Chapter 105

(a) An employee receiving wages is entitled to the withholding allowances that would result in the employer withholding approximately the employee's income tax liability under Article 4 of this Chapter. (b) Every employee shall, at the time of commencing employment, furnish his o…

(a) General. - A return is due quarterly or monthly as specified in this section. A return shall be filed with the Secretary in the manner required by the Secretary, shall report any payments of withheld taxes made during the period covered by the return, and shall contain any ot…

If the amount of taxes an employer is required to withhold and pay under the Code is changed or corrected, the provisions of G.S. 105-159 apply to employers, pension payers, and every other payer required to withhold taxes under this Article. Failure of an employer to comply with…

(a) Report to Employee. - Every employer required to deduct and withhold from an employee's wages under G.S. 105-163.2 shall furnish to the employee in respect to the remuneration paid by the employer to such employee during the calendar year, on or before January 31 of the succe…

(a) A withholding agent who withholds the proper amount of income taxes under this Article and pays the withheld amount to the Secretary is not liable to any person for the amount paid. A withholding agent who fails to withhold the proper amount of income taxes or pay the amount …

A withholding agent who pays the Secretary more under this Article than the Article requires the agent to pay may obtain a refund of the overpayment by filing a request for a refund with the Secretary. No refund is allowed, however, if the withholding agent withheld the amount of…

This Article shall be known as the "North Carolina Sales and Use Tax Act." (1957, c. 1340, s. 5; 1998-98, s. 47.)

For the convenience of the retailer in collecting the tax due under this Article, the Secretary must prescribe tables that compute the tax due on sales. The Secretary must issue a separate table for each rate of tax that may apply to a sale. A retailer is not required to collect …

(a) Remittance of Overcollections to Secretary. - When tax is collected for any period on a taxable sale in excess of the total amount that should have been collected or is collected on an exempt or nontaxable sale, the total amount collected must be remitted to the Secretary. If…

(a) Refund. - A retailer is allowed a refund of sales tax remitted on a rescinded sale or cancelled service. A sale is rescinded when the purchaser returns an item to the retailer and receives a refund, in whole or in part, of the sales price paid, including a refund of the pro r…

(a) Retailers. - A retailer who pays sales and use tax on an item that is separately stated on an invoice or similar billing document given to the retailer at the time of sale and subsequently resells the item at retail, without the item being used by the retailer, may recover th…

The sale of an electric golf cart and a battery charger that is not physically attached to the golf cart is considered the sale of a single article of tangible personal property in imposing tax under this Article if the battery charger is designed to recharge the golf cart and is…

(a) Conditional Contract Defined. - A conditional contract is a contract in which all of the following conditions are met: (1) A seller transfers an item of tangible personal property to a consumer on the condition that the consumer enter into an agreement to purchase services on…

If a retailer engaged in the business of selling prepared food or drink for immediate or on-premises consumption also gives prepared food or drink to its patrons or employees free of charge, for the purpose of this Article, the food or drink given away is considered sold along wi…

The sale at retail and the use, storage, or consumption in this State of the following items are specifically exempted from the tax imposed by this Article: Agricultural Group. (1) Repealed by Session Laws 2013-316, s. 3.3(b), effective July 1, 2014, and applicable to sales made …

When a service charge is imposed on food, beverages, or prepared food, so much of the service charge that does not exceed twenty percent (20%) of the sales price is considered a tip and is specifically exempted from the tax imposed by this Article if it meets both of the followin…

(a) State Exemption. - Food is exempt from the taxes imposed by this Article unless the food is included in one of the subdivisions in this subsection. The following food items are subject to tax: (1) Repealed by Session Laws 2005-276, s. 33.10, effective October 1, 2005. (2) Die…

(a) Exemption. - A qualifying farmer is a person who has an annual income from farming operations for the preceding taxable year of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more or who has an average annual income from farming operations for the three preceding taxable years of ten thou…

(a) Definitions. - The following definitions apply in this section: (1) Wildlife management activities. - One or more of the activities for which wildlife conservation land must be used to qualify for the wildlife conservation land classification under G.S. 105-277.15. (2) Wildli…

(a) Interstate Carriers. - An interstate carrier is allowed a refund, in accordance with this section, of part of the sales and use taxes paid by it on the purchase in this State of railway cars and locomotives, and fuel, lubricants, repair parts, accessories, service contracts, …

(a) Refund. - The following taxpayers are allowed an annual refund of sales and use taxes paid under this Article: (1) Repealed pursuant to its own terms, effective for purchases made on or after January 1, 2016. (2) Major recycling facility. - An owner of a major recycling facil…

(a) General Rate Items. - The effective date of a tax change for items taxable under this Article is administered as follows: (1) For a taxable item that is provided and billed on a monthly or other periodic basis: a. A new tax or a tax rate increase applies to the first billing …

(a) General. - Sales and use taxes are payable when a return is due. A return is due quarterly or monthly as specified in this section. A return must be filed with the Secretary on a form prescribed by the Secretary and in the manner required by the Secretary. A return must be si…

This section provides a retailer that offers a prepaid meal plan subject to the tax imposed by G.S. 105-164.4 with an option concerning the method by which the sales tax will be remitted to the Secretary and a return filed under G.S. 105-164.16. When the retailer enters into an a…

