Corporate Taxes - Local
Sales and Use Tax
All counties levy local sales and use taxes at the rate of 2.25% on food purchased for home consumption and on transactions subject to the state 5.5% general rate, such as sales of building materials, office equipment, etc.
General Property Tax
There is only one assessment in each county. Property is to be assessed at a 100% of appraised value. Property appraised at the full value at the time of appraisal may appreciate until appraised value is only 50% or 60% of true value by the end of the eight-year period. Actual ratios vary from county to county. The tax rates vary from county to county and from town to town. In much of the state only county-wide rates apply outside of cities and towns.
Excluded from property taxation are manufacturers’ inventories (raw materials, goods in process, finished goods, materials or supplies consumed in processing, crops, and other agricultural or horticultural products held for sale), contractors’ inventories (goods held by contractors to be furnished in the course of building, installing, repairing, or improving real property), livestock, poultry, and inventories of retail and wholesale merchants (tangible personal property held for sale and not manufactured, processed, or produced by the merchant). Computer software is exempt from taxation. “Bill and hold” goods manufactured in NC and held by the manufacturer for shipment to a non-resident customer are exempt.
