Nevada capital gains tax (2026): selling a business, real estate or farm

Why Nevada cannot tax your gain

Nevada's constitution, not just its statutes, rules out the tax: Article 10, Section 1 bars any income tax on the wages or personal income of natural persons (Nevada Constitution). Changing that would take a constitutional amendment, which is why Nevada is a common landing spot for sellers leaving California, Oregon and Washington. The whole bill on a Nevada resident's sale is federal: in the example that is $742,135 of income tax plus $133,000 of net investment income tax, because the building was held as an investment.

Having no income tax does not mean no rules. Four Nevada features matter on a big sale, and they are covered below in the order sellers usually meet them.

Real property transfer tax at the recorder's window

Every deed and land sale installment contract over $100 of value carries the real property transfer tax, computed on the declared value. The base county tax is $1.25 per $500 in a county of 700,000 or more people (Clark County) and $0.65 per $500 elsewhere (NRS 375.020), plus a statewide $1.30 per $500 (NRS 375.023). Counties under 700,000 may add up to $0.05 per $500 (NRS 375.026). That puts Las Vegas area sales at $2.55 per $500 and most other counties at $1.95 to $2.00 per $500 (NRS chapter 375, current law).

The recorder collects before recording, and the buyer and seller are jointly and severally liable for it, while the escrow holder is not (NRS 375.030). Exemptions include transfers between first-degree relatives and a mere change in form of organization with identical common ownership, unless the new entity was formed to avoid the tax (NRS 375.090). Who actually pays is a negotiated term in the purchase contract.

The commerce tax counts sale proceeds as gross revenue

Nevada's commerce tax is imposed on a business entity whose Nevada gross revenue for the fiscal year exceeds $4,000,000, on the amount above $4,000,000 at a rate set by business category (NRS 363C.200 and 363C.300). The Department of Taxation lists sole proprietorships among the entities that file (Nevada commerce tax page). Its base is gross revenue, not profit, and NRS 363C.045 expressly includes amounts realized from the sale, exchange or other disposition of a business entity's property.

• Gross revenue from selling Nevada real property is sitused to Nevada (NRS 363C.220).
• Excluded: amounts realized from transactions described in IRC 331, 338, 351, 368, 721, 1031 or 1033, among others, and from selling trademarks, patents and similar intellectual property (NRS 363C.045(3)).

So an operating company that sells its building or equipment outside a 1031 exchange can push its fiscal-year gross revenue over the $4,000,000 line in the year of sale. The return is due 45 days after the June 30 fiscal year end.

Community property and the double step-up

Nevada is a community property state: property acquired after marriage by either spouse is community property unless a written agreement or decree provides otherwise (NRS 123.220). Under IRC 1014(b)(6), when one spouse dies the surviving spouse's half of community property also receives a basis adjustment, so both halves can be reset to market value. A Nevada couple holding a highly appreciated building as community property can see the entire built-in gain erased at the first death, while joint tenants in a common-law state step up only the decedent's half. That changes the sell-now versus hold for a step-up decision more than any Nevada tax does.

Proving you live here: domicile and the declaration

The income tax saving is only real if your old state agrees you left. Nevada lets a person who has established domicile file a sworn declaration with the clerk of the district court for their county, stating that the Nevada residence is their permanent or predominant and principal home (NRS 41.191). The declaration is evidence, not a shield: California and other states look at where you spend time, keep your family, business ties and important possessions. Gain on real estate stays taxable in the state where the property sits regardless of where you live, and some states pull deferred installment gain onto the final resident return. See changing residency before a sale.

Nevada's estate tax is defined as the maximum federal credit for state death taxes (NRS 375A.100); federal law replaced that credit with a deduction for deaths after 2004 (IRC 2058), so no Nevada estate tax is due under current law.

Federally, long-term gain is taxed at 0%, 15% or 20%, the 20% rate starting at $613,700 of joint taxable income (Rev. Proc. 2025-32, 2026); start with the capital gains guide and compare every state. To weigh the federal deferral options against a Nevada move, get the Big Sale Tax Analysis.

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Frequently asked questions