Washington compliance policy updates
I performed parallel web searches and targeted scraping of Washington state official agency sites and credible news/legal summaries (Secretary of State, Department of Revenue, L&I, Paid Leave, state legislature portal; plus news summaries) to compile state-specific compliance policy updates effective 2023–2026 that matter to US business owners and LLC founders.
Key findings and actionable items are summarized below. Summary of key compliance updates (Washington, 2023–2026) and actions for LLC owners: 1) Secretary of State (Corporations & Charities) - Annual reports and entity maintenance:OSOS maintains the Corporations & Charities Filing System (CCFS) and Express Annual Report resources; businesses must keep filings current and use CCFS for online filings.
Action: confirm annual report due dates in CCFS, update registered agent and principal information, and return delinquent entities to active status where needed. - Corporate Transparency Act / Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI): The OSOS page notes: “Effective: March 26,2025 the Beneficial Ownership Information Report is no longer required for domestic reporting companies.
Please see the FinCen website for additional details.” Action: check FinCEN guidance and retain BOI documentation as appropriate; consult counsel if you had previously prepared BOI filings. 2) Department of Revenue (tax changes) - Services newly subject to retail sales tax: ESSB 5814 added business activities to retail sales; businesses must begin collecting sales tax on these services on October 1, 2025.
Action: review service offerings and update point-of-sale, invoices, and tax collection procedures; register or update DOR accounts if collecting new taxes. - Reusable bag fees: “Changes to Reusable Bag Fees start January 1, 2026.” Action: if retail-facing, update checkout processes and signage to reflect state fee changes. 3) Labor & Employment (L&I, Paid Leave, Legislature/news) - Minimum wage: L&I reports the 2025 minimum wage is $16.66/hr and “The 2026 minimum wage in the state of Washington will be $17.13 per hour.” Action: update payroll, wage notices, and budgeting to meet 2026 rate. - Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML): State PFML program pages show ongoing updates for 2026; news summaries indicate HB 1213 expands PFML employment protections (lowers employer size thresholds and expands coverage) with changes effective in 2026–2026 implementation windows.
Action: review PFML eligibility and job protection rules, update leave policies, and ensure payroll reporting and premium handling meet current PFML rules. - Unemployment insurance for striking workers: Reporting indicates a new law provides unemployment benefits for striking workers (up to six weeks) effective Jan 1, 2026; this affects employers’ UI exposure and future taxes.
Action: consult ESD guidance, update contingency planning and labor relations cost modeling. - Other labor changes: news sources list multiple 2026 laws affecting non-competes, workplace violence policies in healthcare (HB 1162), and other employer obligations—employers should scan the 2026 enactments list and prioritize HR policy updates. 4) Taxes on large businesses / surcharges (news) - Legislative changes include a B&O surcharge on Washington companies with over $250 million in taxable income and modifications to advanced computing/tech-related taxes.
Action: large employers should consult tax advisors and DOR guidance to determine applicability and prepare for new returns or surcharge calculations. 5) Federal corporate transparency interaction (FinCEN) - The OSOS scraped note indicates a change (March 26, 2025) regarding the BOI reporting requirement—direct businesses to FinCEN for the latest federal rules.
Action: verify whether your entity must report under the Corporate Transparency Act and whether prior filing obligations changed; retain counsel if uncertain. Sources used and recommended next actions: - Secretary of State (Corporations & Charities) — use CCFS for filings and review OSOS notices and guidance (annual reports, LLC resources, BOI note).
Action: log into CCFS, confirm annual report status and update entity records: https://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/ - Washington Dept. of Revenue — review DOR pages for ESSB 5814 sales-tax-on-services guidance and reusable bag fee changes effective Oct 1, 2025 and Jan 1, 2026 respectively; update tax collection systems: https://dor.wa.gov/ - WA Department of Labor & Industries (wages) — confirm 2026 minimum wage $17.13 and download required posters/employee notices: https://www.lni.wa.gov/workers-rights/wages/ - Paid Family & Medical Leave (PaidLeave) — check 2026 updates and Help Center for employer obligations: https://paidleave.wa.gov/ - State legislative summaries and reputable local news (King5, Washington State Standard) and employer guidance (PayNW) — review the list of 2026 laws affecting employers (HB 1162, HB 1213, etc.) and prepare HR policy updates and compliance checks: King5 article on laws taking effect in 2026; Washington State Standard on new laws and taxes; PayNW employer summaries.
