North Carolina has a flat 3.99 percent individual income tax rate. North Carolina has a flat 2.00 percent corporate income tax rate—one of the lowest in the nation and scheduled to phase down further, a 4.75 percent state sales tax rate, and an average combined state and local sales tax rate of 6.99 percent. North Carolina has a 0.66 percent effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing value. North Carolina does not have an estate tax or inheritance tax. North Carolina’s gas tax is 41.25 cents per gallon, and its cigarette excise tax is $0.45 per pack of 20 cigarettes.
North Carolina raises tax revenue primarily through individual income taxes (29.0 percent of total state and local tax revenue), general sales taxes (28.8 percent), and property taxes (22.3 percent). North Carolina collects $5,378 in state and local tax collections per capita, carries $4,214 in state and local debt per capita, and has a 94 percent funded ratio of public pension plans. North Carolina’s tax system ranks 13th overall on the 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index.
Each state’s tax code is a multifaceted system with many moving parts, and North Carolina is no exception. Use the tabs below to compare North Carolina taxes with other states and to see how North Carolina raises tax revenue. You can also browse our tax maps, which are compiled from our annual publication, Facts & Figures 2026: How Does Your State Compare?
Get facts about taxes in your state and around the US
The State Tax Competitiveness Index enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much state governments collect in taxes, the Index evaluates how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement.
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Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
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Individual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections. How do income taxes compare in your state?
9 min read
Retail sales taxes are an essential part of most states’ revenue toolkits, responsible for nearly a quarter of combined state and local tax collections.
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Forty-four states levy a corporate income tax, with top rates ranging from a 2 percent flat rate in North Carolina to an 11.5 percent top marginal rate in New Jersey. Four states—Georgia, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania—reduced their corporate income tax rates effective January 1, 2026.
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Property taxes are the primary tool for financing local governments. While no taxpayers in high-tax jurisdictions will be celebrating their yearly payments, property taxes are largely rooted in the benefit principle of taxation: the people paying the property tax bills are most often the ones benefiting from the services.
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Recent data suggest that tax competitiveness plays a significant role in residents’ relocation decisions.
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Growing cigarette tax levels and differentials have made cigarette smuggling both a national problem and a lucrative criminal enterprise.
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Over 500 million premium cigars were sold in the United States in 2023. With each sale comes a complex tax landscape.
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Policymakers can and should address taxpayers’ legitimate grievances about out-of-control property tax bills, but they should do so without upending a system of taxation that is more efficient, fair, and pro-growth, and better suited to municipal finance, than any of the alternatives.
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The State Tax Competitiveness Index enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much state governments collect in taxes, the Index evaluates how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement.
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States that tax GILTI increase filing complexity, drive up the cost of tax compliance, and introduce unnecessary economic uncertainty and legal risk. 21 states and DC continue to tax GILTI despite these challenges.
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Sports stadium subsidies are salient political gimmicks designed to appear as if politicians are providing tangible benefits to taxpayers. The empirical evidence shows repeatedly that stadium subsidies fail to generate new tax revenue and new jobs or attract new businesses.
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Raising the combined US corporate rate to the second highest in the OECD would encourage corporations to depart from the US, reducing economic output and worker wages across the income spectrum.
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Wireless taxes and fees set a new record high in 2024.
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