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NC Paycheck Calculator

2026 · federal, Social Security, Medicare and NC tax

North Carolina Paycheck Calculator

Type your pay and how often you are paid. See your take-home pay after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and North Carolina income tax, worked out line by line with the IRS and NC Department of Revenue tables.

A pay stub for a $60,000 salary in North Carolina paid every two weeks in 2026: gross pay $2,307.69, federal income tax $193.08, Social Security $143.08, Medicare $33.46, NC income tax $74.00, take-home pay $1,864.07
A $60,000 salary paid every two weeks, single, 2026: $2,307.69 gross, $1,864.07 take-home pay.
How you are paid
That amount is
Filing status on your W-4
Federal Form W-4: the other steps dependents, two jobs, extra

Step 3 is $2,200 for each child under 17 and $500 for each other dependent, if your income is $200,000 or less ($400,000 married filing jointly).

Which Form W-4 is your employer using?

Each takes $4,300 a year off the pay that is taxed (Publication 15-T). Steps 2, 3, 4(a) and 4(b) above are not used; the extra withholding is (line 6 of the old form).

North Carolina Form NC-4 allowances, extra
Filing status on your NC-4

Each allowance takes $2,500 a year off the pay NC withholding is worked on (Form NC-30).

Deductions from your pay 401(k), health insurance

An HSA paid by plain payroll deduction, outside a cafeteria plan, is taxed like pay: put it under after-tax deductions.

A Roth 401(k), union dues, a wage garnishment: anything taken after tax.

Pay so far this year for high earners

On a pay stub, the year-to-date Social Security or Medicare wages: your gross pay so far less any health insurance or HSA taken before tax. It matters only above $184,500, where Social Security stops, and above $200,000, where 0.9% more Medicare starts. It changes this paycheck only; the year column counts a year of these paychecks from January.

The answer changes as you type.

Earnings statement

Paid every two weeks · 2026

Your paycheck: this check and the whole year
ItemThis checkYear
Gross pay$2,307.69$59,999.94
Federal income taxForm W-4$193.08$5,020.08
Social Security6.2% up to $184,500$143.08$3,720.08
Medicare1.45%, and 0.9% more above $200,000$33.46$869.96
North Carolina income taxForm NC-4, withheld at 4.09%$74.00$1,924.00

Take-home pay

$1,864.07

One thousand eight hundred sixty-four and 07/100 dollars

For the year: $48,465.82. Taxes take 19.2% of your gross pay.

Where each dollar of this check goes

  • Take-home pay (80.8%)$1,864.07
  • Federal income tax (8.4%)$193.08
  • Social Security (6.2%)$143.08
  • Medicare (1.4%)$33.46
  • NC income tax (3.2%)$74.00
How this was worked out, line by line

Federal income tax: IRS Publication 15-T, Worksheet 1A

  1. 1a. Pay on this check that federal income tax is worked on: $2,307.69
  2. 1b. Pay periods a year: 26
  3. 1c. 1a × 1b: $59,999.94
  4. 1d. Other income a year (W-4 Step 4(a)): $0.00
  5. 1e. 1c + 1d: $59,999.94
  6. 1f. Deductions a year (W-4 Step 4(b)): $0.00
  7. 1g. Step 2 box not checked: $8,600.00
  8. 1h. 1f + 1g: $8,600.00
  9. 1i. Adjusted Annual Wage Amount (1e − 1h): $51,399.94
  10. 2b–2d. The row of the annual table it falls in: from $19,900.00, $1,240.00 plus 12% of the rest
  11. 2e. The rest: $51,399.94 − $19,900.00 = $31,499.94
  12. 2f. 12% of 2e: $3,779.99
  13. 2g. 2c + 2f: $5,019.99
  14. 2h. 2g ÷ 26: $193.08
  15. 3a. Credits for dependents (W-4 Step 3): $0.00
  16. 3b. 3a ÷ 26: $0.00
  17. 3c. 2h − 3b (not below zero): $193.08
  18. 4a. Extra withholding (W-4 Step 4(c)): $0.00
  19. 4b. Federal income tax on this check (3c + 4a): $193.08

