Alongside the minimum wage, the other year-end number Washington employers need is the Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) premium rate. The Employment Security Department (ESD) resets it annually, and the 2027 rate will be announced later this fall.
How the premium is set
PFML is funded by a premium assessed on employee wages up to the Social Security cap. ESD recalculates the rate each year based on the program’s finances, and by law the combined premium cannot exceed a statutory maximum. You can find the current rate and the annual updates on ESD’s Paid Leave site. Because the rate can move each year, employers should not assume this year’s percentage will carry into next.
Who pays what
The premium is split between employer and employee, and the employee share is withheld from wages. Employers with fewer than 50 employees are not required to pay the employer share, but they must still withhold and remit the employee share. Larger employers pay both parts. Whatever the 2027 rate turns out to be, that basic split will govern how you apply it.
Don’t confuse it with WA Cares
PFML is collected on the same paychecks as the WA Cares Fund premium, but the two are calculated differently—most importantly, PFML stops at the Social Security wage cap while WA Cares does not. Employers with higher-paid staff frequently misapply one rate to the other, so it is worth reconciling both when you update payroll for the new year.
What to do
- Watch for ESD’s announcement of the 2027 premium rate this fall and update payroll withholding before the first 2027 payroll runs.
- Confirm whether you are above or below the 50-employee line, which determines whether you owe the employer share.
- Reconcile PFML and WA Cares withholding separately—do not assume the same rate or the same wage base.
- Make sure any past-due PFML balance is cleared, since delinquency carries interest and penalties and can affect access to the small-business grant.
If you have questions about Paid Family & Medical Leave or Paid Time Off, you can reach us at martinkreshon.com or call (206) 929-0609. You can also find reviews for Martin on Google and Avvo.