A plain-English split between employee withholding and employer payroll costs
Payroll taxes in Nebraska fall into two groups. Some are withheld from the employee's paycheck and sent to the government by the employer.
Others are paid by the employer on top of wages and never appear as a deduction on the employee's stub. Knowing the difference helps employees read pay stubs and helps small business owners budget the real cost of a hire.
There is no local wage tax in Nebraska and no state disability or family-leave payroll deduction.
Nebraska also charges a small State Unemployment Insurance Tax (SUIT) component as part of the combined rate.
| Tax | Withheld from the employee | Paid by the employer |
|---|---|---|
| Social Security | 6.2% up to $192,300 | 6.2% match |
| Medicare | 1.45% of all wages | 1.45% match |
| Additional Medicare | 0.9% over $200,000 | None |
| Federal income tax | W-4 withholding | None |
| Nebraska income tax | W-4N and Circular EN | None |
| FUTA | None | 0.6% on the first $7,000 after the state credit |
| Nebraska unemployment | None | Experience-rated, on a $9,000 wage base for most employers |
For a $50,000 employee, the employer pays roughly $3,825 in FICA match, $42 in FUTA, and a few hundred dollars in Nebraska unemployment tax, depending on its rate. That puts the true payroll cost around $54,000 before benefits.
| Cost on $50,000 of wages | About |
|---|---|
| Employer Social Security and Medicare match | $3,825 |
| FUTA after the state credit | $42 |
| Nebraska unemployment tax | A few hundred dollars; the rate varies |
| Wages plus these taxes, before benefits | Around $54,000 |
Nebraska employers register with the Department of Revenue for an income tax withholding account and with the Department of Labor for unemployment insurance. They deposit withheld state tax on a monthly or quarterly schedule and file Form 941N, plus an annual W-3N reconciliation and W-2s to employees.
Employees can see their side of payroll taxes on each check with the Nebraska paycheck calculator. For the state withholding method and W-4N allowances, see the Nebraska income tax withholding calculator.
For FICA details, read FICA on Nebraska paychecks.
No. In Nebraska, unemployment insurance tax is paid entirely by the employer.
It should never appear as a deduction on an employee's pay stub.
No. Nebraska has no state disability insurance or paid family leave payroll deduction.
Nebraska's paid sick leave law, approved by voters in 2024, requires employers to provide leave but does not add a payroll tax.
Most employers file Form 941N quarterly; larger employers deposit monthly or by electronic funds transfer. The Department of Revenue assigns the schedule at registration.
Employers give each worker a W-2 by January 31 showing federal and Nebraska wages and withholding, and send state copies with Form W-3N.
A Nebraska pay stub shows the taxes that were withheld: Social Security, Medicare, federal income tax, and Nebraska income tax. It does not show the match the employer sends in beside those amounts, and it does not show unemployment tax. Those are costs of having the employee. They are not deductions from the employee.
If a line labeled unemployment appears on your stub and reduces your net, ask about it. In Nebraska that tax is the employer's. Employees do not pay the state unemployment tax, and they do not pay FUTA.
Social Security is 6.2% of wages up to $192,300 in 2027. The 2026 cap was $184,500. Medicare is 1.45% with no cap. An extra 0.9% Medicare tax is withheld once wages from one employer pass $200,000. Federal income tax follows the W-4. Nebraska income tax follows Form W-4N and Circular EN.
There is no Nebraska local wage tax, and no state disability or paid-leave payroll deduction taken out of the check. Paid sick leave, where an employer has to provide it, is a leave rule. It is not a percent on the stub.
At $50,000 of wages under the cap, the employee's own FICA is 7.65%, or $3,825. The employer owes another $3,825 that the employee never sees. The FICA guide is the longer version of the 6.2% and 1.45% lines, including what a 401(k) does not reduce.
The employer matches Social Security at 6.2% up to the same wage base and matches Medicare at 1.45%. The employer does not match the 0.9% Additional Medicare tax.
FUTA is a federal unemployment tax on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages. The statutory rate is 6.0%. A credit for state unemployment tax usually cuts the amount the employer actually pays to 0.6%, which is $42 on that $7,000. The credit can be smaller if a state is subject to a credit reduction. This page uses the ordinary 0.6% result and does not assume a reduction year.
Nebraska unemployment insurance is experience-rated. A new employer starts at a rate the Department of Labor assigns, and the rate later moves with the employer's own record. The taxable wage base for most employers has been $9,000, with a higher base for employers in the top rate category. Use the figure on the current unemployment notice before you budget a year, because that base is a state figure and this page is not the notice. A combined rate can include the state's unemployment insurance tax component. None of it is withheld from the worker.