North Carolina income tax: Form NC-30, annualized method

  1. 1. Pay on this check that NC income tax is worked on: $2,307.69
  2. 2. Pay periods a year: 26
  3. 3. Annualized pay (1 × 2): $59,999.94
  4. 4. N.C. standard deduction in NC-30: $12,750.00
  5. 5. NC-4 allowances: 0 × $2,500.00 = $0.00
  6. 6. 4 + 5: $12,750.00
  7. 7. Net annualized pay (3 − 6, not below zero): $47,249.94
  8. 8. 4.09% of 7 (the 3.99% tax rate plus 0.1%): $1,932.52
  9. 10. 8 ÷ 26, to the nearest whole dollar: $74.00

Social Security and Medicare

  1. Social Security: 6.2% of $2,307.69 = $143.08
  2. Medicare: 1.45% of $2,307.69 = $33.46

Sources: Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods, IRS; Form W-4 (2026), Employee's Withholding Certificate, IRS; Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide, IRS; Form NC-30, Income Tax Withholding Tables and Instructions for Employers (2026), NCDOR; Form NC-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, NCDOR. Checked October 29, 2026.

Take-home pay $1,864.07 every two weeks from $2,307.69 gross: federal income tax $193.08, Social Security $143.08, Medicare $33.46, North Carolina income tax $74.00.

Figures for 2026: federal tax by IRS Publication 15-T and Form W-4, Social Security up to $184,500 (Publication 15), North Carolina tax by Form NC-30. Checked October 29, 2026.

Your North Carolina paycheck in 2026, in short

Example: a salary of $60,000 a year, paid every two weeks, single on the W-4 and NC-4, no other entries. Each check: gross pay $2,307.69, federal income tax $193.08, Social Security $143.08, Medicare $33.46, North Carolina income tax $74.00. Take-home pay: $1,864.07 (80.8% of gross), $48,465.82 for the year.

Four things come off almost every North Carolina paycheck: federal income tax, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%) and North Carolina income tax. North Carolina has no city or county income tax and no state disability or paid-leave deduction, so those four, and anything you choose to have taken out, such as a 401(k) or health insurance, are the whole list.

What comes out of a North Carolina paycheck

Federal income tax

Your employer works it out from your Form W-4 with the IRS’s own method for payroll systems (Publication 15-T, Worksheet 1A). It turns one paycheck into a year’s pay, takes off an amount that matches the standard deduction, finds the tax on the rest in the IRS’s 2026 tables, and divides it back by your paychecks. In 2026 a single person pays no federal income tax on the first $16,100 of yearly pay this way ($32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household). Each child under 17 you list in Step 3 of the W-4 takes $2,200 a year off the tax, and each other dependent $500.

Social Security

6.2% of your pay, until your pay for the year reaches $184,500 in 2026. Pay above that has no Social Security taken (Publication 15).

Medicare

1.45% of all your pay, with no limit. Once your pay this year passes $200,000, your employer also takes Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% on the pay above it, whatever your filing status.

North Carolina income tax

North Carolina taxes income at one flat rate: 3.99% for 2026 (G.S. 105-153.7). Your employer withholds it with the NC Department of Revenue’s method in Form NC-30: it takes $12,750 a year off your pay ($19,125 for head of household) and $2,500 more for each allowance on your Form NC-4, multiplies the rest by 4.09%, and rounds each paycheck’s tax to the nearest whole dollar.

What is not taken from your pay

No city, town or county in North Carolina may tax income (G.S. 105-247), so there is no local income tax. State unemployment insurance is paid by employers: “Unemployment taxes are not deducted from employees’ wages” (NC Division of Employment Security). Form NC-30 lists income tax as the only North Carolina tax employers withhold from wages, and we found no state disability or paid-leave deduction.

Why North Carolina withholds 4.09% when the tax rate is 3.99%

Because North Carolina’s own withholding tables add 0.1%. Form NC-30 says its calculations “are based on the individual income tax rate of 3.99% plus 0.1%” (NC-30, 2026). A calculator that withholds at 3.99% shows a paycheck a little bigger than the one you will get.

On the calculator’s first example, a $60,000 salary paid every two weeks, the paychecks hold back $1,924.00 of North Carolina tax over the year, while the tax on that pay at 3.99% after the $12,750 standard deduction is $1,885, in whole dollars as on the return. The difference, $39.00, comes back as part of your refund when you file, if nothing else changes. Work out your own NC tax for the year.

How to work out a North Carolina paycheck by hand

This is what the calculator does, step by step, with the first example ($60,000 a year, paid every two weeks, single). Open “How this was worked out” under any answer to see every line with your own figures.

