered by hand on paper Form 5208 A. Use the combined rate from your most recent tax-rate notice, which adds the experience-rate tax, social-cost factor, and Employment Administration Fund (EAF) assessment. Enter the rate as a decimal, for example 0.0148 for 1.48%.
A nuance is that new employers receive an average industry rate for their first three years rather than an experience rate. The most common mistake is using last year’s rate after ESD issued a new notice in December; that error throws the tax owed off by hundreds of dollars. People mistakenly believe the rate is the same statewide; it is employer-specific and changes annually.
Box 9: UI Tax Due
Multiply Box 7 (taxable wages) by Box 8 (tax rate) to get UI tax due. Enter with two decimals, for example $72,212.00 × 0.0148 = $1,068.74. Chen Construction Inc., with $260,000 in taxable wages and a 2.10% rate, enters $5,460.00.
The edge case is rounding; ESD rounds to the nearest cent, not the nearest dollar. The biggest mistake is using gross instead of taxable wages, which overstates tax in any quarter where any worker has crossed the wage base. People often assume EAMS will fix arithmetic errors silently; it does not, and a paper miscalculation triggers a corrected billing notice with interest.
Box 10: EAF Assessment (Employment Administration Fund)
The EAF is a flat 0.03% assessment on taxable wages used to fund ESD operations under RCW 50.24.014. Enter taxable wages × 0.0003, for example $72,212.00 × 0.0003 = $21.66. The number is small but mandatory, and EAMS will not let you skip it.
The nuance is that EAF applies to all contributory employers but not to reimbursable nonprofits. The most common mistake is omitting EAF entirely on paper forms, which drops the report into “incomplete” status. A misconception is that EAF is part of the experience rate; it is a separate line and must be reported on its own.
Box 11: PFML Premium
Box 11 captures Paid Family and Medical Leave premiums under RCW 50A.10. The 2026 total premium rate is 0.92% of gross wages up to $176,100, split between employer and employee shares for employers with 50 or more employees. Enter the total premium owed, for example $648.30.
The edge case is a small employer (fewer than 50 employees) that owes only the employee share but still files the report; ESD checks the employer count from Box 4 to apply the right share. The biggest mistake is using the UI taxable wage base ($72,800) instead of the PFML wage base ($176,100), which understates premiums. People often confuse PFML with FMLA; PFML is a state premium, while FMLA is unpaid federal job-protected leave.
Box 12: WA Cares Premium
WA Cares is a 0.58% premium on all gross wages with no wage cap, funding long-term care benefits under RCW 50B.04.080. Enter gross wages × 0.0058, for example $48,750.25 × 0.0058 = $282.75. The premium is paid entirely by employees through payroll deduction, but the employer remits it.
A nuance is that workers with an approved exemption (military spouse, temporary visa, out-of-state) do not contribute, so subtract their wages first. The biggest mistake is including exempt workers’ wages, which over-collects premium. A misconception is that WA Cares is voluntary; it is mandatory unless the worker has an approved exemption letter on file with ESD.
Box 13: Total Amount Due
Add UI tax (Box 9), EAF (Box 10), PFML (Box 11), and WA Cares (Box 12). Enter the total, for example $2,021.45. EAMS auto-totals; paper filers must compute by hand.
The edge case is a credit balance from a prior overpayment; the system applies it before calculating amount due. The most common mistake is paying only the UI tax and forgetting EAF, PFML, and WA Cares, which leaves a small balance that accrues 1% monthly interest. People wrongly believe a partial payment stops penalties; only full payment by the due date stops interest.
Form 5208 B: Wage Detail Lines
Form 5208 B asks for one line per employee containing SSN, last name, first name, middle initial, gross wages, hours worked, and SOC code. Enter SSN as nine digits with no dashes, name in CAPS, and hours rounded to whole numbers. Lopez Bakery LLC lists 123456789, LOPEZ, MARIA, A, $9,250.00, 480, 35-2014 for one of its bakers.
