How to change WA PFML rate for 2023

Hello, Arianna09.

if you have the full-service payroll, I recommend reaching out to our Payroll Support Team again. They can help you complete the setup.

I'll also keep you posted on this thread as soon as an update is received. For more details about this the Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave tax, check out this article: Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave (New Tax.

If there's anything else that I can help you with, please let me know in the comment section down below. I'm always around happy to lend a helping hand.

This is making me crazy at the moment, as well. I am using QB online.

Had the same problem last year, and finally was able to have a tech support person help via the hep chat box. 

It is frustrating that it says "Change or Add new rate", but when you click the link it only gives you a drop down list of the old rates. 

Intuit needs to get this rate updated ASAP! We're already into 2023. I'm trying to run payroll for one of my clients today and updating the settings with the new rates for all the taxes and only 1 out of 3 would actually work. Frustrating!!

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I had the same experience as you last year also. So frustrating! I don't know why customer service could fix it last year, but this year they can't? I don't know if I just haven't found the right person to talk to yet.

I'll be running payroll soon for the second time this month and still no changes. It's quite ridiculous. 

I'm still waiting for new rates also.....  No fix offered by support.

I just spent about 4 hours on chat this morning. I think the disconnect is they see the % the employees/employers are responsible for is the same as last year, but the overall multiplier has gone from 0.6% to 0.8% and that is where they need to update (as of 1/23/2023 it is still the 0.6% by my manual calculations). Hope they get it fixed fast, we were switched over from Intuit last year and their screw up on the calculation has cost me close to $3000 for Q1-Q4 of 2022.  

I have spent 5-1/2 hours, and uploaded to QB the Washington State PFML notice on their website.  They still won't change it.  I'm about to do my 2nd payroll of this year.

Isn't there any way to get them to fix this???

Hi there, vic139051. 

I understand this hasn't been easy for you. I'm here to share some troubleshooting steps to solve the issue.

If you receive a notice from your state about a new rate for Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave, you can update it in just a few steps. Let mw show you how to do it.

Here's how:

1. Go to Gear ⚙ icon, then Payroll Settings.
2. Next to Washington tax, hit Edit ✎ to view your rates.
3. To adjust the rate, next to WA Paid Family and Medical Leave Premium ER Rates click Change or add new rate.
4. Choose the new Rate from the dropdown menu and enter an Effective Date.
5. Select OK to save.

Once done, the new tax rate will be calculated and reflect on your employees paycheck. visit this link for more information: Set up Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave.

You can also use payroll reports to see useful information about your employees payroll and taxes. To learn more, you can check out this article: Run payroll reports in QuickBooks Online Payroll.

Please don't hesitate to leave a comment if you have questions or other concerns about payroll taxes. I'll be glad to lend a helping hand. Have a great day!

The problem is not that we do not know where to find it, the problem is that WA state increased the base amount from 6% to 8% and left the employee/employer percentages the same. Both payrolls I have run so far this year are being calculated at the 6% rate, unless something is done to correct it soon, I may have to find another payroll provider. Hopefully you can figure it out, it cannot be that difficult, you can have one heading that says 2022 tax rate and another that says 2023 tax rate, it is really that simple, hope this is resolved soon, I have payroll at the end of this week. 

Let's all be clear....this is not a fix.  I have had the exact same experience with both online chat and by phone.  The only rates available in the drop down are not current.  Unless and until QBooks makes a system change, employers are fully responsible to pay the appropriate amount based upon published 2023 rates.  It is also important to note that back premiums cannot be collected from employees.  When can we expect a direct answer to solve the issue?  Feb 1 is far to late for a state mandated increase.

Just be aware that 2023 taxes are wrong too. I spent over an hour today with customer service and got nowhere. It appears that they are still using 2022 rates even though they’ve been updated (and are labeled correctly)!!

And I received a notice from QBO that WE haven't updated the based rate to the 2023 .8%. The notice links to an article that tells how to update the PORTION of the rate paid by employees, not the base rate itself - because we can't do that! 

It has been a challenging experience for you, @ShellzBellz. I'll provide the steps for contacting our support team in QuickBooks Online Payroll.

I encourage you to call our QuickBooks Online Payroll support team to seek help changing the base rate per employee.

Please see the steps below:

1. Log in to your account.
2. Click the Help button at the top right corner.
3. Go to the Search tab, then select Contact Us.
4. Enter a brief discussion with your concern, then click Continue.
5. Choose to Get a callback to connect to us.

I'm adding this page if you require other aids that help you organize your profit and loss and vendor transactions: Financial reports.

The Community is here for you 24/7 on the clock. If you need to drop your additional comments, notify us below. Keep safe.

QB likes to argue that they have resolved this issue; they have not. They refuse to go to the WA Site (https://paidleave.wa.gov/estimate-your-paid-leave-payments/) and verify that it's taking out taxes based on 2022 rates rather than 2023, which leaves the employer to pay the difference. It would be GREAT if they would acknowledge it's an issue and get it corrected since I know a refund is wishful thinking (still waiting on my credit!!)

maybe read what people are saying before replying- they are not needing the help you referred them to- they need the rate available. However I HAVE the rate available and yet QBO is not calculating correctly.  The math is waaaay off. 

