Nebraska payroll tax registration
What to set up in Nebraska before the first payroll, in date order, with each agency, online portal and deadline. Enter the first employee's start date and the first pay date to see the dates.
Setup steps before the first payroll
- Workers' comp
Get workers' compensation coverage
- Deadline
- Before anyone starts work
- Posters
Put up the required posters
- Deadline
- Before the first employee starts work
- State tax accounts
Apply for a Nebraska income tax withholding certificate (Form 20, online)
- Deadline
- Before the first payday
- Agency
- Withholding: Nebraska Department of Revenue (opens in a new tab)
- Returns
- Form 941N quarterly, due the last day of the month after the quarter, unless DOR licenses the employer as an annual filer; monthly deposits on Form 501N by the 15th when more than $500 is withheld in the first or second month of a quarter.
- Source
- revenue.nebraska.gov/sites/default/files/doc/business/Cir_En_2025/2026cir_en_whole.pdf (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- New hire reporting
Report each new hire to the state new hire registry
- Deadline
- Within 20 days after the date of hire or rehire (electronic filers may instead send two monthly transmissions 12 to 16 days apart)Counted here from the start date.
- State tax accounts
Apply for an unemployment insurance account number in NEworks
- Deadline
- Once liable, and before the first quarterly report is due (the last day of the month after the quarter)
- Agency
- Unemployment: Nebraska Department of Labor, Unemployment Insurance Tax (opens in a new tab)
- State tax accounts
File the first quarterly unemployment tax and wage report
- Deadline
- Combined Tax Report and wage report, with payment, by the last day of the month after the quarter: April 30, July 31, October 31, January 31. Employers with payroll over $100,000 in either of the two previous years are expected to file and pay electronically.January 31, 2027 is a Sunday; whether Nebraska moves it to the next business day is not confirmed.
Federal dates for this pay date
Federal returns follow the compliance calendar, which dates them for every employer:
A 501(c)(3) organization generally owes no FUTA tax and files no Form 940 (Form 940 instructions (opens in a new tab)).
Not confirmed: no official source settled it on the check date, so none is shown.
Not needed in Nebraska
- No state paid leave program funded through payroll.update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=37939 (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
Also in Nebraska
- Whether any city or county taxes wages: not confirmed.
More on Nebraska
WORKLIO HCM
Hiring in a new state? We help open the accounts.
We help open state withholding and unemployment accounts when you hire somewhere new, and our registration service can register your employer tax accounts for you: withholding, unemployment and paid leave contributions where the state's tax agency collects them. After that, Worklio HCM calculates, deposits and files your payroll taxes in every state and locality, new-hire state reporting is automatic, and rates and rules update without you noticing.
Registration in other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Sources
The agency page or document behind each fact, as checked.
- nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=48-106 (opens in a new tab), checked January 15, 2026
- dol.nebraska.gov/LaborStandards/Compliance/RequiredPosters (opens in a new tab), checked September 20, 2026, read from an archived copy dated September 20, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- revenue.nebraska.gov/businesses/nebraska-income-tax-withholding (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- revenue.nebraska.gov/businesses/register-your-new-business-online (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- revenue.nebraska.gov/sites/default/files/doc/business/Cir_En_2025/2026cir_en_whole.pdf (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- dol.nebraska.gov/UITax (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- dol.nebraska.gov/webdocs/Resources/Items/Employer%20Guide%20to%20Unemployment%20Insurance_Rebrand.pdf (opens in a new tab), checked August 14, 2026, read from an archived copy dated August 14, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Child-Support-Employer-New-Hire.aspx (opens in a new tab), checked April 18, 2026, read from an archived copy dated April 18, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=48-2303 (opens in a new tab), checked December 14, 2025, read from an archived copy dated December 14, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=37939 (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the relevant agency or your advisor. You remain responsible for registering and for your employment taxes.