Get your tax IDs in North Carolina

An EIN, if you need one, takes minutes online. North Carolina adds a free sales tax registration if you sell taxable goods or services, income tax on what the business earns, and employer accounts once you hire. One application to the Department of Revenue covers sales tax and withholding; unemployment insurance is a separate registration with the N.C. Division of Employment Security (DES).

What’s different in North Carolina

• Sales tax registration is free, and the state says so. The North Carolina Department of Revenue (NCDOR) issues the Certificate of Registration at no charge and warns against third parties that charge for it. The state rate is 4.75%; with county and transit taxes, 6.75% to 8.25%. Along with goods, North Carolina taxes repair, maintenance and installation services, so a repair shop or an installer registers too.
• A flat income tax, and a franchise tax for corporations. Individuals pay 3.99% after 2025, and the Department of Revenue notes the rate may fall again from 2027 if revenue triggers are met. C corporations pay 2% on state net income for 2026 and 2027, falling to 1% in 2028 and 0% after 2029. Every corporation, S corporations included, also owes franchise tax of at least $200 a year; an LLC owes it only if it elects to be taxed as a corporation.
• State withholding has its own form. Employees complete Form NC-4; the federal W-4 is not accepted for state withholding.

Do this

1. Get an EIN from the IRS if you need one. The IRS requires one if you have employees and for partnerships, corporations, nonprofits and most LLCs. It’s free and, if approved, issued immediately online. Form your LLC or corporation first. Don’t pay a website to apply for you.
2. Register for sales tax on the Department of Revenue's online business registration portal before you start doing business as a retailer. It’s free. Online, most applicants get an account number instantly, with the certificate mailed within ten business days; a mailed Form NC-BR can take up to four weeks. The same application opens a withholding account when you’re ready to hire.
3. Look up your rate. The state rate is 4.75%. The Department of Revenue’s county rate table gives the total for each county, 6.75% to 8.25% today. Services such as repair, maintenance and installation services are taxable; the Department’s sales and use tax pages cover the rest.
4. File sales tax returns on the schedule you’re assigned. The Department of Revenue sets it from how much tax you collect: quarterly, due the last day of January, April, July and October, when you owe under $100 a month; monthly, due the 20th of the following month, from there up to $20,000 a month; and monthly with a prepayment above that. File online through the Department’s eServices.
5. Plan for income tax. Sole proprietors, partners and most LLC members report business income on their own return at 3.99%. A C corporation, or an LLC taxed as one, files a corporate return and pays 2% on its state net income plus franchise tax, both due the 15th day of the fourth month after the income year ends. An S corporation pays no corporate income tax but still owes franchise tax, $200 on the first million dollars of its tax base. The Department of Revenue’s franchise tax rate page has the formula.
6. Register as an employer when you hire. Register for withholding with the Department of Revenue on the same online business registration portal, or add it to your sales tax account (free; the number arrives instantly online; up to four weeks on paper). Then create an employer account in NCSUITS with the N.C. Division of Employment Security (DES), which gives you your liability status at the end of registration. You owe unemployment tax once you’ve paid $1,500 in wages in a quarter or employed someone in 20 different weeks of a year (4 or more workers for a 501(c)(3)). A new employer pays 1% on the first $34,200 of each employee’s wages in 2026. In general, workers’ compensation insurance is required at 3 or more employees (a few industries have their own thresholds), and corporate officers count toward the three; sole proprietors, partners and LLC members don't unless they elect coverage. The North Carolina Industrial Commission explains who is covered.
7. Set up each new hire. On Form I-9, the employee completes Section 1 by their first day of work, and you complete Section 2 within three business days of the start date (by the first day if the job lasts less than three business days). An employer with 25 or more employees in North Carolina must also confirm each new hire’s work authorization through E-Verify; workers whose term of employment is less than nine months in a calendar year don’t count toward that threshold and aren’t checked under the state law. Have them complete Form NC-4; the federal W-4 doesn’t count for state withholding. Report the hire to the North Carolina New Hire Directory within 20 days of the hire date. A missed report can draw a civil penalty of up to $25.

What you get back

• EIN: a nine-digit federal tax ID, shown on screen when approved. Print the confirmation letter.
• Sales tax: an account number right away if you register online, and the Certificate of Registration by mail. There’s no fee.
• Withholding: a withholding identification number from the Department of Revenue, with your filing schedule set by how much you withhold: quarterly under $250 a month, monthly from there to $2,000, more often above that.
• Unemployment insurance: an Employer ID Number and your liability status from DES at the end of the NCSUITS registration.

Not selling anything taxable or hiring yet? The EIN may be all you need for now.