North Carolina Paystub Generator

Reading a North Carolina pay stub, line by line

A North Carolina pay stub is one of the simplest in the country: exactly four involuntary deductions, and the state one is a single flat rate that has dropped every year since 2022. Here is what each line means in 2026:

NC State Income Tax ("NC SIT", "NC Withholding"). North Carolina taxes wages at a flat 3.99% for 2026 — down from 4.25% in 2025 and 4.99% in 2022 — after a $12,750 standard deduction for single filers ($25,500 married filing jointly, $19,125 head of household). But look closely at the stub: employers withhold at 4.09%, not 3.99%. The Department of Revenue's NC-30 employer tables deliberately add a tenth of a point so that fewer people owe at filing time. Each allowance you claim on Form NC-4 shields another $2,500 a year. No NC-4 on file means single with zero allowances.

The married-filer catch. The withholding tables apply the $12,750 single deduction to married employees too. A married couple only gets the $25,500 deduction reflected in their paychecks by claiming allowances on the NC-4 — otherwise they over-withhold all year and wait for the refund.

What you will NOT see: no city or county income tax anywhere in North Carolina, no state disability insurance, no paid-family-leave premium (North Carolina is not among the 13 states with a program), and no employee unemployment tax — the Division of Employment Security is explicit that "unemployment taxes are not deducted from employees' wages." Bonuses and commissions paid separately are withheld at a flat 4.09%.

Plus the federal lines on every US stub: federal income tax, Social Security (6.2% up to $184,500 in 2026), and Medicare (1.45%, plus 0.9% on wages over $200,000). At the state median wage ($47,970), the four lines together take about 17% of gross.

North Carolina paycheck facts — 2026

What you actually take home in North Carolina (2026 estimates)

Estimated for a single filer taking the standard deduction, including federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and North Carolina income tax at the 3.99% rate after the $12,750 state deduction:

Your stub will show slightly more withheld than this. Because employers use the 4.09% withholding rate, a $60,000 earner sees about $47 more taken over the year than the 3.99% liability in this table — money that comes back as a refund on the D-400. The state's share at $60,000 is $1,885, or 3.1% of gross; federal income tax and FICA take the other 16.6%.

If the 2027 cut to 3.49% takes effect, the same $60,000 earner keeps about $236 more per year; at 2.99% in 2028, about $472 more.

Methodology: 2026 federal brackets and $16,100 standard deduction (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32), FICA per SSA, North Carolina flat 3.99% rate (G.S. 105-153.7) applied after the $12,750 single standard deduction (NC-4 / NCDOR). Estimates only — your withholding uses the 4.09% NC-30 rate and depends on your W-4/NC-4 allowances, credits, and pre-tax benefits.

What North Carolina jobs pay (BLS, May 2025)

North Carolina's median hourly wage across all occupations is $23.06 — about 6% under the national median of $24.51, but the flat 3.99% tax means a Charlotte software developer at the state median ($134,710) keeps more of a raise than one in New York or California, where the marginal state rate is two to three times higher.

North Carolina's workforce in numbers

• 11.2 million residents, civilian labor force of 5.2 million, unemployment 3.6% (Census 2025 estimate; BLS, July 2026 preliminary)
• 920,236 self-employed (nonemployer) businesses (Census, 2023) — about one for every 12 residents, and roughly 18% of the labor force earning without an employer pay stub
• 4.3 million people on employer payrolls at 258,169 establishments, earning $260 billion a year (Census County Business Patterns, 2023)
• Mean annual wage: $64,290 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)

North Carolina pay rules — the answers people actually need

Final paycheck: on or before the next regular payday, whether you were fired, laid off, or quit. G.S. 95-25.7 covers employees whose employment is "discontinued for any reason" and lets you ask for the check by mail — the current NC DOL poster says trackable mail if you request it in writing. Bonuses and commissions are due on the first regular payday after the amount becomes calculable.

Unused vacation is paid out unless you were told otherwise. An employer can keep accrued vacation at separation only if it notified you of that forfeiture policy in advance (G.S. 95-25.13). Employees who were never notified must be paid.

Pay frequency is flexible — daily, weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly, as long as it's a regular payday set in advance (G.S. 95-25.6). Commissions and bonuses can be paid as infrequently as annually if the schedule is disclosed up front. Employers must tell you in writing at hire what you'll be paid and when, and give at least one pay period's written notice before any wage reduction.

Is a pay stub required? Yes, though a narrower one than most states: G.S. 95-25.13(4) requires an itemized statement of deductions for every pay period in which deductions are made. Hours and rate aren't mandated on the stub itself, but the employer's records must show them (kept three years). Deductions beyond taxes need your written authorization on or before payday. Sites that list North Carolina as a "no pay stub law" state are wrong — it's a deduction-statement law, and it applies to every private employer.

Minimum wage in North Carolina — one rate statewide (2026)

North Carolina's minimum wage is the federal $7.25 an hour (G.S. 95-25.3), and no city or county sets a higher private-sector rate. Tipped workers can be paid a $2.13 cash wage as long as tips bring them to $7.25 and the employer keeps monthly tip records; full-time students may be paid 90% of the minimum. A full-time job at $7.25 grosses $15,080 a year — below the federal standard deduction, so the only lines on that stub are Social Security, Medicare, and a small amount of NC tax on the $2,330 above the state deduction.

In practice the market floor is well above $7.25: North Carolina's lowest-paid common occupation in BLS data, retail salespersons, has a median of $15.08 an hour, and fast-food and warehouse postings in Charlotte and Raleigh typically start at $14–$17.

How North Carolina compares with its neighbors (take-home on $60,000, 2026 est.)

At $60,000, North Carolina's flat tax after the $12,750 deduction costs $1,885 — roughly $360 less than Georgia's 4.99% and about $1,000 less than Virginia's 5.75% top bracket. Only the no-income-tax states (Tennessee, Florida) beat it, and the gap narrows further if the scheduled cuts to 3.49% (2027) and 2.99% (2028) take effect.

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