2026 North Carolina paycheck calculator
North Carolina taxes income at 3.99 percent, but employers withhold at 4.09 percent.
Updated for 2026Checked Oct 29, 2026 against IRS and North Carolina Department of Revenue sourcesHow we check
Your take-home pay
$1,248.10
per paycheck, paid every two weeks
- Gross pay
- $1,500.00
- Federal income tax
- $96.15
- Social Security
- $93.00
- Medicare
- $21.75
- County tax
- Choose your county
- Take-home
- $1,248.10
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Take-home pay $1,248.10
North Carolina pay rules at a glance
| State income tax | Flat rate Source |
| County or local tax | None Source |
| Disability or paid leave | None Source |
| Minimum wage | $7.25 an hour Source |
| Tipped minimum cash wage | $2.13 an hour, before tips Source |
| Final paycheck if you are let go | All wages due on or before the next regular payday, through the regular pay channels or by trackable mail if the worker asks in writing. Bonuses and commissions are due on the first regular payday after the amount can be calculated. Source |
| Final paycheck if you quit | Same rule: on or before the next regular payday. Source |
What comes out of a North Carolina paycheck
On $1,500 every two weeks, single, a North Carolina worker keeps $1,248.10.
North Carolina's income tax rate is a flat 3.99 percent for 2026, and employers withhold at a slightly higher 4.09 percent after a standard deduction and any child-deduction allowances. The standard deduction is $12,750 a year for single and married workers alike, and $19,125 for head of household. North Carolina gives no personal allowance for you or your spouse, so a worker with no children claims zero allowances.
Allowances come from a table on Form NC-4 EZ, which depends on your filing status, your income, and the number of children under 17. Each allowance subtracts $2,500 a year, about $48.08 a week, worth about $102 in tax. The table gives fewer allowances as pay rises, and none above $70,000 for single, $105,000 for head of household, or $140,000 for married filing jointly. A higher earner will therefore see no change from children.
The form does not say what income the table means, so the calculator uses your annualized gross wages from this job. A worker with other income, or a working spouse, could land on a different row. Without a certificate, an employer withholds as for a single worker with no allowances. The state's wage-bracket tables can differ from this formula by up to $1 on a paycheck. North Carolina does not subtract federal tax.
County and local taxes
North Carolina General Statute 105-247 is blunt: no city, town, township, or county shall levy any tax on income. Wherever your employer is located, the only income tax line on your stub is the state's.
The result is therefore not missing a local piece.
Final pay and the minimum wage
North Carolina's minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, and the tipped cash wage is $2.13 an hour, before tips.
All wages are due on or before the next regular payday, whether you are fired or you quit, through the regular pay channels or by trackable mail if you ask in writing. Bonuses and commissions are due on the first regular payday after the amount can be calculated, which can come later than your last day.
Nearby states
Sources and checks
Checked on Oct 29, 2026. Source: North Carolina Department of Revenue, Form NC-30, 2026 Income Tax Withholding Tables and Instructions for Employers (Web 11-25), cover, New for 2026: "As a result of Session Law 2023-134, the individual income tax rate for tax year 2026 will be 3.99%"; pages 17 and 18: "The withholding calculations are based on the individual income tax rate of 3.99% plus 0.1%. This results in a withholding tax rate of 4.09%" (ncdor.gov/income-tax-withholding-tables-and-instructions-employers/open, saved as data/sources/north-carolina/NC-30-2026.pdf, read Oct 29, 2026).
Local taxes: N.C. General Statute 105-247, "Municipalities not to levy income and inheritance tax" (ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_105/GS_105-247.html, saved as data/sources/north-carolina/gs-105-247.html, read Oct 29, 2026): "No city, town, township, or county shall levy any tax on income or inheritance."
Disability and paid leave: North Carolina runs no state disability or paid-family-leave insurance program paid by an employee payroll deduction: Form NC-30 (2026, saved as data/sources/north-carolina/NC-30-2026.pdf, read Oct 29, 2026) covers North Carolina income tax as the only state withholding on wages, and no North Carolina law or agency page describing such a program was found.
Minimum wage: North Carolina Department of Labor, "Minimum Wage in N.C." (labor.nc.gov/workplace-rights/employee-rights-regarding-time-worked-and-wages-earned/minimum-wage-nc, saved as data/sources/north-carolina/ncdol-minimum-wage.html, read Oct 29, 2026): "The minimum wage in North Carolina is currently $7.25 an hour"; "an employer MUST pay at least $2.13 an hour to tipped employees as long as each employee receives enough in tips to make up the difference." No scheduled change.
Final paycheck: N.C. General Statute 95-25.7, "Payment to separated employees" (ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_95/GS_95-25.7.html, saved as data/sources/north-carolina/gs-95-25.7.html, read Oct 29, 2026): "Employees whose employment is discontinued for any reason shall be paid all wages due on or before the next regular payday either through the regular pay channels or by trackable mail if requested by the employee in writing." North Carolina Department of Labor, "Payment of Final Wages" (labor.nc.gov/workplace-rights/employee-rights-regarding-time-worked-and-wages-earned/payment-final-wages, saved as data/sources/north-carolina/ncdol-payment-final-wages.html) repeats the rule.
Federal withholding: IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Worksheet 1A and its "2026 Percentage Method Tables for Automated Payroll Systems and Withholding on Periodic Payments of Pensions and Annuities," pages 10 to 12. Fetched directly from irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15t.pdf and transcribed Oct 28, 2026.
Every figure above comes from the sources listed here. How we check our numbers.
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