Key figures
Nebraska payroll
2026, with sources
A $15 minimum wage and a sick time law
Nebraska voters raised the minimum wage in steps to $15.00 on January 1, 2026. The legislature then passed LB 258, signed February 9, 2026, which replaces the voter-approved inflation indexing with a fixed 1.75% increase each January starting in 2027, published by the Department of Labor each October 15. Tipped employees keep a $2.13 cash wage.
Voters also approved paid sick time in 2024. Before it took effect on October 1, 2025, LB 415 narrowed it: employers with 10 or fewer employees are exempt; covered employees accrue one hour per 30 hours worked after an 80-hour waiting period; and employers can cap accrual and use at 40 hours (11–19 employees) or 56 hours (20 or more). There is no state-run paid family leave or disability insurance program.
Withholding and unemployment
Register for withholding with the Department of Revenue on Form 20, collect a Nebraska W-4N from each employee (Nebraska uses its own form), file Form 941N on the assigned schedule and the W-3N reconciliation by January 31. The 2026 tables top out at 4.55%. Nebraska has no city or county income taxes.
Register with the Department of Labor for unemployment insurance. In 2026 most employers pay on the first $9,000 of each employee’s wages; employers in the highest-rate category pay on the first $24,000. New non-construction employers pay 1.25%, construction employers 5.40%.
What changes at the eleventh hire
Picture a startup in Omaha growing from 6 to 12 people during 2026. At 6 it pays at least $15.00 an hour, withholds Nebraska tax and pays unemployment tax on the first $9,000 at 1.25% — about $113 a person. At its eleventh employee it becomes subject to the paid sick time law and needs an accrual policy and the required notice in place. Report each hire to the state new-hire registry within 20 days.
Deadlines
- On the schedule DOR assignsNebraska withholding return941N
- Jan 31Annual reconciliation with W-2sW-3N
- Last day of the month after the quarterQuarterly UI combined tax report to NDOL
The federal baseline
This page covers what Nebraska adds. The federal rules underneath it apply here too.
Common questions
What is Nebraska’s minimum wage in 2026, and what happens next?
$15.00 an hour from January 1, 2026, the last step voters approved in 2022. LB 258, signed in February 2026, replaces inflation indexing with a fixed 1.75% increase each January from 2027, published by the Department of Labor by October 15 the year before.
When does a Nebraska startup have to provide paid sick time?
Once it has 11 or more employees. Accrual is one hour for every 30 hours worked, beginning after the employee’s first 80 hours. Employers with 11–19 employees can cap accrual and use at 40 hours a year, and those with 20 or more at 56 hours. LB 415 removed the private right of action, so the Department of Labor enforces it.
Payroll next door
- SDSouth Dakota payrollNo state withholding and no paid leave program. A new employer pays 1.20% Reemployment Assistance tax plus a 0.55% investment fee on the first $15,000 of wages.
- IAIowa payrollIowa withholds a flat 3.8%, cut its 2026 unemployment wage base to $20,400 with a 1.0% new-employer rate, and requires new hires reported within 15 days.
- MOMissouri payrollMissouri’s 2026 minimum wage is $15.00 with no inflation indexing after HB 567, and the Prop A sick leave mandate is gone. Kansas City and St. Louis add a 1% earnings tax.
- KSKansas payrollKansas withholds at 5.2% and 5.58%, charges new employers 1.75% on a $15,100 wage base that rises each year to 2030, and has no local payroll tax.
- COColorado payrollWithholding, UI and FAMLI are three accounts with three quarterly filings. FAMLI is 0.88% in 2026, and Denver adds a higher minimum wage and a monthly head tax.
- WYWyoming payrollWyoming payroll has no income tax withholding: UI on the first $33,800 at an industry rate, state-fund workers’ comp for extra-hazardous industries, and final pay on the next payday.
How Nebraska compares
- No tax on wagesStates with no state income tax on wagesNebraska: withholds state income tax. 9 of 51 states are on the list.
- Paid leave payrollStates with a paid leave or disability payroll programNebraska: no state program. 16 of 51 states are on the list.
- Local payroll taxStates with city, county or district payroll taxesNebraska: state-level only. 14 of 51 states are on the list.
Founder guides on this
- PeopleContractor or employee? Classification for startupsContractor or employee depends on control, not the contract. The IRS test, state rules, 1099s, payroll registration and the cost of getting it wrong.
- ComplianceFirst-year compliance calendar for a Delaware C-corpDelaware franchise tax, 1099s, the federal return, payroll filings, state annual reports and sales tax: the deadlines a young C-corp misses most, by month.
More of the Nebraska guide
- AccountingAccounting and state tax in NebraskaCorporate tax, conformity to federal rules, apportionment and what it does to your books
- ReceivablesReceivables and sales tax in NebraskaSales tax registration, economic nexus, whether SaaS is taxable, and collecting from customers
- PayablesPayables and contractors in NebraskaPaying vendors and contractors: 1099 filing, use tax, contractor tests and withholding
- ComplianceCompliance and filings in NebraskaRegistering to do business, annual reports, franchise tax and the filing calendar
- AdvisoryAdvisory: credits and decisions in NebraskaCredits, incentives and the decisions that are cheaper to get right the first time
Sources
Checked against each agency’s own page on . Rates and thresholds change, usually on January 1.
General information for US companies, not tax, legal or accounting advice for yours. Rules and thresholds change; confirm the specifics with a CPA or the agency before you act on them.