North Carolina Employer Payroll Tax Calculator

How to use

1. Enter total annual wages paid across all North Carolina employees.
2. Enter how many employees share that payroll.
3. Enter your UI rate and taxable wage base, or keep the new-employer defaults.
4. Read employer FICA, FUTA, state UI, total, and per-employee cost.

General information only — not medical, financial or legal advice. Figures cross-checked against public official sources (IRS / HMRC / NHS / WHO guidance); content last reviewed September 2026. For decisions that matter, confirm with a licensed professional in your country.

About this tool

North Carolina is among the lower-cost states for employer unemployment insurance, with new employers starting near a 1 percent rate on a taxable wage base around 26,700 dollars per employee. This calculator adds the 7.65 percent FICA match and 0.6 percent FUTA to the state UI line you configure, using the rate and base from your DES rate notice where they differ from the defaults. Because the base is wide, the UI line scales with payroll more smoothly than in low-base states. Caps apply per employee on the average wage, so evenly paid teams get exact figures and mixed-pay teams get approximations. Stable accounts tend to see rates drift toward the bottom of the range. Estimates combine published federal rates with the NC rate and base entered; verify against your DES notice; not tax or legal advice.New employers in North Carolina generally begin at 1 percent, and the state's experience rating moves quickly: a few claim-free years can pull an established account toward the bottom of its range, while benefit charges push it up. North Carolina has historically kept its federal loan balance at zero, protecting the full FUTA credit and the 0.6 percent effective federal rate. Income tax withholding is an employee-side matter here.

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