North Carolina Hourly Paycheck Calculator
Your hourly rate and hours in, your take-home pay out. Overtime is paid at 1.5× your rate; tips you report are taxed like wages.
| Per paycheck | Amount | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $1,600.00 | $41,600.00 |
| Federal income tax · withheld | −$108.15 | −$2,812.00 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | −$99.20 | −$2,579.20 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | −$23.20 | −$603.20 |
| North Carolina income tax · withheld | −$45.00 | −$1,170.00 |
| Take-home pay | $1,324.45 | $34,435.60 |
How the federal income tax was worked out
| Pay subject to income tax, for the year · $1,600.00 × 26 paychecks | $41,600.00 |
| Minus the IRS withholding allowance · Pub 15-T Worksheet 1A, line 1g | −$8,600.00 |
| Adjusted yearly wage | $33,000.00 |
| Tax from the IRS yearly table · standard table | $2,812.00 |
| Federal income tax per paycheck · divided by 26 | $108.15 |
IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Worksheet 1A — the percentage method payroll software uses for a Form W-4 from 2020 or later. Your employer's figure can differ by a few cents because of rounding.
How the North Carolina income tax was worked out
| Pay subject to N.C. tax, for the year · this paycheck × 26 | $41,600.00 |
| Minus N.C. standard deduction · single, married or surviving spouse | −$12,750.00 |
| Net yearly pay for withholding | $28,850.00 |
| Yearly N.C. tax at 4.09% · 3.99% rate + 0.1%, per NC-30 | $1,179.96 |
| N.C. income tax this paycheck · ÷ 26, rounded to the nearest dollar | $45.00 |
Hourly pay in North Carolina
North Carolina's minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, the same as the federal one. Tipped employees can be paid $2.13 an hour as long as tips bring them up to $7.25.
Overtime. Time-and-a-half for hours over 40 in a workweek.
Tips and overtime on your N.C. tax. Reported tips and overtime are part of your pay for N.C. withholding, taxed at the same flat rate.
Rounding. N.C. withholding is rounded to the nearest whole dollar each paycheck, so small changes in hours may not change it at all.
Because hours change from week to week, your withholding changes too: a week with lots of overtime is withheld as if you earned that much every week, so more comes out. It usually evens out when you file your return.
What comes out of a North Carolina paycheck
- Federal income tax withholding — worked out from your pay and your Form W-4, using the IRS tables for 2026.
- Social Security — 6.2% of your pay, up to $184,500 of pay in 2026. Above that, it stops for the rest of the year.
- Medicare — 1.45% of all your pay, plus 0.9% on pay above $200,000 in the year.
North Carolina has a flat 3.99% income tax for 2026. Employers withhold it using the Department of Revenue's NC-30 method:
- Your pay subject to income tax — after a traditional 401(k) and pre-tax health insurance, as for federal tax — is turned into a yearly amount.
- The N.C. standard deduction is subtracted: $12,750 if you're single, married or a surviving spouse, or $19,125 for head of household. Each NC-4 allowance takes off another $2,500.
- The rest is multiplied by 4.09% — the 3.99% rate plus 0.1% that NC-30 adds for withholding — divided by your number of paychecks and rounded to the nearest whole dollar.
Because the withholding rate is a little higher than the tax rate, withholding tends to run slightly above the tax you'll owe. If you never gave your employer an NC-4, it must withhold as if you're single with no allowances. Unemployment taxes are not deducted from employees' wages.
Tips and overtime in 2026
New federal deductions apply for 2025 through 2028: up to $25,000 for qualified tips, and up to $12,500 ($25,000 for joint filers) for the extra "half" of time-and-a-half overtime. Both phase out above $150,000 of income ($300,000 joint).
These are deductions on your tax return. Your employer still takes Social Security and Medicare out of tips and overtime, and still withholds income tax unless you tell it otherwise. If you expect to claim them, you can put the expected amount in Step 4(b) of your W-4 (and in the Step 4(b) box above) so less income tax is withheld during the year.
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Sources
- IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods — Worksheet 1A and the annual percentage-method tables
- IRS Publication 15 (2026), Employer's Tax Guide — Social Security and Medicare rates
- Social Security Administration — 2026 wage base of $184,500
- IRS — tips and overtime deductions
- North Carolina Department of Revenue — NC-30 Income Tax Withholding Tables and Instructions for Employers (2026) — 4.09% withholding rate; standard deductions; $2,500 per allowance; worked example
- North Carolina Department of Revenue — Tax rate schedules — 4.25% for 2025; 3.99% after 2025
- North Carolina Department of Revenue — Form NC-4
- N.C. Division of Employment Security — Employer tax FAQs — unemployment taxes are not deducted from employees' wages
- N.C. Department of Labor — Minimum wage in North Carolina — $7.25; $2.13 tipped cash wage
- N.C. General Statutes § 95-25.4 — Overtime
- N.C. General Statutes § 95-25.6 — Paydays
- N.C. General Statutes § 95-25.7 — Final pay
Questions
What is the North Carolina income tax rate in 2026?
3.99%, a flat rate. For withholding, employers use 4.09% (the rate plus 0.1%), so withholding tends to run slightly above the tax itself.
How much is taken out of a $1,000 paycheck in North Carolina?
For a single filer paid every two weeks with nothing else on the W-4, a $1,000 paycheck has about $38.08 of federal income tax, $62.00 of Social Security and $14.50 of Medicare taken out, $21.00 of North Carolina income tax, leaving $864.42. Enter your own details in the calculator for your exact figure.
What is $20 an hour after taxes in North Carolina?
Working 40 hours a week and paid every two weeks, $20 an hour is $1,600.00 before tax and about $1,324.45 after tax per paycheck — $34,435.60 a year — for a single filer with a standard W-4.
Why is my N.C. withholding a round number?
The NC-30 method rounds each paycheck's North Carolina withholding to the nearest whole dollar.
What happens if I didn't fill out an NC-4?
Your employer must withhold as if you're single with no allowances.
When do I get my last paycheck in North Carolina?
On or before the next regular payday. If you ask in writing, your employer must send it by trackable mail.