The Secretary for good cause may extend the time for filing any return under the provisions of this Article and may grant additional time within which to file the return and pay the tax due pursuant to G.S. 105-263(b). (1957, c. 1340, s. 5; 1973, c. 476, s. 193; 1977, c. 1114, s.…

The taxes herein imposed shall be in addition to all other license, privilege or excise taxes and the taxes levied by this Article are to provide revenue for the support of the public school system of this State and for other necessary uses and purposes of the government and Stat…

(a) Basis Selected. - Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a retailer may report sales on either the cash or accrual basis of accounting upon making application to the Secretary for permission to use the basis selected. Permission granted by the Secretary to repo…

(a) Record Keeping Generally. - Retailers, wholesale merchants, facilitators, real property contractors, and consumers must keep records that establish their tax liability under this Article. The Secretary or a person designated by the Secretary may inspect these records at any r…

For the purpose of the proper administration of this Article and to prevent evasion of the retail sales tax, the following presumptions apply: (1) That all gross receipts of wholesale merchants and retailers are subject to the retail sales tax until the contrary is established by…

(a) General. - A general direct pay permit authorizes its holder to purchase certain items without paying tax to the seller and authorizes the seller to not collect any tax on a sale to the permit holder. A general direct pay permit may not be used for purposes identified in subs…

(a) Relief From Liability. - Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a seller is not liable for the tax otherwise applicable if the Secretary determines that a purchaser improperly claimed an exemption, or if the seller within 90 days of the sale meets the following…

(a) Authorization. - The Secretary may require a person who purchases an item that is exempt from tax to obtain an exemption certificate from the Department to receive the exemption. The Department must issue a use-based exemption number to a person who qualifies for the exemptio…

(a) Requirement and Application. - Before a person may engage in business as a retailer or a wholesale merchant or when a facilitator is liable for tax under this Article, the person must obtain a certificate of registration. To obtain a certificate of registration, a person must…

(a) Application. - To be eligible for the exemption provided in G.S. 105-164.13(52), a State agency must obtain from the Department a sales tax exemption number. The application for exemption must be in the form required by the Secretary, be signed by the State agency's head, and…

The Secretary must give information on refunds of tax made under this Article to a designated county or city official within 30 days after the official makes a written request to the Secretary for the information. For a request made by a county official, the Secretary must give t…

The following definitions apply in this Article: (1) Accommodation. - A hotel room, a motel room, a residence, a cottage, or a similar lodging facility for occupancy by an individual. (3) Accommodation facilitator. - A person that contracts, either directly or indirectly, with a …

For the purpose of enforcing the collection of the tax levied by this Article, the Secretary or his duly authorized agent is authorized to examine at all reasonable hours during the day the books, papers, records, documents or other data of all retailers or wholesale merchants be…

If a retailer, a wholesale merchant, a facilitator, or a consumer fails to file a return and pay the tax due under this Article or files a grossly incorrect or false or fraudulent return, the Secretary must estimate the tax due and assess the retailer, the wholesale merchant, the…

If any taxpayer subject to the provisions of this Article goes into bankruptcy, receivership or turns over his stock of merchandise by voluntary transfer to creditors, the tax liability under this Article shall constitute a prior lien upon such stock of merchandise and shall beco…

(a) The tax imposed by this Article is a lien upon all personal property of any person who is required by this Article to obtain a certificate of registration to engage in business and who stops engaging in the business by transferring the business, transferring the stock of good…

In the event any retailer or wholesale merchant is delinquent in the payment of the tax herein provided for, the Secretary may give notice of the amount of such delinquency by registered mail to all persons having in their possession or under their control any credits or other pe…

(a) A privilege tax is imposed on a retailer engaged in business in the State at the percentage rates of the retailer's net taxable sales or gross receipts, listed in this subsection. The general rate of tax is four and three-quarters percent (4.75%). The percentage rates are as …

If the Secretary is of the opinion that the collection of any tax or any amount of tax required to be collected and paid to the State under this Article will be jeopardized by delay, he shall make an assessment of the tax or amount of tax required to be collected and shall mail o…

This Part is the "Uniform Sales and Use Tax Administration Act" and may be cited by that name. (2001-347, s. 1.3; 2005-276, s. 33.31.)

The following definitions apply in this Part: (1) Agreement. - Streamlined Agreement, as defined in G.S. 105-164.3. (2) Certified automated system. - Software certified jointly by the states that are signatories to the Agreement to calculate the tax imposed by each jurisdiction o…

The Secretary is authorized to enter into the Agreement with one or more states to simplify and modernize sales and use tax administration in order to substantially reduce the burden of tax compliance for all sellers and for all types of commerce. The Secretary may act jointly wi…

No provision of the Agreement authorized by this Part invalidates or amends any provision of the law of this State. Adoption of the Agreement by this State does not amend or modify any law of this State. Implementation of a condition of the Agreement in this State must be made pu…

The Secretary may not enter into the Agreement unless the Agreement requires each state to abide by the following requirements: (1) Uniform state rate. - The Agreement must set restrictions to achieve more uniform state rates through the following: a. Limiting the number of state…

The Agreement authorized by this Part is an accord among individual cooperating sovereigns in furtherance of their governmental functions. The Agreement provides a mechanism among the member states to establish and maintain a cooperative, simplified system for the application and…

Entry of this State into the Agreement does not create a cause of action or a defense to an action. No person may challenge any action or inaction by a department, agency, or other instrumentality of this State, or a political subdivision of this State, on the ground that the act…