I'm perfectly aware of QBO's shortcomings; I think you aren't understanding the point I'm making.

With that said, the rate is corrected as of July 1, at least for my account. 

I can't even get that to work!  The new % breakdown is available when I select edit but there's no "OK" window that pops up allowing me to replace the old 63.33% with the new 72.76%.  This is so frustrating as our small biz has had to pay $500+ in back PFML premiums out of our own pocket because QBO won't allow me to make this change (and update the overall rate to 0.8%).

Has anyone gotten this to work yet or QBO to update the overall rate?

Hello there, Warlock.

 I recognize where you're coming from. I also know that every penny counts when handling a business

Let's get you connected with the appropriate support so you can change the WA PFML rate to the right one. Thus, I recommend contacting our Payroll Support Team for further assistance.

One of our specialists will review your Payroll settings, especially your Washington tax setup. From there, they'll change the total rate from .6% to .8%. After updating the information, the system will automatically adjust the year-to-date tax.

Also, if there are employees' tax amounts, the figures will automatically be deducted from their next check after the adjustments are completed.

Here's how to reach out support team:

1. In your company, tap the Help icon in the upper right to display the support window.
2. Choose the Assistant tab and enter a brief description of your concern in the Type something bar.
3. Press the Get help from a human link to see more options.
4. In the How would you like to connect with us? section, choose Chat to initiate a conversation and Callback to speak with an agent.

They're available from Monday to Friday, 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM PT (QBO Payroll Core). For Premium and Elite payroll customers, you can our payroll specialists any time and any day.

To keep you in the loop on the new taxes, state rate issues, and other payroll topics, click here to view the full details: Compliance Blog. For resources on how to handle any payroll-related activities and tips to manage your business, feel free to browse our self-help articles. 

Reach out to me again if you have additional questions or concerns about your WA PFML rate. I'm always ready to assist you further. 

@Warlock  so these people that are so called specialists are not understanding you or me- regardless of the rate in qbo- which MINE is set to the correct one- it is not calculating correctly so pointless- I actually have an open ticket for them to look in my client's books because they too are a small company and having to make up the difference since it is not legal to go back and pull monies from the employee after the paycheck has processed for the WA PMFL.   I suggest you make a new payroll deduction to use as your PMFL deduction and create your own spreadsheet to calculate l the correct amount that should be pulled out- this is my work around. Which means you will then have to hand enter the amount for each employee and each payroll. Takes a little bit more work at payroll, but will save you having to make up the difference.   You can get the exact math from the WA pmfl website and they have a converter- because ultimately- quickbooks can tell you all they want that they are correct- but the State of WA will tell you or any state using a payroll based PMFL- or any payroll quarterly report you file- ultimately it is up to the business to make sure the data given is correct and if audited and they find your payroll system- qb is miscalculating- they will still say you were ultimately responsible for paying the correct amount.  

I suggest you make a new payroll deduction to use as your PMFL deduction and create your own spreadsheet to calculate l the correct amount that should be pulled out- this is my work around. Which means you will then have to hand enter the amount for each employee and each payroll. Takes a little bit more work at payroll, but will save you having to make up the difference. 

Thanks for the suggestion, that is exactly the same way I decided to handle this!  I'll create a withholding category called PMFL Balance and track it by hand until QB finally addresses this problem as they should have done months ago.  Now that my Q3 filing has been made...incorrectly again...I'm not wasting hours of my time dealing with QB help on this, especially when so many WA payroll accountants have already reported that it was pointless and they didn't/couldn't fix the issue.  Unfortunately it means the quarterly report that's electronically submitted by QBO will be incorrect relating to Premium totals per employee (though total gross wages are correct), but I'm notifying WA ESD of the issue (I have a feeling they already know) and will pay the balance due manually until this is corrected.  BTW, my premium withholding % is still stuck at 0.4% where I set it in 2019!

Turn off the auto forms in you qb account and just go directly to the state page to file- then you know you have it correctly and don't have to rely on qb to make the pmts or file anything for you.  The state pages are easy to follow along and have help buttons and phone numbers that go to real, live, helpful people   GOOD LUCK!

Thanks, that's actually a good idea.  When we 1st moved the biz to WA in 2013 that's how I did all quarterly payroll reporting/payments.  Another option is to leave it set to auto and use QBO to electronically file only the ones it does correctly (WA unemployment & Federal) and do the remaining WA ones manually.  I did run across something in my research today that I believe said WA will only accept PFML filings electronically so I'll have to dig deeper into that. 

The problem that some/most are having is not the actual payment of the PFML, but the deductions that are taken during payroll, we have no way to change the rate and therefore not deducting enough, so at the end of the quarter the accrued amount from the employee is not enough and it is on the employer to pay for the difference. If they cannot get this figured out, I will be looking into changing who we use for our payroll, timeclock and accounting software. 

Filing is not the problem most are having, QB is not using the correct % rate when deducting for payroll so the employees are not paying the correct amount and the business is left responsible for the difference. Filing a form manually will do nothing, if this is not fixed by now, we will be looking elsewhere for our payroll, timeclock and accounting software needs, this cannot be that difficult to accomplish.