The edge case is a tipped worker whose hours include time on the floor and prep; report all hours worked, not just tipped hours. The biggest mistake is omitting SOC codes, which has been a rejection trigger since the 2022 SOC mandate. A misconception is that exempt salaried workers have no hours to report; ESD requires a reasonable estimate, often 480 hours per quarter for full-timers.
Signature and Submission
The final screen asks the filer to certify under penalty of perjury that the report is true and complete. EAMS captures an electronic signature; paper filers sign and date the bottom of Form 5208 A. Marcus Chen clicks “Submit,” receives a confirmation number starting with “QR-“, and saves the PDF receipt.
The nuance is that once submitted, EAMS locks the report, and any change requires a corrected report through the “Amend a Report” link. The biggest mistake is closing the browser before the confirmation number appears, which leaves the report in “draft” status and unfiled. People assume submission equals payment; the report and the payment are two separate steps in EAMS.
Three Filled-Out Examples Using Real Scenarios
Below are three of the most common Washington filer profiles, walked through start to finish.
Scenario 1: Maria Lopez, Lopez Bakery LLC (Small Seattle Cafe, Q2 2026)
| Form Section | What Maria Enters |
|---|---|
| UBI Number | 602998881 |
| ESD Employer Account Number | 000234567890 |
| Quarter and Year | Q2 2026 |
| Covered Workers (Months 1/2/3) | 3 / 4 / 4 |
| Gross Wages | $48,750.25 |
| Excess Wages | $0.00 |
| Taxable Wages | $48,750.25 |
| UI Tax Rate | 0.0125 |
| UI Tax Due | $609.38 |
| PFML Premium (employee share only, under 50) | $224.25 |
| WA Cares Premium | $282.75 |
| Total Amount Due | $1,116.38 |
Scenario 2: Marcus Chen, Chen Construction Inc. (50 Employees, Multiple Risk Classes, Q3 2026)
| Form Section | What Marcus Enters |
|---|---|
| UBI Number | 603145782 |
| ESD Employer Account Number | 000456789012 |
| Quarter and Year | Q3 2026 |
| Covered Workers (Months 1/2/3) | 50 / 52 / 51 |
| Gross Wages | $612,400.00 |
| Excess Wages | $94,800.00 |
| Taxable Wages | $517,600.00 |
| UI Tax Rate | 0.0210 |
| UI Tax Due | $10,869.60 |
| PFML Premium (full split) | $5,634.08 |
| WA Cares Premium | $3,551.92 |
| Total Amount Due | $20,055.60 |
Scenario 3: Priya and Raj Sharma, Household Employer for One Nanny (Q4 2026)
| Form Section | What the Sharmas Enter |
|---|---|
| UBI Number | 604778812 |
| ESD Employer Account Number | 000998877665 |
| Quarter and Year | Q4 2026 |
| Covered Workers (Months 1/2/3) | 1 / 1 / 1 |
| Gross Wages | $9,600.00 |
| Excess Wages | $0.00 |
| Taxable Wages | $9,600.00 |
| UI Tax Rate | 0.0290 (new household rate) |
| UI Tax Due | $278.40 |
| PFML Premium (employee share) | $44.16 |
| WA Cares Premium | $55.68 |
| Total Amount Due | $378.24 |
How to File the Completed Form
Washington ESD accepts the quarterly report through four channels, and the channel you choose changes processing time and proof of filing.
- Online through EAMS. Sign in at the EAMS portal, submit the report, and pay by ACH debit. There is no fee for ACH; credit cards through the third-party processor cost a 2.5% surcharge. Processing is same-day, and the QR-confirmation number is your proof of filing. Save the PDF receipt for at least four years.
- Paper Form 5208 A and 5208 B by mail. Mail to Employment Security Department, UI Tax Administration, P.O. Box 9046, Olympia, WA 98507-9046. Include a check payable to “Employment Security Department.” Processing takes 3–4 weeks, and your certified mail receipt is your proof of filing.
- In person. Drop off at the ESD office at 212 Maple Park Ave SE, Olympia, WA 98501 during business hours. The clerk date-stamps a copy as proof of filing. There is no fee.
