Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave covers your nanny, but the employer side of the bill is $0 for households with one or two nannies. The 2026 rate jumped to 1.13% of wages (from 0.92% in 2025), and all of it comes out of the nanny's paycheck when you have fewer than 50 employees.
The twist that trips up most families: your nanny qualifies for state-paid benefits, but Washington's job-protection law only kicks in for employers with 25+ employees. Your nanny can take leave and collect checks from the state. Legally, you don't owe them their job back.
Does Washington Paid Leave apply to my nanny?
Yes. If you pay a nanny for work performed in Washington, you must register with the Employment Security Department, withhold the employee premium, and file a quarterly report, even when you have zero payroll that quarter.
The program covers almost every employer with at least one Washington employee. The law doesn't carve out a wage floor or an hours threshold, and it doesn't exempt domestic employers. A part-time babysitter who works a few hours a week is covered; a live-in nanny on a full W-2 schedule is covered.
What is different for small employers is who writes the employer-side check. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees are not required to pay the employer portion of the premium. Every household employer sits well under that threshold.
What you actually pay: 0.81% from the nanny, zero from you
For 2026 the total premium is 1.13% of wages, normally split 28.57% employer / 71.43% employee. As a household employer under 50 employees, you skip the 28.57% employer share. You only withhold the employee's 71.43% portion, which works out to 0.81% of wages.
| Your nanny's annual wages | Withheld from nanny (0.81%) | You pay | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000 | $202 | $0 | $202 |
| $40,000 | $323 | $0 | $323 |
| $60,000 | $484 | $0 | $484 |
| $80,000 | $646 | $0 | $646 |
| $100,000 | $807 | $0 | $807 |
Premiums cap at the Social Security wage base. In 2026 that means wages above $184,500 are not subject to the 1.13% rate.
You can voluntarily opt in to pay the employer share if you want to (the annual enrollment deadline is March 1), but nothing in the law requires it. Most household employers don't.
How to register a Washington PFML account
You register through the Employment Security Department using a SecureAccess Washington (SAW) login — the same portal used for unemployment insurance taxes. Household employers typically already have a SAW account for SUI, so PFML gets added to the same login.
If you've never registered as a WA employer before:
- Create a SAW account at secureaccess.wa.gov
- Add the Employment Security Department as a service
- Register your business (sole proprietorship with EIN is the standard path for household employers)
- PFML reporting is automatically enabled once you have an active ESD account
You need the account active before your first quarterly filing deadline. For a nanny hired mid-quarter, register as soon as the first paycheck is cut.
Quarterly Washington PFML deadlines for 2026
Every quarter, every registered employer files a wage report and pays any premiums owed — including zero-payroll quarters. The first 2026 filing lands April 30, for January through March wages.
| Quarter | Wages covered | Report + payment due |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 | January 1 – March 31 | April 30, 2026 |
| Q2 2026 | April 1 – June 30 | July 31, 2026 |
| Q3 2026 | July 1 – September 30 | October 31, 2026 |
| Q4 2026 | October 1 – December 31 | January 31, 2027 |
What you report each quarter:
- Your business info
- Each employee's total hours worked (including paid time off)
- Each employee's gross wages (not including tips)
Reports are submitted through the ESD employer portal. You don't need a separate login if you already file SUI; it's the same system. Zero-wage quarters still require a filed report; the state uses "no payroll" status to keep your account active without charging premiums.
What your nanny gets from Washington Paid Leave
Washington pays benefits directly to your nanny when they take qualifying leave — the state writes the check, not you. The program is funded by the premiums you remit each quarter.
- Up to 12 weeks of Paid Leave per benefit year for most qualifying reasons (bonding, serious health condition, family caregiving, military exigency)
- Up to 16 weeks if two or more qualifying events stack in the same year
- Up to 18 weeks for conditions related to pregnancy or birth that cause incapacity
- Weekly benefit: up to 90% of the nanny's average weekly wage, capped at $1,647/week in 2026
- Eligibility: worked at least 820 hours in the qualifying period (about 15-16 hours/week across the prior year)
The 820-hour eligibility test looks at work across all Washington employers combined, not just hours with you. A nanny who worked full-time last year for a different family and switched to a part-time role with you likely still qualifies.
Job protection: why household employers owe nothing
Washington's state job-protection rules only apply to employers with 25 or more employees, and federal FMLA starts at 50+. A household with one or two nannies is below both thresholds, so neither law requires you to hold the nanny's job while they're on leave.
