Washington nonprofit compliance calendar 2026: the filings and due dates

Each filing, in plain English

Washington business and occupation tax return

When: by the last day of the 1st month after each quarter. Where: Washington Department of Revenue. Fee: Tax on gross receipts at a rate set by activity; small businesses get a credit that can reduce it to zero. If missed: 9% late penalty, rising to 29%.

Washington has no income tax. Businesses pay a business and occupation tax on gross receipts instead, filed on the Department of Revenue's combined excise tax return. The Department assigns a monthly, quarterly or annual schedule; quarterly returns are due by the last day of the month after the quarter and annual returns by April 15. Dates here assume quarterly. A nonprofit owes the tax on business income only: contributions, grants and qualifying fundraising income are not taxed, and a nonprofit with no business income may have nothing to file.

Washington Paid Leave and WA Cares premium report

When: by the last day of the 1st month after each quarter. Where: Washington Employment Security Department. If missed: Interest and late penalties set by the program on premiums paid late.

Washington's Paid Family and Medical Leave and WA Cares Fund premiums are a percentage of wages set each year, split between employer and employee (employers with fewer than 50 employees pay no employer share of Paid Leave), and reported every quarter to the Employment Security Department on a report of its own. The rate is set by the program each year, so the figure on the agency page is the one to use, and a payroll provider normally files the report.

Washington unemployment insurance wage report

When: by the last day of the 1st month after each quarter. Where: Washington unemployment insurance agency. If missed: Late filing and payment penalties set by the state, plus loss of the federal FUTA credit if contributions are not paid on time.

An employer registers for unemployment insurance in each state where it has employees and files a wage report every quarter, by the last day of the month after the quarter in nearly every state: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. The contribution rate is set by the state each year. Paying on time also earns the 5.4% credit against the federal unemployment tax.

Washington workers' compensation premium report

When: by the last day of the 1st month after each quarter. Where: Washington Department of Labor and Industries (Quarterly report through My L&I). Fee: Premium by risk class and hours worked, part of it withheld from employees. If missed: Late filing penalties and interest; an employer that stops reporting loses coverage.

Washington employers buy workers' compensation from the state fund, run by the Department of Labor and Industries, and report hours and pay the premium every quarter: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. The report is separate from the unemployment wage report, though due the same day, and a payroll provider usually files both.

Written acknowledgments to donors

When: by January 31 each year. Where: IRS (Contemporaneous written acknowledgment). If missed: The donor loses the deduction; the organization owes $10 per disclosure, up to $5,000 per event, for failing to disclose quid pro quo contributions over $75.

A donor cannot deduct a gift of $250 or more without a written acknowledgment from the charity, received before the donor files their return. The law sets no date for the charity, but January 31 is the working deadline that keeps every donor's return on time, and it matches the W-2 and 1099 season. The acknowledgment names the amount, says whether the donor received anything in return, and values it if so. Gifts over $75 made partly in exchange for goods or services need the disclosure at the time of the gift.

Quarterly federal payroll tax return

When: by the last day of the 1st month after each quarter. Where: IRS (Form 941). If missed: 5% of the unpaid tax for each month late, up to 25%, plus failure to deposit penalties of 2% to 15%.

Nearly every employer files Form 941 four times a year, by the last day of the month after each quarter: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. It reconciles what was withheld from employees and what the employer owes in Social Security and Medicare tax against the deposits already made. The smallest employers, those the IRS has told to file Form 944 because their annual liability is $1,000 or less, file once a year by January 31 instead. A payroll provider normally files it; the company is still the one liable.

W-2 forms to employees and the SSA

When: by January 31 each year. Where: Social Security Administration (Forms W-2 and W-3). If missed: $60 to $340 per form depending on how late (the figures for forms due in 2026, adjusted yearly), with no cap for intentional disregard.

Employees need their W-2 to file their own taxes, so the deadline is early: January 31, both for the copy to the employee and the copy to the Social Security Administration. Penalties are per form and grow the longer the forms are late. Payroll providers prepare and file these as part of year end.

Annual return of an exempt organization

When: by the 15th day of the 5th month after the fiscal year ends (May 15 for a calendar year). Where: IRS (Form 990). If missed: $25 a day, up to the lesser of $13,000 or 5% of gross receipts ($130 a day up to $65,000 for organizations with gross receipts over $1,309,500); the figures are for returns filed in 2026 and are adjusted yearly; automatic loss of exemption after three missed years.

An exempt organization with gross receipts of $200,000 or more, or total assets of $500,000 or more, files the full Form 990 by the 15th day of the fifth month after its fiscal year ends, May 15 for a calendar year. It is an information return rather than a tax return, but it is the most read document a nonprofit produces: it is public, it carries the governance questions, the compensation of officers and the public support test. Form 8868 gives an automatic six month extension; the penalty for a late return runs by the day.

Washington charitable organization registration renewal

When: by the last day of the 11th month after the fiscal year ends (the last day of November for a calendar year). Where: Washington Secretary of State, Charities Program. Fee: $40. If missed: $50 late fee and expiration of the registration.

A charity that solicits in Washington registers with the Secretary of State's Charities Program and renews every year by the end of the eleventh month after its fiscal year ends, November 30 for a calendar year. The renewal fee is $40. Charities raising under $50,000 a year with no paid staff, religious organizations and political organizations are exempt but may register voluntarily.