- Bulk ICESA upload (payroll services and large employers). Upload the formatted file through EAMS Bulk Filer. Processing is same-day, and the bulk-confirmation file is your proof. There is no fee.
A nuance for all channels: payment and report are separate. EAMS will mark the report “filed” even if payment fails, and interest still accrues on unpaid tax at 1% per month from the due date. Paper filers should never staple the check to the form because the scanner jams.
What Happens After You File
Once ESD receives the report, the system runs three automated checks: SSN/name match against SSA records, math validation against the rate notice, and SOC code validation against the BLS dictionary. Reports that pass all three post within 48 hours and appear in your EAMS account history with a green “Accepted” status.
Reports flagged in any check move to “Pending Review,” and ESD mails a Notice of Incomplete Report within 10 business days. The notice lists the specific field that failed and gives 30 days to correct. Ignoring the notice causes ESD to assess a $25 incomplete-report penalty per occurrence under WAC 192-310-030 and lock your account from receiving future rate adjustments.
Once accepted, the wage detail feeds the worker’s benefit-wage history. If a worker later files a claim, ESD pulls the four most recent completed quarters, called the base year, to compute the weekly benefit amount. Errors in your hours or wages directly change what your former employees can collect.
ESD recalculates your experience rate every September using three years of taxable payroll and benefit charges, and the new rate appears on the December rate notice for the following calendar year. Late or missing reports increase the social-cost factor for the entire state, so chronic late filers eventually pay higher rates.
Mistakes to Avoid When Filling Out the Form
- Filing under the wrong quarter. Posting Q2 wages to Q1 forces a corrected report and freezes any refund.
- Using gross wages from Form 941. The federal and state definitions of wages differ, and ESD’s audit team flags the mismatch.
- Skipping a zero-payroll quarter. A missing report triggers the $25 incomplete-report penalty even with no wages.
- Omitting SOC codes. Wage lines without SOC codes are rejected outright since the 2022 mandate.
- Calculating excess wages per quarter instead of per calendar year. This overstates excess and underpays UI tax.
- Using last year’s tax rate. ESD updates rates every December; the old rate produces an underpayment plus interest.
- Forgetting EAF, PFML, or WA Cares lines. Partial reports leave a balance that accrues 1% monthly interest.
- Reporting hours paid instead of hours worked. The numbers diverge for paid leave, severance, and bonuses.
- Misclassifying corporate officers as exempt without filing the election. ESD reclassifies them and bills back wages.
- Closing the EAMS browser before the QR confirmation appears. The report stays in “draft” and is treated as unfiled.
- Stapling a check to a paper return. The ESD scanner jams and routes the packet to manual processing, adding weeks.
- Paying by credit card without budgeting the 2.5% surcharge. Underpayments by even pennies accrue interest.
Do’s and Don’ts
- Do file every quarter, even with zero payroll, to keep the account in good standing.
- Do reconcile EAMS totals against your payroll software before submitting, because ESD audits trail back to the report.
- Do save the QR confirmation number and PDF receipt for at least four years under WAC 192-310-025.
- Do use the SAW two-factor authentication to protect your EAMS account from credential theft.
- Do assign SOC codes from the BLS lookup rather than guessing, since errors trigger labor-market data flags.
- Do pay by ACH debit to avoid the 2.5% credit-card surcharge.
- Don’t wait until the last day; EAMS slows under deadline-day load and timeouts cause lost data.
- Don’t file under a personal SSN if the business has a UBI; the mismatch freezes processing.
- Don’t assume the payroll provider filed; verify by checking the EAMS history yourself.
- Don’t round hours to the nearest 10; ESD wants whole-hour precision per worker.
- Don’t combine multiple EANs onto one report, even for affiliated entities.
- Don’t ignore an incomplete-report notice; a 30-day cure window prevents the $25 penalty.
Pros and Cons of Filing on Your Own vs. With Help
- Pro of self-filing: No third-party fee, which saves small employers $50–$200 per quarter.