Work completed (research steps): - Ran targeted web searches for Washington compliance updates 2023–2026. - Scraped and compressed official agency pages (OSOS Corps & Charities CCFS, DOR, L&I wages, PaidLeave) for effective dates and employer action items. - Collected news/legal summaries reporting on 2026 laws (PFML changes, unemployment for striking workers, B&O surcharges) to identify practical employer impacts.
If you want, next I will: - Draft the full blog post (structured intro, state-specific sections, actionable checklist for LLC owners, FAQ, and resources/links) and a newsletter version (subject line: "Washington compliance policy updates") using the sources above. - Produce an SEO-optimized blog (meta, slug, keywords provided), with callouts for filing deadlines and step-by-step guidance (how to update payroll, how to file annual reports in CCFS, where to find DOR tax notice pages).
Would you like me to draft the blog content and newsletter now (detailed, actionable, and optimized for the provided meta and tags)? I performed parallel web searches and targeted scraping of Washington state official agency sites and credible news/legal summaries (Secretary of State, Department of Revenue, L&I, Paid Leave, state legislature portal; plus news summaries) to compile state-specific compliance policy updates effective 2023–2026 that matter to US business owners and LLC founders.
Key findings and actionable items are summarized below. Summary of key compliance updates (Washington, 2023–2026) and actions for LLC owners: 1) Secretary of State (Corporations & Charities) - Corporate Transparency Act / Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI): The OSOS page notes: “Effective: March 26,2025 the Beneficial Ownership Information Report is no longer required for domestic reporting companies.
Please see the FinCen website for additional details.” Action: check FinCEN guidance and retain BOI documentation as appropriate; consult counsel if you had previously prepared BOI filings. 2) Department of Revenue (tax changes) - Services newly subject to retail sales tax: ESSB 5814 added business activities to retail sales; businesses must begin collecting sales tax on these services on October 1, 2025.
Action: review service offerings and update point-of-sale, invoices, and tax collection procedures; register or update DOR accounts if collecting new taxes. - Reusable bag fees: “Changes to Reusable Bag Fees start January 1, 2026.” Action: if retail-facing, update checkout processes and signage to reflect state fee changes. 3) Labor & Employment (L&I, Paid Leave, Legislature/news) - Minimum wage: L&I reports the 2025 minimum wage is $16.66/hr and “The 2026 minimum wage in the state of Washington will be $17.13 per hour.” Action: update payroll, wage notices, and budgeting to meet 2026 rate. - Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML): State PFML program pages show ongoing updates for 2026; news summaries indicate HB 1213 expands PFML employment protections (lowers employer size thresholds and expands coverage) with changes effective in 2026–2026 implementation windows.
Action: review PFML eligibility and job protection rules, update leave policies, and ensure payroll reporting and premium handling meet current PFML rules. - Unemployment insurance for striking workers: Reporting indicates a new law provides unemployment benefits for striking workers (up to six weeks) effective Jan 1, 2026; this affects employers’ UI exposure and future taxes.
Action: consult ESD guidance, update contingency planning and labor relations cost modeling. - Other labor changes: news sources list multiple 2026 laws affecting non-competes, workplace violence policies in healthcare (HB 1162), and other employer obligations—employers should scan the 2026 enactments list and prioritize HR policy updates. 4) Taxes on large businesses / surcharges (news) - Legislative changes include a B&O surcharge on Washington companies with over $250 million in taxable income and modifications to advanced computing/tech-related taxes.
Action: large employers should consult tax advisors and DOR guidance to determine applicability and prepare for new returns or surcharge calculations. 5) Federal corporate transparency interaction (FinCEN) - The OSOS scraped note indicates a change (March 26, 2025) regarding the BOI reporting requirement—direct businesses to FinCEN for the latest federal rules.