What this means in practice:
- Your nanny can still apply for and receive state benefits from ESD
- You're not legally required to keep their position open or reinstate them
- You're not required to maintain their health benefits during leave
- Retaliation for applying for benefits is still prohibited — you can't fire a nanny because they filed a claim
Most families bring the nanny back anyway because finding a replacement mid-career is harder than holding a slot. But the legal obligation isn't there, which matters if you're deciding whether to hire short-term backup during a 12-week leave.
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Small Employer Assistance Grants (and the 12-quarter catch)
If your nanny takes qualifying leave, you can apply for a grant of up to $3,000 to offset wage-replacement or temporary-hiring costs. Applications open when the leave is approved and close four months after it ends.
| What you can use it for | Amount |
|---|---|
| Temporary nanny wages or sign-on bonus | Up to $3,000 |
| Overtime for an existing part-time caregiver | Up to $3,000 |
| Temp agency fees for a backup | Up to $3,000 |
The catch is the commitment. Employers under 50 who receive a grant must pay the employer share of the premium for 12 quarters (3 years) going forward. For a nanny earning $50,000/year, that's 3 × (0.32% × $50,000) = $480 in additional premiums over three years, against a one-time $3,000 grant. The math still works out, but factor it in before applying.
What Washington Paid Leave actually costs a family
A family paying a nanny $50,000/year owes $0 in 2026 employer premiums and withholds $403.50 from the nanny. Full breakdown:
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total premium (1.13% of $50,000, if you paid all of it) | $565/year |
| Withheld from nanny (0.81%) | $403.50/year |
| Out of pocket for you | $0 |
| Per biweekly paycheck, nanny | $15.52 |
| Per biweekly paycheck, you | $0.00 |
For comparison, Minnesota's new program costs a family employing the same nanny $110/year out of pocket plus $220 withheld from the nanny. Washington's small-employer exemption is unusually generous to household employers — neighboring Oregon and Colorado also exempt the employer share, but Washington's program has higher benefit levels.
Where Paid Leave shows up on your nanny's pay stub
The 0.81% deduction is a post-tax withholding. Washington has no state income tax, so there's no state-income-tax interaction to worry about. The premium itself doesn't reduce federal taxable wages in boxes 1, 3, or 5 of the W-2.
On a NannyKeeper pay stub, the line shows as "WA Paid Leave" under withholdings. No employer-share line appears for household employers because you owe zero. If you voluntarily opted in to pay the employer share, that portion shows only on your employer cost summary, not the nanny's stub.
PFML is not FMLA (and WA job protection isn't either)
Federal FMLA only applies to employers with 50+ employees, which will never include a household employer. Washington Paid Leave is a separate state insurance program that does provide benefits to your nanny. But as noted above, the state's job-restoration rules also only kick in at 25+ employees, so you don't get a middle-ground protection from the state program either.
Your nanny gets paid during leave. You get the option to rehire or not. That's the full picture.
FAQ
Do household employers in Washington really pay zero employer premium?
Yes, as long as you have fewer than 50 employees, which is always true for a single-family household. You still register, withhold 0.81% from your nanny, and file quarterly reports, but you owe nothing from your own pocket unless you voluntarily opt in.
Is my nanny eligible for benefits if they've only worked for me for a few months?
Eligibility uses a 820-hour threshold across all Washington employers in the qualifying period, not just hours with you. A nanny who worked elsewhere in Washington last year typically qualifies after adding current hours. Check at paidleave.wa.gov for the specific qualifying-period windows.
Do I have to hold my nanny's job open while they're on paid leave?
No. Washington's job-protection law only applies to employers with 25+ employees, and federal FMLA starts at 50+. You may choose to rehire your nanny, but the state doesn't require it. Retaliation for applying for benefits is still illegal.
What happens if I miss the April 30 quarterly deadline?
ESD charges late fees and interest on unpaid premiums, and the account can go into noncompliance status. File and pay through your ESD portal as soon as you catch it. The portal accepts late filings without additional penalty beyond the financial ones.
How does this interact with Washington minimum wage and overtime?
Paid Leave is separate from wage-and-hour law. Your nanny's hourly rate still needs to meet Washington minimum wage (one of the highest in the country), and overtime rules under state law still apply. The Paid Leave premium is calculated on gross wages, regardless of whether those wages are regular pay or overtime.
Can I drop coverage if I stop employing a nanny mid-year?
You keep filing zero-payroll quarterly reports for any calendar year in which you had payroll. You can close the ESD account once you're fully done employing anyone in Washington. Don't just stop filing; the account stays active and can accumulate noncompliance fees.
Check your state's specific requirements →