Hire your first employee in Washington.

A few things must be in place before payroll runs: an active federal EIN, registration with Washington's labor and unemployment agency, workers' compensation coverage if Washington requires it, and a payroll system to withhold and remit taxes. You also collect I-9 and W-4 forms from each hire and report the new hire to Washington on time. We help line these up so your first paycheck is compliant rather than a scramble.

Usually you need a Washington employer or withholding account number in addition to your federal EIN, and they are not the same thing. The federal EIN comes from the IRS; the state number comes from Washington's revenue or labor department when you register as an employer. States without income tax may not issue a withholding number but still require an unemployment account. We handle the Washington registrations.

It depends on Washington. Most states require workers' compensation once you have employees, sometimes from the very first one, while a few, Texas notably, make it optional. Where it is required, going without it risks heavy penalties and personal liability for a workplace injury. We flag Washington's rule and point you to coverage so you are not exposed on day one.

It depends on Washington. A handful of states, such as Texas and Florida, have no state income tax, so there is no state withholding to set up; most states require you to register for withholding and remit it with each payroll. We tell you which applies to Washington and configure payroll accordingly, so you are neither over- nor under-withholding.

Federal law requires reporting each new hire to the state, and Washington sets the deadline, commonly within 20 days of the start date, with some states shorter. The report goes to Washington's new-hire registry and supports child-support enforcement. Missing it carries small per-employee penalties that add up across hires, so we build it into your onboarding checklist rather than leaving it to memory.

Yes, you can engage 1099 contractors in Washington without payroll registration, withholding, or workers' comp for them, which is why it is tempting. But misclassifying an employee as a contractor is a serious and common mistake: Washington and the IRS look at control and independence, not the label, and getting it wrong means back taxes and penalties. Classify by the real relationship, not by convenience.

For every hire in Washington you collect a signed Form I-9 for employment eligibility and a federal Form W-4 for withholding, plus any Washington state withholding certificate where the state has income tax. You keep the I-9 on file and report the hire to Washington's registry. We give you the exact checklist so nothing is missed on the first day and your records hold up to an audit.

Washington and the IRS set deposit and filing schedules based on your payroll size, often monthly or semi-weekly for federal deposits, plus quarterly returns and annual W-2s, while Washington's unemployment and withholding filings follow their own calendar. A payroll system handles the timing so deposits and returns go out automatically, and we help you get set up so deadlines are not a manual chore.

We get you set up to hire compliantly in Washington: the EIN, the employer registrations, and the onboarding paperwork, and we connect you to payroll so pay runs, tax deposits, and filings happen on time. That way your first hire does not turn into a tax headache, and you can focus on the person you just brought on rather than the paperwork behind them.