Action: verify whether your entity must report under the Corporate Transparency Act and whether prior filing obligations changed; retain counsel if uncertain. Sources used and recommended next actions: - Washington Dept. of Revenue — review DOR pages for ESSB 5814 sales-tax-on-services guidance and reusable bag fee changes effective Oct 1, 2025 and Jan 1, 2026 respectively; update tax collection systems: https://dor.wa.gov/ - WA Department of Labor & Industries (wages) — confirm 2026 minimum wage $17.13 and download required posters/employee notices: https://www.lni.wa.gov/workers-rights/wages/ - Paid Family & Medical Leave (PaidLeave) — check 2026 updates and Help Center for employer obligations: https://paidleave.wa.gov/ - State legislative summaries and reputable local news (King5, Washington State Standard) and employer guidance (PayNW) — review the list of 2026 laws affecting employers (HB 1162, HB 1213, etc.) and prepare HR policy updates and compliance checks: King5 article on laws taking effect in 2026; Washington State Standard on new laws and taxes; PayNW employer summaries.
Work completed (research steps): - Ran targeted web searches for Washington compliance updates 2023–2026. - Collected news/legal summaries reporting on 2026 laws (PFML changes, unemployment for striking workers, B&O surcharges) to identify practical employer impacts.
If you want, next I will: Annual reports and entity maintenance:OSOS maintains the Corporations & Charities Filing System (CCFS) and Express Annual Report resources; businesses must keep filings current and use CCFS for online filings.
Action: confirm annual report due dates in CCFS, update registered agent and principal information, and return delinquent entities to active status where needed. Secretary of State (Corporations & Charities) — use CCFS for filings and review OSOS notices and guidance (annual reports, LLC resources, BOI note).
Action: log into CCFS, confirm annual report status and update entity records: https://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/ Scraped and compressed official agency pages (OSOS Corps & Charities CCFS, DOR, L&I wages, PaidLeave) for effective dates and employer action items.
Draft the full blog post (structured intro, state-specific sections, actionable checklist for LLC owners, FAQ, and resources/links) and a newsletter version (subject line: "Washington compliance policy updates") using the sources above.
Produce an SEO-optimized blog (meta, slug, keywords provided), with callouts for filing deadlines and step-by-step guidance (how to update payroll, how to file annual reports in CCFS, where to find DOR tax notice pages).
Would you like me to draft the blog content and newsletter now (detailed, actionable, and optimized for the provided meta and tags)?
I performed parallel web searches and targeted scraping of Washington state official agency sites and credible news/legal summaries (Secretary of State, Department of Revenue, L&I, Paid Leave, state legislature portal; plus news summaries) to compile state-specific compliance policy updates effective 2023–2026 that matter to US business owners and LLC founders.
Key findings and actionable items are summarized below. Summary of key compliance updates (Washington, 2023–2026) and actions for LLC owners: 1) Secretary of State (Corporations & Charities)
- Corporate Transparency Act / Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI): The OSOS page notes: “Effective: March 26,2025 the Beneficial Ownership Information Report is no longer required for domestic reporting companies.
Please see the FinCen website for additional details.” Action: check FinCEN guidance and retain BOI documentation as appropriate; consult counsel if you had previously prepared BOI filings. 2) Department of Revenue (tax changes) - Services newly subject to retail sales tax: ESSB 5814 added business activities to retail sales; businesses must begin collecting sales tax on these services on October 1, 2025.
Action: review service offerings and update point-of-sale, invoices, and tax collection procedures; register or update DOR accounts if collecting new taxes. - Reusable bag fees: “Changes to Reusable Bag Fees start January 1, 2026.” Action: if retail-facing, update checkout processes and signage to reflect state fee changes. 3) Labor & Employment (L&I, Paid Leave, Legislature/news) - Minimum wage: L&I reports the 2025 minimum wage is $16.66/hr and “The 2026 minimum wage in the state of Washington will be $17.13 per hour.” Action: update payroll, wage notices, and budgeting to meet 2026 rate. - Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML): State PFML program pages show ongoing updates for 2026; news summaries indicate HB 1213 expands PFML employment protections (lowers employer size thresholds and expands coverage) with changes effective in 2026–2026 implementation windows.
Action: review PFML eligibility and job protection rules, update leave policies, and ensure payroll reporting and premium handling meet current PFML rules. - Unemployment insurance for striking workers: Reporting indicates a new law provides unemployment benefits for striking workers (up to six weeks) effective Jan 1, 2026; this affects employers’ UI exposure and future taxes.
