Taxes in Raleigh
North Carolina levies a flat state income tax -- 3.99% as of January 1, 2026 (down from 4.25% in 2025), with a further scheduled drop to 3.49% on January 1, 2027 contingent on the state hitting statutory revenue triggers under 2021's HB 334 framework. This is a genuinely different starting point from the zero-income-tax states this project has covered elsewhere (Texas, Florida); Raleigh residents also pay a combined 7.25% sales tax rate.
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Learn moreA Real State Income Tax, Falling But Not Zero
North Carolina's flat personal income tax rate dropped from 4.25% to 3.99% effective January 1, 2026, and is on a legislated path to fall further to 3.49% on January 1, 2027 -- but that drop is not automatic. It depends on the state meeting specific revenue-collection thresholds defined in 2021's HB 334 tax-reform law; if revenue falls short, the scheduled reduction pauses. As of this research pass, House and Senate Republicans were reported to be in an active, unresolved disagreement over whether to raise those revenue triggers (making further cuts harder to hit) or eliminate them entirely (making further cuts closer to guaranteed) -- a live, unsettled policy question rather than a locked-in future rate.
Raleigh's Combined Sales Tax Rate
The combined sales tax rate in Raleigh is 7.25%, per multiple 2026 sales-tax rate aggregators (Avalara, SalesTaxHandbook) reviewed this session: North Carolina's 4.75% state base rate, plus a 2% Wake County local rate, plus an additional 0.5% special/transit tax. This is meaningfully lower than the 8.25% combined rate this project found for Houston, Texas -- a real, structural sales-tax advantage for Raleigh, though it sits alongside North Carolina's income tax that Texas does not have.
Real Estate Excise (Transfer) Tax
North Carolina imposes a $1-per-$500 (0.2%) excise tax on real estate conveyances, paid by statute by the seller before the deed is recorded -- a genuine, if small, statewide cost on every North Carolina home sale that a no-transfer-tax state like Texas does not impose. See the buying-a-home topic page for how this factors into a purchase.
Property Taxes (Summary -- See Full Topic Page)
Property tax is Raleigh's other major state-and-local tax exposure for homeowners, and current Wake County/City of Raleigh government figures put the combined nominal rate at $0.9091 per $100 of assessed value for FY2026-27 -- notably higher than the base Raleigh record's third-party aggregator estimate of 0.68%-0.75%, a discrepancy disclosed in full on the property-taxes topic page rather than repeated here.
Key takeaways
- North Carolina has a flat state income tax, 3.99% as of 2026 and scheduled to fall to 3.49% in 2027 contingent on meeting statutory revenue triggers -- a real, if comparatively low and falling, income tax, unlike Texas's or Florida's zero rate.
- Raleigh's combined sales tax rate is 7.25% (4.75% state + 2% Wake County + 0.5% special/transit tax) -- notably lower than the 8.25% combined rate this project found for Houston, TX.
- North Carolina's real estate excise tax ($1 per $500 of sale price, 0.2%) is a genuine, statewide, seller-paid cost that a no-transfer-tax state doesn't impose.
- Property tax is the larger ongoing homeowner cost -- combined Wake County/City of Raleigh nominal rate is $0.9091 per $100 of assessed value for FY2026-27; see the property-taxes topic page for the full, disclosed disagreement with third-party aggregator estimates.
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