Key figures
Nevada accounting
2026, with sources
- Commerce Tax threshold
- $4 millionNevada gross revenue in a fiscal year ending June 30; below it, no tax.
- Commerce Tax rate
- 0.051% – 0.331%26 industry categories by NAICS code, applied to Nevada gross revenue above $4 million.
- Software and data processing rate
- 0.253%Publishing, software and data processing (NAICS 512, 513, 516, 518); professional services (NAICS 54) pay 0.181%.
No income tax, two business taxes
Nevada levies no corporate income tax, so there is no Nevada return built from federal taxable income, no conformity question and no apportionment of profit. What it has instead are two taxes measured by something other than profit: the Commerce Tax on Nevada gross revenue, and the Modified Business Tax on wages.
The Commerce Tax applies only to businesses with more than $4 million of Nevada gross revenue in a fiscal year running to June 30, at a rate set for the business’s industry. The return is due 45 days after the year ends — August 14, 2026 for the 2025–26 year. Below the threshold no tax is due and no return is required, and an early-stage company is far below it.
How the Commerce Tax is measured
The statute sets 26 rates, one per industry category defined by NAICS code, from 0.051% for mining to 0.331% for rail transportation. Publishing, software and data processing — the category most software companies fall into — pays 0.253%; professional, scientific and technical services pay 0.181%. The rate applies only to Nevada gross revenue above $4,000,000, and a business is taxed in the category where it earns the largest share of its Nevada revenue, designated on its first return.
Gross revenue is sitused to Nevada by rule. Goods count where they are delivered. Services, including software sold as a service, count in proportion to where the customer receives the benefit, so a company has to know where its customers use what they buy. Half of the Commerce Tax paid can then be taken as a credit against the Modified Business Tax in the four quarters after the year ends; anything unused expires and is not refunded.
Where the costs land in the books
Because neither tax is measured by net income, neither normally belongs in the ASC 740 income tax provision. The MBT is a payroll cost, accrued each quarter alongside unemployment insurance; the Commerce Tax, once it applies, is an operating expense accrued over the fiscal year. A Nevada company’s tax footnote is often just the federal provision and a sentence explaining why there is no state line.
Nevada’s fiscal year for the Commerce Tax doesn’t match a calendar-year company’s books. A company that crosses $4 million of Nevada revenue partway through its calendar year has to measure revenue on the July–June cycle to know whether, and when, the tax applies.
An example
A Delaware SaaS company with five engineers in Reno and $1.5 million of revenue, a third of it from Nevada customers, owes no Commerce Tax and no income tax to Nevada. Its Nevada costs are the MBT on its quarterly payroll above the exempt amount, unemployment insurance, and the yearly Secretary of State filings.
The federal baseline
This page covers what Nevada adds. The federal rules underneath it apply here too.
Common questions
Does Nevada have a corporate income tax?
No. Nevada has no corporate or personal income tax. Its business taxes are the Commerce Tax, on Nevada gross revenue above $4 million a year, and the Modified Business Tax, on payroll. Neither starts from federal taxable income, so Section 174, bonus depreciation and NOLs don’t enter the Nevada calculation at all.
How is the Commerce Tax calculated once we pass $4 million?
Only on the part above $4 million. The statute subtracts $4,000,000 from Nevada gross revenue for the July–June year and multiplies the rest by the rate for the business’s category. A software company with $6 million of Nevada gross revenue owes ($6,000,000 − $4,000,000) × 0.253% = $5,060. A company at or below $4 million files nothing; the Department may not require a return.
Do the Commerce Tax or MBT belong in the tax provision?
Not usually. A tax on gross receipts without deductions for expenses is generally not an income tax under ASC 740; it is booked as an operating expense, like a sales-based tax. The MBT is a payroll tax and sits with payroll taxes. Confirm the classification with whoever reviews your provision.
Accounting next door
- CACalifornia accountingCalifornia taxes corporations at 8.84% with an $800 minimum franchise tax, apportions by a single sales factor with market sourcing, and does not follow federal Section 174 amortization or bonus depreciation.
- OROregon accountingOregon taxes corporations twice: a 6.6%/7.6% excise tax on income with a sales-based minimum, and a 0.57% Corporate Activity Tax on Oregon receipts over $1 million.
- IDIdaho accountingIdaho taxes corporations at a flat 5.3% with a $20 minimum, apportions by a single sales factor, and conforms to the Internal Revenue Code as of January 1, 2026, except bonus depreciation.
- UTUtah accountingUtah’s corporate franchise and income tax is 4.45% of net income for 2026, with a $100 minimum, apportioned on sales for most companies.
- AZArizona accountingA 4.9% corporate income tax with a $50 minimum, on an Internal Revenue Code frozen at a fixed date the legislature moves each year — to January 1, 2026 as of June 2026.
Founder guides on this
- US GAAPUS GAAP for early-stage startups, in plain EnglishAccrual accounting, revenue recognition (ASC 606), leases (ASC 842), stock compensation and capitalized software: what each means for a small company.
- FundraisingAudit-ready books before your Series AInvestors, lenders and auditors ask for the same things: accrual statements, reconciled accounts and support for every balance. How to be ready first.
- The closeWhy startups should close their books every monthA monthly close turns a bank balance into numbers an investor, an auditor or a 409A firm will accept. What it is, and why it gets expensive to skip.
More of the Nevada guide
- ReceivablesReceivables and sales tax in NevadaSales tax registration, economic nexus, whether SaaS is taxable, and collecting from customers
- PayablesPayables and contractors in NevadaPaying vendors and contractors: 1099 filing, use tax, contractor tests and withholding
- PayrollPayroll taxes and employer rules in NevadaWithholding, unemployment insurance, paid leave, minimum wage and the rules on paydays
- ComplianceCompliance and filings in NevadaRegistering to do business, annual reports, franchise tax and the filing calendar
- AdvisoryAdvisory: credits and decisions in NevadaCredits, 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.