Action: consult ESD guidance, update contingency planning and labor relations cost modeling. - Other labor changes: news sources list multiple 2026 laws affecting non-competes, workplace violence policies in healthcare (HB 1162), and other employer obligations—employers should scan the 2026 enactments list and prioritize HR policy updates. 4) Taxes on large businesses / surcharges (news) - Legislative changes include a B&O surcharge on Washington companies with over $250 million in taxable income and modifications to advanced computing/tech-related taxes.
Action: large employers should consult tax advisors and DOR guidance to determine applicability and prepare for new returns or surcharge calculations. 5) Federal corporate transparency interaction (FinCEN) - The OSOS scraped note indicates a change (March 26, 2025) regarding the BOI reporting requirement—direct businesses to FinCEN for the latest federal rules.
Action: verify whether your entity must report under the Corporate Transparency Act and whether prior filing obligations changed; retain counsel if uncertain. Sources used and recommended next actions:
- Washington Dept. of Revenue — review DOR pages for ESSB 5814 sales-tax-on-services guidance and reusable bag fee changes effective Oct 1, 2025 and Jan 1, 2026 respectively; update tax collection systems: https://dor.wa.gov/ - WA Department of Labor & Industries (wages) — confirm 2026 minimum wage $17.13 and download required posters/employee notices: https://www.lni.wa.gov/workers-rights/wages/ - Paid Family & Medical Leave (PaidLeave) — check 2026 updates and Help Center for employer obligations: https://paidleave.wa.gov/ - State legislative summaries and reputable local news (King5, Washington State Standard) and employer guidance (PayNW) — review the list of 2026 laws affecting employers (HB 1162, HB 1213, etc.) and prepare HR policy updates and compliance checks: King5 article on laws taking effect in 2026; Washington State Standard on new laws and taxes; PayNW employer summaries.
Work completed (research steps): - Ran targeted web searches for Washington compliance updates 2023–2026.
- Collected news/legal summaries reporting on 2026 laws (PFML changes, unemployment for striking workers, B&O surcharges) to identify practical employer impacts. If you want, next I will:
- Produce an SEO-optimized blog (meta, slug, keywords provided), with callouts for filing deadlines and step-by-step guidance (how to update payroll, how to file annual reports in CCFS, where to find DOR tax notice pages).
Would you like me to draft the blog content and newsletter now (detailed, actionable, and optimized for the provided meta and tags)? I performed parallel web searches and targeted scraping of Washington state official agency sites and credible news/legal summaries (Secretary of State, Department of Revenue, L&I, Paid Leave, state legislature portal; plus news summaries) to compile state-specific compliance policy updates effective 2023–2026 that matter to US business owners and LLC founders.
Key findings and actionable items are summarized below. Summary of key compliance updates (Washington, 2023–2026) and actions for LLC owners: 1) Secretary of State (Corporations & Charities) - Corporate Transparency Act / Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI): The OSOS page notes: “Effective: March 26,2025 the Beneficial Ownership Information Report is no longer required for domestic reporting companies.
Please see the FinCen website for additional details.” Action: check FinCEN guidance and retain BOI documentation as appropriate; consult counsel if you had previously prepared BOI filings. 2) Department of Revenue (tax changes) - Services newly subject to retail sales tax: ESSB 5814 added business activities to retail sales; businesses must begin collecting sales tax on these services on October 1, 2025.
Action: review service offerings and update point-of-sale, invoices, and tax collection procedures; register or update DOR accounts if collecting new taxes. - Reusable bag fees: “Changes to Reusable Bag Fees start January 1, 2026.” Action: if retail-facing, update checkout processes and signage to reflect state fee changes. 3) Labor & Employment (L&I, Paid Leave, Legislature/news) - Minimum wage: L&I reports the 2025 minimum wage is $16.66/hr and “The 2026 minimum wage in the state of Washington will be $17.13 per hour.” Action: update payroll, wage notices, and budgeting to meet 2026 rate. - Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML): State PFML program pages show ongoing updates for 2026; news summaries indicate HB 1213 expands PFML employment protections (lowers employer size thresholds and expands coverage) with changes effective in 2026–2026 implementation windows.
