The Employment Security Department (ESD) is offering a free webinar Friday, June 3 at 11:00 AM to provide more information about Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) requirements. SOC is a federal system that helps government agencies and private businesses compare occupational data. While employers can currently elect to include SOC codes when submitting quarterly tax reports, reporting SOC codes is not mandatory. However, beginning with employers’ 2022 fourth quarter tax report, which will be due Jan. 31, 2023, SOC code reporting will be required, and employers could face a penalty for incorrect or incomplete reporting. The deadline for each 2023 quarterly tax report, which must include SOC codes, can be found on the ESD FAQ page.

There are currently 867 occupation codes, each made up of six numbers, and dentistry codes can be found below:

• Dentists, General; 29-1021
• Dentists, All Other Specialists; 29-1029
• Dental Hygienists; 29-1292
• Dental Assistants; 31-9091
• Dental Laboratory Technicians; 51-9081
• Expanded Function Dental Auxiliary; 31-9099
• Dental Front Office Staff; 43-6013

ESD has compiled resources to assist employers in complying with this new requirement, including a short instructional video, a link to an SOC code search tool, and a free webinar. The webinar will be held on Friday, June 3 from 11:00-11:45 AM, and will review when SOC code reporting will be mandatory, how to look up SOC codes as well as how to add SOC codes with keyed or imported wage data.

Those interested can sign up for the webinar here, and further questions on SOC codes or how to use them in quarterly tax reports can be directed to socreporting@esd.wa.gov.

Webinar Registration