Nevada's Revenue Sources: Where State Money Comes From

Independent explainer — not a State of Nevada publication

Nevada has no personal or corporate income tax. Instead, the state's General Fund — the unrestricted money the Legislature appropriates every biennium — is built from a mix of consumption taxes, gaming taxes, and business taxes. At every meeting, the Economic Forum forecasts seven of these individually as "major" General Fund revenues, alongside a longer tail of smaller taxes and fees. For the 2025-27 Biennium, the Legislature-approved forecast puts total General Fund revenue, after tax credits, at $12.238 billion. Here's what makes up that total.

Figures are the Legislature-approved forecast for the 2025-27 Biennium, adjusted for actions of the 83rd (2025) Legislature and the Interim Finance Committee (June 2025). The first seven rows are the categories the Economic Forum forecasts individually as "major" General Fund revenues; everything else is grouped into a residual "all other sources" total below.

Sources: Nevada Legislature, Fiscal Analysis Division (as of 2025-06-18); Nevada Legislature, Fiscal Analysis Division — Economic Forum (as of 2024-12-02)

Note: this table reflects the Legislature-approved, post-session figures in the Fiscal Analysis Division's Appropriations Brief — adjusted for 2025 session actions — which differ slightly from the Economic Forum's own pre-session and mid-session forecast splits. See the Forecast Tracker for the Forum's own forecast-cycle-by-cycle figures.

Sales and Use Tax — 31.4%

Nevada's largest single revenue source is a tax on retail sales of tangible goods, imposed under NRS Chapter 372. The state's own rate is 2%, but combined state-and-local sales tax rates run from about 6.85% to 8.375% depending on county (see tax.nv.gov's rate schedules), once the Local School Support Tax, Basic and Supplemental City-County Relief Taxes, and county-option taxes are layered on. Only the state's own 2% portion — plus small state shares of several of the local components — flows into the General Fund; the rest funds schools and local governments directly. It matters because it's the most stable of Nevada's major taxes: broad-based, tied to everyday consumer spending rather than a single volatile industry, and the anchor the Economic Forum builds every forecast around.

Gaming Taxes (Percentage Fee) — 16.6%

Nevada taxes casino winnings — "gross gaming revenue," what's left after paying out winning bets — on a tiered monthly schedule under NRS 463.370: 3.5% on the first $50,000 of monthly gross revenue, 4.5% on the next tier up to $134,000, and 6.75% on everything above that. Because Nevada's largest casinos generate tens of millions in monthly win, most gaming tax revenue effectively comes in at the top 6.75% rate. Gaming taxes matter because they're the most visible link between the state budget and tourism — when visitor volume or spending drops, this revenue line reacts faster than almost any other tax the state collects. See the Nevada economy dashboard for current monthly gaming win.

Modified Business Tax — 15.0%

The Modified Business Tax (MBT) is a quarterly payroll tax under NRS Chapter 363B. Most Nevada employers ("General Business") pay 1.17% on total wages paid, after health care benefit costs are deducted, for the portion of quarterly wages above $50,000 — a de facto exemption that keeps the smallest employers out of the tax entirely. Financial institutions and mining companies pay a higher 1.554% rate with no equivalent threshold. It matters because it's Nevada's closest analog to a payroll or business income tax in a state with neither — and because the credit that flows between it and the Commerce Tax (below) links the two together. Full detail: Nevada business taxes.

Insurance Premium Tax — 12.1%

Insurers doing business in Nevada pay a 3.5% tax on net direct premiums and considerations written in the state (NRS 680B.027) — essentially a tax on the price of every insurance policy sold in Nevada, from auto to homeowners to life insurance. Insurers are permitted to pass this cost through to policyholders. It's Nevada's fourth-largest General Fund source and one of the least talked-about, precisely because it's collected from insurance companies rather than billed as a visible line item to most consumers.

Commerce Tax — 6.0%

The Commerce Tax is an annual tax on a business's gross Nevada revenue under NRS Chapter 363C, but only above a $4,000,000 exemption threshold (NRS 363C.200) — meaning the large majority of Nevada businesses owe nothing. Businesses above that threshold are taxed at a rate that varies by industry classification (NAICS code), set section-by-section in NRS 363C.310 through 363C.560. Taxpayers who pay the Commerce Tax can credit up to 50% of that liability against their Modified Business Tax bill the following year, which is why the two taxes are forecast and reported together. It matters as Nevada's only broad-based tax that reaches large businesses regardless of legal structure or profitability. Full detail: Nevada business taxes.

Live Entertainment Tax — 3.6%

A 9% tax on the admission charge to qualifying live entertainment at venues with a minimum occupancy of 200 — concerts, shows, sporting events, and similar ticketed entertainment (NRS 368A.200), whether or not the venue also has gaming. Per the Legislature's own Appropriations Brief, the forecast for this tax actually fell from $472.9 million in the 2023-25 Biennium to $441.3 million for 2025-27 (-6.7%) — a reminder that a single major touring act or event calendar can move this line meaningfully year to year, in either direction, despite its small overall share of the General Fund.

Real Property Transfer Tax — 2.2%

Nevada taxes transfers of real property in layers: a base rate of $1.25 per $500 of declared value in counties of 700,000+ population (Clark County) or 65 cents per $500 elsewhere (NRS 375.020), plus an additional $1.30 per $500 imposed statewide that's deposited directly into the State General Fund (NRS 375.023) — that additional layer is the specific piece the Economic Forum forecasts as a General Fund revenue source. The tax is collected when a deed is recorded. It's Nevada's smallest major revenue source and its most cyclical — collections track home sales and prices directly, which is part of why the Legislature's forecast for it moved up 12.8% between the 2023-25 and 2025-27 bienniums as the housing market shifted.

Everything else

Beyond the seven major categories above, the General Fund also collects a cigarette and other tobacco products tax, a business license fee, liquor taxes, a transportation connection excise tax, interest income earned by the State Treasurer, court fees and fines, mining-related levies, and dozens of smaller license and fee categories — together forecast at roughly 13% of General Fund revenue for the 2025-27 Biennium. None of these individually approaches the size of the seven major sources, which is exactly why the Economic Forum forecasts them as a group rather than one by one.

For how these forecasts become the legally binding basis of the state budget, see what the Economic Forum is and how it works. For where this money actually gets spent, see Nevada's state budget process. For the business-tax side in more depth — including how the Commerce Tax and Modified Business Tax interact — see Nevada business taxes. To see how these forecasts have tracked against actual collections historically, visit the Forecast Tracker.