Full-time at the 2027 minimum, 40 hours and 52 weeks, is $31,740.80 of wages. Employee FICA on that wage is 7.65%, about $2,428. The employer match is another $2,428. FUTA at the ordinary 0.6% on the first $7,000 is $42. Nebraska unemployment tax sits on top and depends on the rate and the wage base. At a few hundred dollars it is real, and it is not a number this page should invent for every employer.
| On $31,740.80 of wages | Employee pays | Employer pays on top |
|---|---|---|
| Social Security and Medicare | About $2,428 | About $2,428 |
| FUTA, ordinary 0.6% on the first $7,000 | $0 | $42 |
| Nebraska unemployment | $0 | Depends on the employer's rate |
| Income-tax withholding | Whatever the forms produce | $0, aside from the duty to send it in |
Wages plus the employer FICA match plus ordinary FUTA are about $34,211 before unemployment tax and before any benefit the employer buys. Calling the job "a $15.26 cost" misses more than two thousand dollars of payroll tax on the employer side alone. The employee's take-home is a third number, lower than $31,740.80, and it is what the hourly calculator estimates.
The employer FICA match on $50,000 is $3,825. Ordinary FUTA is still $42, because the wage is already over the $7,000 FUTA base and the tax does not keep climbing. Unemployment tax is again the variable. Wages plus FICA match plus ordinary FUTA land near $53,867 before that variable and before benefits. The older "around $54,000" sketch on this page was the same idea with a few hundred dollars of unemployment tax folded in.
Income tax withheld from the employee is not an employer cost in the same sense. The employer is holding the employee's money and sending it on. Forgetting to send it is the employer's problem. The dollars started as wages.
An employer who pays wages in Nebraska for work that is subject to withholding has to be licensed and has to withhold. The payroll period for Nebraska is the same period used for federal withholding.
Form 941N is the withholding return. For a quarterly filer it is due by the last day of the month after the quarter: April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31 for the fourth quarter. Annual filers, the ones licensed to file that way, send one 941N for the year by January 31. A quarterly return is filed even in a quarter with nothing to withhold, unless the employer is on the annual plan.
Form 501N is the monthly deposit for employers who withhold more than $500 in either of the first two months of the quarter. It is due on the 15th of the next month, and it is not filed in January, April, July, or October, which are the months when the quarterly return covers that last month of the quarter.
Form W-3N, the reconciliation, is due January 31 and is filed separately from Form 941N. Copies of the W-2, W-2G, 1099-R, 1099-MISC, and 1099-NEC go to the worker by January 31 as well, and the state copies go in with the W-3N by that same date.
If income-tax withholding payments in any prior year exceeded $5,000, later payments have to be electronic. The booklet's own example: payments over $5,000 during 2026 mean electronic payments starting July 1, 2027. Employers who never crossed the threshold are still pushed toward electronic payment. They are not all under the mandate.
Wage and tax statements have a separate rule. An employer with more than 50 of them — counting W-2, W-2G, 1099-R, 1099-MISC, and 1099-NEC — has to file those statements electronically. Smaller employers may file on paper and are encouraged to e-file anyway.
None of that paperwork changes the employee's rate. It changes how the employer gets the money and the forms to the Department of Revenue. A worker who wants to see the employee half, minus the filing calendar, can use the paycheck calculator or the withholding calculator for the Nebraska line alone.
A worker paid on a 1099-NEC is not having Nebraska wage withholding taken out under the W-4N rules, and the employer is not matching FICA on that payment. The worker may owe self-employment tax and may need to make estimated payments. Mislabeling an employee as a contractor does not remove the unemployment tax or the withholding duty if the person is an employee under the law. The form you receive is the clue on the worker's side: a W-2 has boxes for state wages and state tax. A 1099-NEC does not.
Child support, a tax levy, and a creditor garnishment reduce the deposit. They are not Social Security, not Medicare, and not Nebraska withholding. They should be labeled as what they are. Adding them into "how much tax does Nebraska take" inflates the state and invents a rate the tables do not have.
The same is true of a Roth 401(k) and of union dues. They are post-tax. The employer still matches FICA on the wages those dollars came from. If you are costing a hire, leave garnishments out of the employer-tax estimate. They are the employee's obligation, passing through payroll. If you are reading your own stub, separate them from the tax lines before you decide the withholding is wrong.