Washington · Payroll closure
Close a Washington payroll tax account.
Washington has no state income tax, so there is no withholding account to close, which sounds like less work. It is not. Employment Security, the Department of Revenue, and Labor and Industries each hold an account, and a corporation cannot dissolve at all until Revenue issues a clearance certificate.
Who you are dealing with
Washington Employment Security Department
- Handles:
- Unemployment insurance employer account
- System:
- Employer Account Management Services
- Form:
- EMS-8050, Employer Account Closure Request. Quarterly reports must be current and outstanding unemployment tax paid before it is submitted
Washington Department of Revenue
- Handles:
- Business licence and excise tax account
- System:
- My DOR
- Form:
- Close my account in My DOR, plus a final excise tax return. Corporations also need a Revenue Clearance Certificate before the Secretary of State will accept a dissolution
Washington Department of Labor and Industries
- Handles:
- Workers' compensation account
- System:
- L&I employer account
- Form:
- Closed separately from both of the above
State fee. $0. None of the three agencies charges to close an account. A Revenue Clearance Certificate is likewise issued without a fee, but only to a business that is current.
When you have to close
You close when you stop having Washington employees or stop doing business in the state. The deadlines run fast: the final quarterly Unemployment Tax and Wage Report is due within 10 days of closure, and the final excise tax return with payment is due by the 25th of the following month.
Final returns come first
File the final quarterly Unemployment Tax and Wage Report within 10 days of closure, and file it even if you had no employees and no payroll in that quarter. Complete the excise tax return and pay outstanding tax by the 25th of the following month. Employment Security will not process the closure request while quarterly reports are outstanding.
How long it takes
Washington does not publish a processing time for the account closures. The Revenue Clearance Certificate is the item that gates a corporate dissolution, so for a corporation the practical timeline is however long that certificate takes rather than the closures themselves.
What we do
We confirm which accounts are open, file the final returns if they are still outstanding, submit the cancellation to each agency, and follow up until both are confirmed closed. You get the written confirmations. One flat price, and the state charges nothing to close.
What makes Washington harder than average
- Three agencies, not two. Employment Security, the Department of Revenue, and Labor and Industries each hold something. Most states make you chase two. Washington makes you chase three, and none of them tells the others.
- A corporation cannot dissolve until Revenue says so. The Secretary of State wants a Revenue Clearance Certificate with the dissolution, which means the tax side has to be clean before the entity side can even start. Businesses that begin with the Secretary of State discover this in the wrong order.
- Ten days for the final quarterly report, and a zero quarter still counts. Submit the final report even if there were no employees and no payroll. Assuming there is nothing to file is how the closure request gets rejected.
- The closure request has a prerequisite. Employment Security wants your quarterly reports current and your unemployment tax paid before it will take EMS-8050. Filing the form first does not start the clock, it just gets it returned.
Questions and answers
Washington has no income tax. Is there anything to close?
Yes, and more than most states. There is no withholding account because there is no state income tax, but Employment Security holds the unemployment account, the Department of Revenue holds the business licence and excise account, and Labor and Industries holds workers' compensation. Three closures.
Why is my dissolution being held up?
Most likely the Revenue Clearance Certificate. Corporations need one from the Department of Revenue to include with the dissolution submitted to the Secretary of State, and Revenue will not issue it to a business that is not current.
Do I have to file a quarterly report with no payroll?
Yes. Washington asks for the final quarterly Unemployment Tax and Wage Report within 10 days of closure, and it wants it submitted even if you had no employees or no payroll in that quarter.
How long do I keep the records?
Washington asks businesses to keep their records for five years after closing. That is longer than people expect and worth knowing before the filing cabinet goes to the tip.
What do you need from me to start?
The legal name and UBI number, the Employment Security account number, whether you are a corporation that needs a clearance certificate, the closure date, and the status of your quarterly reports and excise returns.
Agency details verified 2026-08-03