Overview
North Carolina employers that withhold state income tax must file withholding returns with the North Carolina Department of Revenue (NCDOR). Employers subject to unemployment insurance must separately file quarterly wage and tax reports with the North Carolina Division of Employment Security (DES).
The TaxBandits API supports automation of Form NC-5Q, Form NC-3, Form NC UI-101, and New Hire Reporting.
Forms supported
| Form | Type | Filing frequency | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form NC-5Q | Withholding | Quarterly | Last day of the month following the quarter end |
| Form NC-3 | Withholding Reconciliation | Annually | January 31 following the tax year |
| Form NC UI-101 | UI | Quarterly | Last day of the month following the quarter end |
| New Hire Report | New Hire | As applicable | Within 20 days of hire or rehire |
Form NC-5Q — Quarterly Withholding
North Carolina requires employers on the semiweekly withholding deposit schedule to file Form NC-5Q quarterly. It reports the total North Carolina income tax required to be withheld and the amount deposited during the quarter.
Form NC-3 — Annual Withholding Reconciliation
Form NC-3 is the annual reconciliation of North Carolina income tax withheld. Employers must also submit the applicable W-2 and 1099 withholding statements. Form NC-3 is filed annually with the fourth-quarter reporting and is due January 31 following the tax year.
Form NC UI-101 — Quarterly UI Wage Report
Employers subject to North Carolina unemployment insurance must file the quarterly UI wage report even when no wages were paid.
The quarterly filing periods are:
| Quarter | Reporting Period | NC-5Q Due Date | NC UI-101 Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | January – March | April 30 | April 30 |
| Q2 | April – June | July 31 | July 31 |
| Q3 | July – September | October 31 | October 31 |
| Q4 | October – December | January 31 | January 31 |
Key compliance notes
- NC-5Q. North Carolina requires employers on the semiweekly withholding deposit schedule to file Form NC-5Q quarterly. It reports the total North Carolina income tax required to be withheld and the amount deposited during the quarter.
- NC-3. Form NC-3 is the annual reconciliation of North Carolina income tax withheld. Employers must also submit the applicable W-2 and 1099 withholding statements.
- Zero filing. A withholding return must be filed even when no North Carolina wages or withholding are reported.
- UI reporting. Employers subject to North Carolina unemployment insurance must file the quarterly UI wage report even when no wages were paid.
- 2026 UI wage base. The taxable wage base for North Carolina UI is $34,200 per employee for 2026.
- Electronic UI filing. Employers reporting wages for 10 or more employees must file the quarterly UI report electronically.
- New hires. Newly hired and rehired employees must generally be reported within 20 days of their start date.
API endpoints
For these forms, the state-specific methods — Create, Update, and Get — differ by form because each form has its own field structure. The utility methods — List, Delete, Transmit, RequestPdfUrls, and Status — are shared across State Withholding and UI reporting.
Form NC-5Q (North Carolina Quarterly Withholding)
- Create — Creates a quarterly NC-5Q withholding return.
- Update — Updates an NC-5Q return before transmission.
- Get — Retrieves an existing NC-5Q return.
Form NC-3 (North Carolina Annual Withholding Reconciliation)
- Create — Creates the annual NC-3 reconciliation.
- Update — Updates the NC-3 before transmission.
- Get — Retrieves an existing NC-3.
Form NC UI-101 (North Carolina Quarterly UI Wage Report)
- Create — Creates the quarterly NC UI-101 wage and tax report.
- Update — Updates the UI report before transmission.
- Get — Retrieves an existing UI report.
Common endpoints: For the remaining methods — List, Status, Transmit, RequestPdfUrls, and Delete — refer to the common endpoints shared across State Withholding and UI reporting.
All endpoints require an OAuth 2.0 access token. Call the Auth method and pass the token as a Bearer token in the request header.
New Hire Reporting
North Carolina requires employers to report newly hired and rehired employees to the North Carolina Directory of New Hires within 20 days of the employee's start date. TaxBandits supports automation of North Carolina New Hire Reporting.
Testing & notifications
Before filing, you can simulate the entire verification flow in our Sandbox environment without submitting real data to state agencies.
As an alternative to polling the Status endpoint, you can configure a webhook for the Status Payroll Filings Status Change event type to receive automated status updates.