Key figures
Nevada payroll
2026, with sources
Unemployment insurance and the MBT
Nevada doesn’t tax wages, so there is no withholding account. An employer opens an unemployment insurance account with the Employment Security Division, which charges contributions on the first $43,700 of each employee’s 2026 wages. A new employer pays the 2.95% standard rate until it has the history to be experience-rated; experience-rated employers fall into one of 18 classes from 0.25% to 5.4%. Most employers also pay 0.05% on the same wages for the Career Enhancement Program, so a new employer’s total is 3.00%.
Being subject to Nevada unemployment law also makes the employer subject to the Modified Business Tax: 1.17% of gross wages for general businesses, less employer-paid health benefits, with the first $50,000 of each quarter’s wages exempt. Financial institutions and mining companies pay 1.554% with no exemption. Employer-paid medical, dental and vision premiums are deductible; employer HSA contributions are not.
Wage rules
The Labor Commissioner enforces wages, overtime and Nevada’s paid leave law, which requires private employers with 50 or more employees in Nevada to provide at least 0.01923 hours of paid leave per hour worked — about 40 hours a year for a full-time employee — usable for any reason.
- Minimum wage: $12.00 an hour, no tip credit.
- Daily overtime after 8 hours for employees paid under 1.5× the minimum wage ($18.00 an hour), unless they agree to a schedule of four 10-hour days.
- Final pay: immediately on discharge; on a resignation, by the next payday or within 7 days, whichever is earlier.
- Workers’ compensation: required with any employee.
An example
A startup hiring its first engineer in Las Vegas at $150,000 a year registers with ESD and the Department of Taxation, reports the hire within 20 days, and buys workers’ compensation. It withholds no state tax. Unemployment insurance at 3.00% on the first $43,700 comes to $1,311 for the year. The engineer’s $37,500 a quarter is under the $50,000 MBT exemption, so the MBT return shows nothing due; with a second engineer at the same salary, quarterly wages of $75,000 leave $25,000 taxable before any health-benefit deduction, or $292.50 of MBT a quarter.
Deadlines
- Quarterly — Apr 30, Jul 31, Oct 31, Jan 31ESD contribution and wage reportNUCS-4072
- Quarterly — Apr 30, Jul 31, Oct 31, Jan 31Modified Business Tax return
- Within 20 days of hireNew-hire report
The federal baseline
This page covers what Nevada adds. The federal rules underneath it apply here too.
Common questions
What is the MBT?
The Modified Business Tax: 1.17% of wages for most businesses, after subtracting employer-paid health benefits and the first $50,000 of wages each quarter. Financial institutions and mining companies pay 1.554% with no exemption. Every employer subject to Nevada unemployment law files a quarterly MBT return, even when nothing is due, and the Department of Taxation resumed comparing MBT wages against wages reported for unemployment insurance on January 1, 2026.
Does Nevada have daily overtime?
For employees whose regular rate is less than one and a half times the minimum wage, Nevada requires overtime after 8 hours in a 24-hour period as well as after 40 hours in a week. Salaried exempt employees and higher-paid hourly employees are outside the daily rule.
Payroll next door
- CACalifornia payrollCalifornia payroll runs through one EDD account — UI at 3.4% for new employers, ETT, and 1.3% SDI with no wage cap — under a $16.90 minimum wage, daily overtime and same-day final pay.
- OROregon payrollOregon payroll layers state withholding, 2.4% new-employer UI on $56,700 and 1% Paid Leave Oregon with transit taxes and, around Portland, Metro and Multnomah County income taxes.
- IDIdaho payrollIdaho payroll is lean: 5.3% flat withholding, a 1.000% standard UI rate on $58,300, workers’ comp from employee one, the federal minimum wage and no paid leave premiums.
- UTUtah payrollA flat 4.45% income tax, a $50,700 UI wage base with industry-average rates for new employers, the federal minimum wage and a 24-hour final-pay rule.
- AZArizona payrollA flat 2.5% income tax withheld at the employee’s Form A-4 election, UI on the first $8,000 of wages, a $15.15 minimum wage and earned paid sick time from the first employee.
How Nevada compares
- No tax on wagesStates with no state income tax on wagesNevada: no state income tax on wages. 9 of 51 states are on the list.
- Paid leave payrollStates with a paid leave or disability payroll programNevada: no state program. 16 of 51 states are on the list.
- Local payroll taxStates with city, county or district payroll taxesNevada: 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 Nevada guide
- AccountingAccounting and state tax in NevadaCorporate tax, conformity to federal rules, apportionment and what it does to your books
- 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
- 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.
- Nevada Department of Taxation — Modified Business Tax
- Nevada DETR Employment Security Division — UI information for employers
- Nevada Revised Statutes, chapter 612 — Unemployment Compensation
- Nevada Legislative Counsel Bureau — Regulation R063-25 (2026 UI contribution rate schedule)
- Nevada Labor Commissioner — 2026 Minimum Wage Bulletin
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.