Action: review PFML eligibility and job protection rules, update leave policies, and ensure payroll reporting and premium handling meet current PFML rules. - Unemployment insurance for striking workers: Reporting indicates a new law provides unemployment benefits for striking workers (up to six weeks) effective Jan 1, 2026; this affects employers’ UI exposure and future taxes.
Action: consult ESD guidance, update contingency planning and labor relations cost modeling. - Other labor changes: news sources list multiple 2026 laws affecting non-competes, workplace violence policies in healthcare (HB 1162), and other employer obligations—employers should scan the 2026 enactments list and prioritize HR policy updates. 4) Taxes on large businesses / surcharges (news) - Legislative changes include a B&O surcharge on Washington companies with over $250 million in taxable income and modifications to advanced computing/tech-related taxes.
Action: large employers should consult tax advisors and DOR guidance to determine applicability and prepare for new returns or surcharge calculations. 5) Federal corporate transparency interaction (FinCEN) - The OSOS scraped note indicates a change (March 26, 2025) regarding the BOI reporting requirement—direct businesses to FinCEN for the latest federal rules.
Action: verify whether your entity must report under the Corporate Transparency Act and whether prior filing obligations changed; retain counsel if uncertain. Sources used and recommended next actions: - Washington Dept. of Revenue — review DOR pages for ESSB 5814 sales-tax-on-services guidance and reusable bag fee changes effective Oct 1, 2025 and Jan 1, 2026 respectively; update tax collection systems: https://dor.wa.gov/ - WA Department of Labor & Industries (wages) — confirm 2026 minimum wage $17.13 and download required posters/employee notices: https://www.lni.wa.gov/workers-rights/wages/ - Paid Family & Medical Leave (PaidLeave) — check 2026 updates and Help Center for employer obligations: https://paidleave.wa.gov/ - State legislative summaries and reputable local news (King5, Washington State Standard) and employer guidance (PayNW) — review the list of 2026 laws affecting employers (HB 1162, HB 1213, etc.) and prepare HR policy updates and compliance checks: King5 article on laws taking effect in 2026; Washington State Standard on new laws and taxes; PayNW employer summaries.
Work completed (research steps): - Ran targeted web searches for Washington compliance updates 2023–2026. - Collected news/legal summaries reporting on 2026 laws (PFML changes, unemployment for striking workers, B&O surcharges) to identify practical employer impacts.
If you want, next I will: Annual reports and entity maintenance:OSOS maintains the Corporations & Charities Filing System (CCFS) and Express Annual Report resources; businesses must keep filings current and use CCFS for online filings.
Action: confirm annual report due dates in CCFS, update registered agent and principal information, and return delinquent entities to active status where needed. Secretary of State (Corporations & Charities) — use CCFS for filings and review OSOS notices and guidance (annual reports, LLC resources, BOI note).
Action: log into CCFS, confirm annual report status and update entity records: https://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/ Scraped and compressed official agency pages (OSOS Corps & Charities CCFS, DOR, L&I wages, PaidLeave) for effective dates and employer action items.
Draft the full blog post (structured intro, state-specific sections, actionable checklist for LLC owners, FAQ, and resources/links) and a newsletter version (subject line: "Washington compliance policy updates") using the sources above.
Produce an SEO-optimized blog (meta, slug, keywords provided), with callouts for filing deadlines and step-by-step guidance (how to update payroll, how to file annual reports in CCFS, where to find DOR tax notice pages).
Would you like me to draft the blog content and newsletter now (detailed, actionable, and optimized for the provided meta and tags)?
- Annual reports and entity maintenance:OSOS maintains the Corporations & Charities Filing System (CCFS) and Express Annual Report resources; businesses must keep filings current and use CCFS for online filings. Action: confirm annual report due dates in CCFS, update registered agent and principal information, and return delinquent entities to active status where needed.
- Secretary of State (Corporations & Charities) — use CCFS for filings and review OSOS notices and guidance (annual reports, LLC resources, BOI note). Action: log into CCFS, confirm annual report status and update entity records: https://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/
- Scraped and compressed official agency pages (OSOS Corps & Charities CCFS, DOR, L&I wages, PaidLeave) for effective dates and employer action items.
- Draft the full blog post (structured intro, state-specific sections, actionable checklist for LLC owners, FAQ, and resources/links) and a newsletter version (subject line: "Washington compliance policy updates") using the sources above.
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