  1. Work out the gross pay of one paycheck: a yearly salary divided by the number of paychecks ($2,307.69 for $60,000 paid 26 times), or your hours times your rate, with hours over 40 in a week paid at one and a half times the rate.
  2. Take off deductions made before tax. A 401(k) comes off the pay income tax is worked on; health insurance, and an HSA or FSA, paid through a cafeteria plan come off the pay for Social Security and Medicare too.
  3. Federal income tax: multiply the taxable pay by your paychecks a year ($59,999.94), take off $8,600 ($12,900 married filing jointly) unless the Step 2 box of your W-4 is checked, find the row of the IRS’s 2026 annual table, work out the tax for the year ($5,019.99), divide it by your paychecks and take off your Step 3 credits for one paycheck: $193.08.
  4. Social Security: 6.2% of the pay after cafeteria-plan deductions ($143.08), until your pay this year reaches $184,500.
  5. Medicare: 1.45% of the same pay ($33.46), and 0.9% more on any pay above $200,000 in the year.
  6. North Carolina income tax: multiply the taxable pay by your paychecks a year, take off $12,750 ($19,125 head of household) and $2,500 for each NC-4 allowance ($47,249.94 left), multiply by 4.09% ($1,932.52), divide by your paychecks and round to the nearest dollar: $74.00.
  7. Take the taxes and any deductions off the gross pay. What is left is your take-home pay: $1,864.07.

Take-home pay at common salaries

Single, paid every two weeks, 2026, no other W-4 or NC-4 entries
SalaryGross a checkTaxes a checkTake-home a checkTake-home a year
$30,000$1,153.85$169.89$983.96$25,582.96
$40,000$1,538.46$261.46$1,277.00$33,202.00
$50,000$1,923.08$353.03$1,570.05$40,821.30
$60,000$2,307.69$443.62$1,864.07$48,465.82
$75,000$2,884.62$613.68$2,270.94$59,044.44
$100,000$3,846.15$937.77$2,908.38$75,617.88
$150,000$5,769.23$1,608.65$4,160.58$108,175.08

Every salary from $20,000 to $300,000, single and married

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Questions people ask

How much tax comes out of a paycheck in North Carolina?

On a $60,000 salary paid every two weeks, single, with nothing else on the W-4 or NC-4, $443.62 of each $2,307.69 paycheck goes in taxes: 19.2%. That is $193.08 federal income tax, $143.08 Social Security, $33.46 Medicare and $74.00 North Carolina income tax. The share grows with pay, because federal tax rises in steps.

What is the North Carolina income tax rate for 2026?

3.99%, one flat rate on all North Carolina taxable income. Under the 2026 budget law it falls to 3.49% for 2027 to 2029, 3.24% for 2030 to 2032 and 2.99% after that. Every rate since 2014.

Why is more than 3.99% of my pay withheld for North Carolina?

North Carolina’s withholding tables use 4.09%, the tax rate plus 0.1% (Form NC-30). The extra usually comes back in your refund when you file your state return.

Do cities or counties in North Carolina have an income tax?

No. North Carolina law does not let a city, town or county tax income, so the only income taxes on your paycheck are the federal one and the state’s.

How many allowances should I claim on my NC-4?

The worksheet on Form NC-4 works it out from your filing status, your children and your deductions. Each allowance takes $2,500 a year off the pay NC tax is withheld on, which is about $102.25 less tax withheld over the year. Work out your allowances.

What happens if I do not fill out an NC-4?

Your employer must withhold North Carolina tax as if you were single with no allowances (Form NC-30).

How is a bonus taxed in North Carolina?

Paid on its own, a bonus can have a flat 22% federal income tax and a flat 4.09% North Carolina tax withheld, plus Social Security and Medicare; employers may also use the aggregate method, working out the tax on the bonus and a regular paycheck together. Bonus tax calculator.

Does North Carolina tax overtime and tips?

Yes. Overtime pay and tips are wages in North Carolina, and the new federal deductions for overtime and tips do not lower North Carolina taxable income, the NC Department of Revenue says in its answer for 2025 returns (NCDOR). On the federal side they are claimed on your tax return, or through Step 4(b) of your W-4.

When does Social Security stop coming out of my paycheck?

When your pay for the year reaches $184,500 (2026). From then until the end of December no Social Security is taken, so your checks are bigger. Medicare never stops.

Is this calculator from the State of North Carolina or the IRS?

No. It is an independent website. It uses the same published rules your employer’s payroll uses, and every rule links to the official source: the IRS, the Social Security Administration and the North Carolina Department of Revenue.