North Carolina vs Virginia taxes

Two income taxes, nothing else

On $75,000 a single filer keeps $59,109 in North Carolina and $58,094 in Virginia: $1,015 a year more in North Carolina, about $85 a month. Neither state deducts anything else from wages in 2026: both fund unemployment insurance entirely from employers. So the gap is the two income taxes, $3,498 in Virginia against $2,484 in North Carolina.

North Carolina charges a flat 3.99% after a $12,750 standard deduction.

Virginia has four brackets, but they have not moved with inflation, and the top one, 5.75%, starts at just $17,000 of taxable income. After a $8,750 standard deduction and a $930 personal exemption, nearly all of a full-time salary is taxed at the top rate. In practice it works like a flat tax 1.76 percentage points higher than North Carolina’s, with a smaller allowance.

How the gap grows

North Carolina keeps more at every salary, single or joint, and because both taxes are effectively flat the gap grows steadily with pay: $575 on $50,000, $2,335 on $150,000 and $4,095 on $250,000. A married couple filing jointly on $150,000 keeps $2,287 more in North Carolina; Virginia’s joint brackets are the same as its single ones, so couples reach the top rate just as quickly.

Both states have changes ahead. Virginia’s standard deduction rises again from 2027, and its paid family and medical leave contributions start in April 2028. North Carolina’s law allows its rate to fall below 3.99% if revenue conditions are met. Neither is in the 2026 figures.

Living in one, working in the other

Virginia has reciprocal agreements with several neighbors, but not with North Carolina. Income tax follows where the work is done, so a cross-border worker files in the state where they work as a nonresident, and at home as a resident.

For a North Carolina resident working in Virginia, the North Carolina Department of Revenue allows a credit for income tax paid to another state on income also taxed by North Carolina. The credit is capped at the North Carolina tax on that share of income. Since Virginia’s tax is the higher of the two, that worker ends up paying roughly Virginia’s tax on the wages, and North Carolina collects little on them: the North Carolina column above does not describe their paycheck.

A Virginia resident working in North Carolina faces the mirror case, and Virginia’s own credit rules decide how it nets out. Check both states’ returns before assuming either column applies.

What the take-home figure does not count

Virginia localities raise revenue through property tax and a share of the sales tax, and housing costs vary widely between and within the two states. None of that is here: this page compares only what is taken from wages.

Questions people ask

Do you take home more in North Carolina or Virginia on $75,000?

North Carolina, by $1,015 a year, or $85 a month, for a single filer in 2026. That counts federal tax, Social Security, Medicare, state income tax and every state payroll deduction.

Is the difference the same at every salary?

No, but the same side stays ahead. The gap is $223 a year at $30,000 and $4,095 at $250,000, for a single filer.

Does any city or county in either state levy an income tax?

No. No North Carolina city or county levies one, and no Virginia city or county does either. Both columns hold anywhere in their state, from Charlotte and Raleigh to Richmond and Norfolk.

Is Virginia adding a payroll deduction?

Yes, but not yet. Virginia enacted paid family and medical leave in 2026. Contributions begin on April 1, 2028, and employees pay up to half of each contribution through a deduction from wages. The rate has not been set. Nothing is deducted in 2026 or 2027, and North Carolina runs no such program.

Does North Carolina have a reciprocal agreement with Virginia?

No. Virginia's reciprocal agreements cover the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky. A worker who lives in one of these two states and works in the other deals with both.

What this comparison covers

Income tax and payroll deductions on wages: federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state income tax, every state payroll deduction. It does not compare sales tax, property tax, housing or the cost of living, which can outweigh the difference in take-home pay. Figures assume the standard deduction, no dependents and no pre-tax retirement contributions. See how we calculate.