WA Cares fund

The WA Cares Fund is a mandatory long-term care insurance benefit established by Washington state law in 2019. Starting July 1, 2023, benefits can be used to purchase long-term care services which may include professional care, equipment, home safety evaluations, and/or compensation for family members who provide care.

Who can use this feature?

• Available for AviontéClassic
• Available for All Users

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Key Takeaways

• Describes the Payroll Deduction rates and limits
• Outlines the process for setting up Exemptions

CHAPTERS

Payroll Deductions
Employee Exemptions
Adding 'Is Tax Exempt'

Payroll Deductions

The WA Cares Fund will be supported by a premium paid by employees only. The premium has been set by state law at 0.58% of gross wages, or $0.58 per $100. For example, if an employee earns $50,000 annually, the total annual premium is $290 or $12.08 per paycheck. Employee payroll deductions begin July 1, 2023.

Employee Exemptions

Beginning January 1, 2023, employees may be eligible for a permanent or conditional exemption from the WA Cares Fund. An employee with a permanent exemption from the WA Cares Fund premium is permanently ineligible from receiving benefits under the program and cannot rejoin the program at a later date. Employees with a conditional exemption do not contribute premiums to the program while their conditional exemption is in effect. The state provides guidance for employers regarding exemptions, found here: Exemptions | WA Cares Fund

To be exempt, the employee must provide their employer with an exemption certificate, which exempts the employee from having WA Cares fund deducted from their paycheck. Should you need to set up an employee as exempt from WA Cares deductions, please follow the process below in Avionte.

Navigate to Employee> Payroll > Tax > Tax Tab and follow the steps to exempt the WA cares fund tax.

Locate the WA CARE FUND EE Tax and check “IsTaxExempt”. Answer yes to the warning message and tab off to save. If you do not see the “IsTaxExempt” checkbox you may need to have permissions granted and then follow the steps below to display the checkbox.

For steps to enable the “IsTaxExempt” checkbox for a user, please refer to this article in our Knowledge Base: Adding Tax Exempt for a user