North Carolina Paycheck & Income Tax Calculator

How North Carolina income tax works

North Carolina applies a flat 3.99% to taxable income, after a standard deduction of $12,750 for a single filer or $25,500 filing jointly.

There is nothing else at state level. No North Carolina city or county levies an income tax, and there is no employee-side payroll levy of the kind Colorado, New Jersey or Washington deduct. A single filer on $75,000 is taxed on $62,250 and pays a little under $2,500 — an effective state rate of about 3.3%, below the headline figure because the deduction shelters the first slice.

If you itemize instead, note that North Carolina’s itemized deductions are narrower than the federal ones. Only qualified mortgage interest, real estate property tax, charitable contributions, medical and dental expenses and repayment of claim-of-right income are allowed, and mortgage interest plus property tax together are capped at $20,000.

The rate cut that finished in 2026

North Carolina has spent six years cutting this rate on a schedule written into law, and 2026 is the last step:

5.25% → 4.99% → 4.75% → 4.5% → 4.25% → 3.99%

That matters when you are checking figures elsewhere. A calculator or article written even a year ago will show 4.25%, and one from a couple of years back will show 4.75% or higher. On a $75,000 salary the difference between 4.25% and 3.99% is around $160 a year — not enormous, but it is the sort of quiet staleness that makes most state tax pages untrustworthy.

Further reductions beyond 3.99% have been legislated subject to revenue conditions being met, so the rate may fall again in later years. This page will follow the enacted rate for each tax year rather than projecting.

Take-home pay at every salary in North Carolina

After federal tax, the flat 3.99% state tax and FICA. With no local tax and no state payroll levy, these figures hold anywhere in the state — Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro and Durham alike.

What lands in your account each payday

On $75,000 a year in North Carolina, filing single, split across the pay schedules employers actually use.

The deduction that never rises

This is the detail almost nobody mentions, and over time it matters more than the rate cut.

North Carolina’s standard deduction is written as a fixed dollar amount in G.S. 105-153.5(a)(1). Unlike the federal standard deduction, which the IRS raises every year for inflation, the North Carolina figure does not move unless the legislature amends the statute.

The consequence is a slow, automatic tax increase. As wages rise with inflation, an unchanged $12,750 shelters a steadily smaller share of them, so your effective state rate creeps up even though the headline rate is falling. The 2026 cut from 4.25% to 3.99% is real, but part of it is offset over time by a deduction standing still while everything else moves.

It also explains why North Carolina’s deduction has fallen so far behind the federal one. For 2026 the federal standard deduction is $16,100 for a single filer against North Carolina’s $12,750 — a gap that widens every year the statute goes untouched.

What North Carolina does not tax

Three exclusions are worth knowing, and they make the state considerably more generous to retirees than the flat rate alone suggests.

Social Security is fully deducted from North Carolina taxable income, along with Railroad Retirement Act payments.

Military retirement pay is fully deductible for anyone who served at least 20 years in the uniformed services, or who was medically retired under 10 U.S.C. Chapter 61. Survivor benefit payments to a qualifying retiree’s beneficiary are covered too. Severance pay on separation is not. With a large veteran population around Fort Bragg and the coastal bases, this reaches a meaningful number of households.

Bailey settlement income — certain state, local and federal government retirement income is exempt under court settlements in Bailey, Emory and Patton, for those with sufficient vested service before August 1989.

There is also a child deduction that tapers from $3,000 down to nil as income rises, replacing the personal exemptions the state used to allow.

The calculator above models wage income and applies none of these, so an actual retiree or qualifying veteran’s North Carolina liability will be materially lower than these figures suggest.

Dates that matter for the 2026 tax year

North Carolina returns (Form D-400) are due April 15, 2027, matching the federal deadline. Estimated payments, if required, fall quarterly in April, June, September and the following January. The rate and deduction on this page apply to income earned between January 1 and December 31, 2026.

Questions people ask

What is the North Carolina income tax rate for 2026?

A flat 3.99%. North Carolina has no brackets — the same rate applies to every dollar of taxable income. 2026 is the final step of a legislated phasedown that took the rate from 5.25% down through 4.99%, 4.75%, 4.5% and 4.25%.

What is the North Carolina standard deduction for 2026?

$12,750 for single filers and married filing separately, $25,500 for married filing jointly or a surviving spouse, and $19,125 for head of household. These amounts are set directly in G.S. 105-153.5(a)(1) and are not adjusted for inflation.

Does Charlotte or Raleigh charge a local income tax?

No. No North Carolina city or county levies an income tax, so where you live in the state does not change your income tax bill.

Does North Carolina tax Social Security?

No. Social Security benefits and Railroad Retirement Act payments are deducted from North Carolina taxable income under G.S. 105-153.5(b)(3).

Is military retirement pay taxed in North Carolina?

Not if you served at least 20 years in the uniformed services or were medically retired under 10 U.S.C. Chapter 61. Survivor benefit payments to a beneficiary of a qualifying retiree are also deductible. Severance pay on separation is not.

Are North Carolina payroll deductions taken from my paycheck?

Not by the state. Unemployment insurance is employer-funded and North Carolina runs no disability or paid family leave program. Beyond the 3.99% state income tax, the only deductions are federal.

Is my data sent anywhere?

No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser. There is no account, and the salary you type is never sent to a server or stored. It never leaves your device.