Washington does not tax wages, but it is the no-income-tax state where your stub is least likely to be federal-only — two state payroll programs deduct from most paychecks.
| Gross pay | — |
| Federal income tax | — |
| Social Security6.2% up to $184,500 | — |
| Medicare1.45%, no cap | — |
| State income tax | — |
| 401(k) contribution | — |
| Health and HSA | — |
Useful if you are comparing a job that pays monthly against one that pays every two weeks, or working out what a raise is worth per paycheck.
| Pay schedule | Gross | Take-home |
|---|
Washington levies no tax on wage or salary income, and no city or county adds one. On that measure it sits alongside Texas and Florida.
Where it differs is payroll programs. Washington runs a state Paid Family and Medical Leave insurance scheme funded partly by an employee premium, and the WA Cares Fund, a long-term care programme also funded by an employee payroll deduction. Both appear as separate lines on a Washington pay stub and neither is a tax on income in the legal sense, which is why they sit outside this calculator. Check your own stub for the current rates, because they are reset periodically.
Washington introduced an excise tax on long-term capital gains above an annual threshold, and the state Supreme Court upheld it in 2023. It does not touch wages, and it exempts real estate and retirement accounts, but it does mean Washington is no longer a state with zero tax on any form of personal income.
If your compensation includes equity, this matters. Salary and RSUs taxed as ordinary wage income are untouched, but gains realised after vesting can fall within scope.
The state sales tax is 6.5%, and local additions push the combined rate above 10% in parts of the Seattle metro — among the highest in the country. For a high earner the income tax exemption still wins comfortably; for a lower earner spending most of their income, the sales tax claws back a significant share.
Most likely the Paid Family and Medical Leave premium and the WA Cares Fund long-term care deduction. Both are state payroll programmes rather than income tax.
Not as wage income — vesting RSUs are taxed federally as ordinary income and Washington adds nothing. Gains after vesting may fall under the state capital gains tax if they exceed the annual threshold.
The opt-out window for private long-term care coverage closed some years ago. Check the programme's current rules if you believe an exemption applies to you.