How to File the Nevada Employer’s Quarterly Contribution and Wage Report (NUCS-4072)

Nevada Form NUCS-4072 is the Employer’s Quarterly Contribution and Wage Report that every covered Nevada employer files with the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) to report wages paid and pay unemployment insurance contributions. You list each employee’s gross wages and tips for the quarter, apply the taxable wage base ($43,700 per employee for 2026), multiply the taxable amount by your assigned UI contribution rate plus the 0.05 percent Career Enhancement Program tax, and submit the report and payment by the last day of the month following the quarter.

Who Has to File

Any business that paid $225 or more in wages during any calendar quarter in Nevada must register with DETR and file NUCS-4072 every quarter after that. Filing is required even for quarters with no payroll. A zero report keeps your account in good standing; skipping it triggers penalties whether or not any contribution is owed.¹

Only workers who qualify as employees belong on the report. Independent contractors do not. NRS Chapter 612 also excludes several categories of work from Nevada’s UI system entirely, including domestic service in a private home (with limited exceptions), work by a relative of the employer, licensed real estate salespeople and brokers, newspaper delivery by minors, and students in certain work-experience programs. If your workforce falls into one of those categories, confirm your coverage status with DETR before assuming you owe a report.

What to Gather Before You Start

Have the following ready:

Your Nevada Employer Account Number, assigned when you registered with DETR.
Your Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). DETR requires both on file.²
The quarter and year being reported.
Each employee’s Social Security number, first and last name, tips reported, and total gross wages including tips for the quarter.¹
Payroll registers showing quarterly and year-to-date earnings for each employee.

Reconcile the totals against your federal payroll filings (Forms 941 and W-2) before you submit. Mismatches between state and federal wage figures are among the quicker ways to draw an audit.

Calculating Taxable Wages and Contributions

Start with each employee’s total gross wages for the quarter, including tips. Report that full amount on the form. Then figure out how much of it is taxable. Nevada’s 2026 taxable wage base is $43,700 per employee per calendar year.³ Once an employee’s year-to-date wages cross that number, additional wages that year are not subject to UI contributions. You still report the full gross on the wage detail and then subtract the excess on the nontaxable line to arrive at taxable wages.

The base is set annually under NRS 612.545, so confirm the current figure before filing each year.⁴

Your Contribution Rate

New employers pay a flat 2.95 percent on taxable wages. That rate applies for 14 to 17 calendar quarters depending on when the business became subject to the law. After that, DETR assigns an experience-rated contribution rate based on your history of benefit charges and contributions paid, drawn from 18 possible rates ranging from 0.25 percent to 5.40 percent.³

Your annual rate notice from DETR tells you which rate to use. If you can’t find it, check the Employer Self Service portal or contact DETR before filing. Using the wrong rate means filing a correction later.

Career Enhancement Program Tax

An additional 0.05 percent (0.0005) applies to your taxable wages for the Career Enhancement Program.³ The form has its own column for it. Multiply taxable wages for the quarter by 0.0005 and add that amount to your UI contribution to get the total payment due.

Filing Deadlines

Reports and payments are due on the last day of the month following the end of the quarter:

Q1 (January–March): April 30
Q2 (April–June): July 31
Q3 (July–September): October 31
Q4 (October–December): January 31 of the following year

If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day.¹

How to Submit the Report

Electronic Filing

DETR’s preferred method is the Employer Self Service portal at nui.nv.gov/ESS. You can key in wage data directly or upload a formatted file in EFW2 format for larger payrolls.² Work through the verification prompts before final submission. The system issues a confirmation number when the report is accepted. Save it. That number is your proof of timely filing if a question comes up later.

Once the report is accepted, a payment screen shows the balance owed. You can pay through the same portal, and your account balance updates in real time after the payment posts.

Paper Filing

If you file by mail, send the completed NUCS-4072 with your payment to:

Employment Security Division, Contributions Section
500 East Third Street
Carson City, Nevada 89713-0030¹

Mail early enough that the envelope arrives by the due date. The postmark alone may not protect you from a late filing penalty. A dishonored check or returned electronic payment does not count as timely payment, and DETR charges an additional $25 fee for each one.⁵

Late Filing Penalties and Interest

Miss the deadline and two things happen. DETR imposes a $5 forfeit for each delinquent report. If the report is still not filed 10 days after the due date, interest of one-tenth of one percent per month accrues on the taxable wages involved until the report is filed.⁵

Unpaid contributions cost more. Under NRS 612.620, contributions that remain unpaid past the due date accrue interest at 0.1 percent per day (roughly 3 percent a month) until payment plus accrued interest is received.⁵ The Administrator can waive some or all of these charges when the delay resulted from circumstances beyond the employer’s control, but don’t plan on that relief.

Correcting a Filed Report

Corrections after submission are made in writing on Form RPT7833 (Statement to Correct), not through the online portal.² Use a separate RPT7833 for each quarter being amended. The form has two sections: individual wage or tip corrections (list each affected employee’s SSN, name, previously reported amount, and correct amount), and quarterly total corrections (adjust Line 3 total wages, Line 4 nontaxable wages, or Line 5 taxable wages, showing original, amended, and difference).

The bottom of the form recalculates any additional contributions at your UI rate plus the 0.05 percent CEP rate. When a correction produces additional contributions, interest of 1 percent per month runs from the original due date. Include a written explanation, sign the form, and mail it to the Contributions Section in Carson City.

Why On-Time Filing Matters for FUTA

Employers who pay Nevada UI contributions on time earn a 5.4 percent credit against the federal unemployment tax (FUTA) on Form 940. The standard FUTA rate is 6.0 percent on the first $7,000 of each employee’s annual wages, and the credit brings the effective federal rate down to 0.6 percent.⁶ Late state payments can erode that credit, so timely NUCS-4072 filing protects your federal position too.

Records to Keep

Hold onto copies of every filed NUCS-4072, the supporting payroll registers, and payment confirmations. The IRS requires employment tax records for at least four years after filing the fourth-quarter return for that year.⁷ Nevada may request records during audits or when processing benefit claims charged against your account, so keeping documentation for at least that long covers you on both sides.

1
Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. View Quarterly Reporting Information
2
Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. Electronic Filing Information
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Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. UI Information for Employers
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Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes 612.545 – Base
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Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 612 – Unemployment Compensation
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Internal Revenue Service. FUTA Credit Reduction
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Internal Revenue Service. Employment Tax Recordkeeping