- Pro of self-filing: Direct visibility into your account, rate notices, and audit letters in real time.
- Pro of self-filing: Faster correction cycle when you spot a payroll error mid-quarter.
- Pro of self-filing: Builds in-house compliance knowledge that pays off as the business grows.
- Pro of self-filing: Preserves data privacy by keeping employee SSNs out of a third-party system.
- Con of self-filing: Time investment of two to four hours per quarter for a small employer.
- Con of self-filing: Higher error risk on SOC codes, excess wages, and rate application.
- Con of self-filing: No professional defense if ESD opens an audit under RCW 50.12.080.
- Con of self-filing: You bear the full penalty exposure for late or incomplete reports.
- Con of self-filing: Multi-state employers must navigate the four-part localization-of-services test alone, which often misroutes wages.
EAMS Online vs. Paper Form 5208 A and 5208 B
| Filing Feature | What Each Channel Offers |
|---|---|
| Speed of acceptance | EAMS posts same-day; paper takes 3–4 weeks |
| Math validation | EAMS auto-calculates; paper requires manual math |
| SOC validation | EAMS checks against BLS list; paper relies on filer accuracy |
| Proof of filing | EAMS provides QR confirmation; paper requires certified mail receipt |
| Payment options | EAMS accepts ACH and credit card; paper accepts check only |
| Correction process | EAMS “Amend a Report” link; paper requires new 5208 A/B marked “Corrected” |
| Cost | EAMS ACH free; paper postage plus certified mail (~$5) |
| Best fit | EAMS for nearly all employers; paper for very low-tech household employers |
FAQs
Do I have to file if I had no employees this quarter?
Yes. As long as your ESD account is open, you file a zero-wage report under WAC 192-310-010, or ESD assesses a $25 incomplete-report penalty.
Can I file the report after the due date without a penalty?
No. Late reports incur tiered penalties of $25, $75, or $250 plus 1% monthly interest on unpaid tax under WAC 192-310-030.
Do corporate officers count as covered workers in Box 4?
No. Corporate officers are excluded if you filed a valid coverage election under RCW 50.04.165; otherwise yes, they count.
Should I report tips in Box 5 gross wages?
Yes. Only tips reported in writing by the employee to the employer count as wages under WAC 192-310-040, not unreported cash tips.
Do I include severance pay in hours worked?
No. Severance is wages but not hours, since hours measure time actually worked, not paid time after separation.
Can I write hours as a decimal like 7.5 in Form 5208 B?
No. ESD requires whole hours rounded normally, so 7.5 becomes 8 and 7.4 becomes 7 in the hours column.
Is the SOC code in Form 5208 B optional?
No. SOC codes have been mandatory for every wage line since 2022, and ESD rejects reports missing them.
Do I use the federal Form 941 wage total in Box 5?
No. State and federal wage definitions differ on pre-tax benefits, so always compute Washington gross wages from your payroll register.
Are PFML and WA Cares premiums included in the UI report?
Yes. Since 2023, the same EAMS submission captures UI, PFML, and WA Cares, but each has its own line and wage base.
Can I pay the tax without filing the report?
No. Payment alone does not satisfy the filing duty, and ESD will still assess the incomplete-report penalty until the report posts.
Does a household employer file the same form as a business?
Yes. Household employers file the same Form 5208 A and 5208 B through the same EAMS portal, after registering through the DOR Business Licensing Service.
If a worker lives in Oregon but works in Seattle, do I report them to Washington?
Yes. Under the four-part localization test in WAC 192-310-100, wages are reported where the work is performed, not where the worker lives.
Can I amend a report after submission?
Yes. Use the “Amend a Report” link inside EAMS for online filings or submit a corrected paper Form 5208 A and 5208 B marked “Corrected” at the top.
Do I need to keep copies of the report after filing?
Yes. Keep all reports, payroll registers, and confirmation numbers for at least four years under WAC 192-310-025, which mirrors ESD’s audit lookback period.
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