Nevada Capital Gains Tax on Real Estate

By Skyline Capital Investments · Updated October 26, 2026 · 7 min read

Does Nevada have a capital gains tax?

No. Nevada does not tax individual income, so a gain on Nevada real estate owes nothing to the state. The Nevada Department of Taxation lists 20 taxes it administers, from sales and use tax to the Commerce Tax and the real property transfer tax, and none of them is a tax on an individual’s income or capital gains.

That makes the Nevada capital gains tax question mostly a federal one. An owner who lives in Nevada and sells a Henderson fourplex portfolio or a Reno apartment building pays the IRS and, at recording, the transfer tax. There is no state return to file for the gain and no state withholding at closing.

Federal capital gains rates for Nevada sellers in 2026

Since the IRS is the only income tax a Nevada resident pays on the sale, the federal brackets decide the bill. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 sets the 2026 thresholds.

• A real estate professional whose rentals are a trade or business may be outside the 3.8% NIIT on the sale.
• Because Nevada has no income tax, there is no state tax for the federal state and local tax deduction to offset on a sale.

Nevada real property transfer tax: what sellers do pay

The tax Nevada does charge on a sale is the real property transfer tax (RPTT), collected by the county recorder when the deed is recorded. According to the Department of Taxation, the base rate is $1.95 for every $500 of value in every county. Clark County adds 60 cents for a total of $2.55 per $500, about 0.51% of the price, and Washoe and Churchill counties add 10 cents for $2.05 per $500.

Under NRS 375.030 the buyer and seller are jointly and severally liable for the tax, which means the recorder can collect from either one no matter what the contract says. Who actually pays is a negotiating point; settle it in the purchase agreement.

• $2,000,000 sale in Clark County: 4,000 units of $500 at $2.55 = $10,200.
• $2,000,000 sale in Washoe County: 4,000 units at $2.05 = $8,200.
• Transfers to an entity the seller owns 100%, and mere changes in identity or form, are among the exemptions in NRS 375.090.

How the transfer tax is figured

The tax is charged on the value shown on the Declaration of Value filed with the deed, counted in units of $500 or any part of $500, on transfers valued above $100. A price that is not an even multiple of $500 rounds up to the next unit.

Because the recorder collects it at recording, the money comes out of escrow on closing day along with recording fees. If you are moving a building between your own entities before a sale, look at the NRS 375.090 exemptions first. A transfer to an entity you own 100%, or a mere change in the identity or form of the owner with identical common ownership, can be exempt. Ask the county recorder or your title officer to confirm the exemption code before the deed is signed.

Withholding at closing on a Nevada sale

Nevada has no state withholding on real estate sales, because there is no state income tax to prepay. Escrow will not hold back a percentage for Nevada the way Maryland, Oregon or California do for nonresident sellers.

The one withholding that can apply is federal. Under FIRPTA, a buyer must generally withhold 15% of the amount realized when the seller is a foreign person, unless an exception or an IRS withholding certificate applies. U.S. citizens and resident aliens give the buyer a certificate of non-foreign status and nothing is withheld.

If you own Nevada property but live in another state

Nevada will not tax the gain, but your home state may. States with an income tax generally tax their residents on income from everywhere, so a California resident who sells a Las Vegas building owes California tax on the gain even though the property is in Nevada.

The reverse also holds. A Nevada resident who sells a building in another state owes that state’s tax as a nonresident, and may face withholding there. Moving to Nevada before you sell can end your old state’s claim on future gains, but states look closely at the timing and facts of a move, and some, such as California, keep a claim on gain that was deferred while you lived there.

Depreciation recapture in Nevada

Nevada does not tax depreciation recapture, since it taxes no income. The depreciation you claimed still matters a great deal federally: it lowers your basis, raises your gain and is taxed at up to 25% as unrecaptured Section 1250 gain.

If you had a cost segregation study done, the portion of the gain from 5-, 7- and 15-year property is Section 1245 recapture, taxed at ordinary federal rates up to 37%. With 100% bonus depreciation restored for property acquired after January 19, 2025, more Nevada owners will carry large amounts of personal property into a sale, and that recapture is the most expensive part of the gain.

Worked example: selling a $2M apartment building in Nevada

A married couple who live in Henderson sell a 16-unit building in Henderson, in Clark County, for $2,000,000 and pay $90,000 in selling costs. They bought it for $1,000,000 and have claimed $300,000 of straight-line depreciation, so the adjusted basis is $700,000 and the gain is $1,210,000: $300,000 of unrecaptured Section 1250 gain and $910,000 of long-term capital gain. They have $280,000 of other taxable income, and their MAGI is already above $250,000. The building has an $850,000 loan.

Federal tax: the $300,000 of Section 1250 gain stacks on the $280,000 of other income, so the first $123,550, up to the top of the 24% bracket at $403,550, is taxed at 24% and the rest at the 25% maximum, or $73,765 in all. The $910,000 of capital gain sits on top of $580,000 of income, so $33,700 falls below the $613,700 line and is taxed at 15% ($5,055), and $876,300 is taxed at 20% ($175,260). The 3.8% NIIT on $1,210,000 is $45,980. Federal total: $300,060.

Nevada income tax: $0. The Clark County transfer tax at $2.55 per $500 is $10,200, payable by the seller only if the contract puts it on the seller. After the loan payoff the couple nets $1,060,000 before tax and $759,940 after federal tax, before any transfer tax they agree to pay.

How a 1031 exchange changes the Nevada tax bill

For a Nevada resident, a 1031 exchange defers the federal tax, which is the only income tax on the sale. In the example, buying a replacement of at least $1,910,000 and reinvesting all $1,060,000 of net cash would defer the full $300,060.

An exchange does not avoid the transfer tax. NRS 375.090 lists no exemption for a like-kind exchange, so expect RPTT when the relinquished building’s deed is recorded and again on the replacement if it is in Nevada.

Nevada also regulates the intermediaries who hold exchange money, under NRS chapter 645G, which requires a license, a $1 million fidelity bond and $250,000 of errors and omissions coverage. Our page on the 1031 exchange in Nevada covers that law, common exchange paths and a worked example. The 1031 exchange calculator and the capital gains tax calculator run the federal numbers.

Paying the federal tax on a Nevada sale

Without a state return, Nevada sellers sometimes forget that the IRS expects tax on a large gain during the year it is earned, through estimated payments. No one withholds federal tax on a sale by a U.S. seller, so the money usually goes in on Form 1040-ES or through larger withholding from other income.

On a sale like the one in the example, that is a six-figure payment. Set the cash aside at closing, ask your CPA which quarterly due date the sale falls before, and make the payment on time to avoid an underpayment penalty. Your CPA can also tell you whether a safe-harbor payment based on last year’s tax covers you.

Ways Nevada sellers reduce the federal tax

With no state tax to plan around, the federal tools carry the whole load.

• A 1031 exchange, which defers federal tax on the full gain if you reinvest all the net proceeds.
• An installment sale, which spreads the gain and can keep more of it in the 15% bracket in years with lower income.
• Holding until death, so heirs get a stepped-up basis.
• Keeping records of every capital improvement, which raises basis and lowers the gain taxed at up to 25% or 20%.

Selling a Nevada apartment building

Skyline buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Nevada, in Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Reno and Sparks. We buy directly, close on your timeline, and can work inside 1031 deadlines. If you are exchanging, we can set a closing date that lines up with your identification period and work with your intermediary on the assignment.

For the annual carrying cost, see our page on the property tax rate in Nevada, and for notice, deposit and eviction rules that come with the building, Nevada landlord-tenant law for apartment owners.