Nevada payroll tax for employers

Nevada has no state income tax to withhold from wages - but unemployment insurance still applies.

Unemployment insurance only

What Nevada requires

Nevada does not tax wages, so there is no state income tax withholding to run. That is not the same as having no state payroll obligation. Every state operates an unemployment insurance system, and an employer with an employee in Nevada must still register with the state workforce agency, report wages and pay contributions. Reading "no income tax" as "nothing owed to the state" is the single most common way employers here end up unregistered and assessed for back quarters.

What to do

  1. Register for a Nevada unemployment insurance account with the state workforce agency before the first payroll.
  2. File quarterly wage reports even in quarters with no wages, unless the agency says otherwise.
  3. Do not set up a state withholding account - there is no wage income tax to withhold.
  4. Check for any Nevada paid leave, disability or training-fund contributions, which exist independently of an income tax.
  5. Keep federal obligations - Form 941 and Form 940 - running as normal; they are unaffected.

Rates and wage bases

Your unemployment insurance rate is assigned to your business specifically and revised each year, and the taxable wage base changes most years too. Those numbers come from the Nevada agencies rather than from this page - anything quoted here would be stale within a year, and an employer relying on a stale wage base underpays.

State agency directory

Common questions

Do I need a Nevada withholding account?

No. Nevada does not tax wages, so there is no state income tax to withhold and no withholding account to open. You still register for unemployment insurance.

Do I owe Nevada unemployment insurance?

Yes. Every state and the District of Columbia runs an unemployment insurance system, and an employer with an employee working in Nevada registers with the state workforce agency, reports wages quarterly and pays contributions. This applies whether or not the state taxes wages.

What are the Nevada rates and wage base?

They come from the state agencies, not from here. Unemployment rates are assigned per employer and revised annually, wage bases change most years, and withholding tables are reissued. A page that quoted a figure would be wrong within a year, and an employer relying on a stale wage base underpays and finds out at assessment.

Does this replace my federal payroll filings?

No. Form 941 and Form 940 are federal and continue regardless of which state your employees are in. State registration is in addition to them, never instead.

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