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Insurance offered through OnPay Insurance Agency, LLC (CA License #0L29422)
Updated: August 30, 2023
Nevada has it all. It’s got O. It’s got Incline Village. It’s got the Biggest Little City in the World. But whether you own the trendiest bar in Tahoe or the hippest coffee shop on The Strip, as a small business owner, you care about something that Nevada doesn’t have: state income tax. When you calculate payroll for your employees, you’ve got one less thing to worry about.
Our payroll calculator simplifies the payroll process, so you can spend more time focusing on growing your small business and less time pulling your hair out. Simply enter wage and W-4 information for each employee, and our calculator will process your gross pay, net pay, and any federal deductions.
Federal payroll taxes for Nevada employers
First and foremost, let’s walk through a summary of federal payroll taxes that all of your employees have to pay, no matter which state they live in. If you would like to see each step in detail, check out the step-by-step guide that we created just for you.
- Calculate Gross Pay.
- For hourly employees, simply multiply their hourly rate by the number of hours worked during the pay period. Remember to increase the rate for any overtime hours worked.
- For salaried employees, take their annual salary and divide it by the number of pay periods.
- Bonuses, commissions, or tips also get added to gross pay.
- Subtract Pre-Tax Deductions. If your employees have any pre-tax deductions like 401(k), for example, subtract them from gross pay so that their taxable income is reduced by this amount.
- Calculate the Federal Income Tax. Now that you have adjusted gross pay, you can calculate the amount of federal income tax that your employees owe the IRS. The tax rate ranges from 0% all the way up to 37%. You can find all the minute details in the IRS Publication 15-T.
- Deduct FICA Taxes. FICA stands for Federal Insurance Contributions Act, and it collects two taxes that both employees and employers have to pay: Social Security and Medicare.
- Social Security Tax: Withhold 6.2% of each employee’s taxable wages up to $160,200 for the year. If an employee makes more than $160,200, any salary above this amount is exempt. As an employer, you also have to pay the IRS 6.2% of your employee’s salary dollar-for-dollar.
- Medicare Tax: Withhold 1.45% of each employee’s taxable wages up to $200,000 for the year. If an employee makes more than $200,000, an Additional Medicare Tax (super original name, right?) of 0.9% should be withheld. As an employer, you’re only responsible for matching 1.45% of the first $200,000.
- Calculate the FUTA Tax. FUTA stands for the Federal Unemployment Tax Act. Employers are responsible for paying 6% of each employee’s first $7,000 of taxable income. Employees are not responsible for paying FUTA. Note that if you pay your state unemployment tax in full and on time, you are eligible to receive a 5.4% tax credit, bringing your effective FUTA tax rate down to 0.6%. It’s a 90% savings!
- Subtract Post-Tax Deductions. Not many of your employees will have post-tax deductions, but if they do, which can be anything from garnishments like child support to life insurance, you will need to make a deduction here and send the deduction to the appropriate jurisdiction.
Nevada state payroll taxes
None! Nada! Zilch! Nevada has no state income taxes. But you knew this already.
Nevada unemployment insurance & modified business tax
As an employer, you have to pay the state’s unemployment insurance. For 2023, Nevada’s unemployment insurance rates range from 0.3% to 5.40% with a taxable wage base of up to $40,100 per employee per year. In 2022, it was $36,600.
If you’re starting a new small business (congratulations!), you should use 3%.
And if you’re liable to pay unemployment insurance, you’re also liable to pay the modified business tax. It is a quarterly payroll tax that you have to pay if your total gross wages less employee health care benefits are $50,000 or more in a quarter. The tax rate is 1.378% if you own a general business, but financial institutions pay a higher rate.
Now prep your signature!
Calculate each employee’s net pay, cut those checks (or transfer those direct deposits, whatever suits your employees’ fancy), and make sure you have enough left in your own account to cover FICA and UI taxes.
You will need to use Form 941 to file federal taxes quarterly, and Form 940 to report your annual FUTA tax. You can pay taxes online using the EFTPS payment system. More details about employment tax due dates can be found here.
More Nevada state tax resources:
If that wasn’t enough for you, here are a couple more resources that can help you understand Nevada payroll a little better:
Nevada Department of Taxation (866) 962-3707 | Modified Business Tax | Manage Your Business Tax Filings
Nevada Unemployment Insurance (888) 890-8211 | Register Your Business
Other calculators for Nevada employers
Employers in Nevada can quickly figure out their employees’ gross pay, net pay, and deductions by using the calculator at the top of this page. But sometimes they have to do a bit more math before they can cut paychecks. For example, do you run a small business where employees earn tips from customers? Remember that you are responsible for withholding taxes from your employees’ paychecks based on the tips they receive. Also, if you have workers who leave from time to time, you may need to spend some time calculating their final paychecks. So, if you need a little more help with the number-crunching, check out some of the calculators below.