Retiring in North Carolina

Every figure below is sourced to North Carolina’s own publications and dated. Estimates only, and not tax advice.

Retirement tax by state

What your state actually takes from a 401(k) withdrawal, a pension, and Social Security — in dollars, not a yes/no list.

Long-term index-fund growth after expense-ratio drag — and what your state takes from the gains at withdrawal.

Decided on the two rates that actually govern it — yours now, and yours at withdrawal, in the state you'll retire in rather than the one you're in.

2026 limits, employer match, the 60-63 super catch-up, and whether the Roth catch-up mandate applies to you.

When your RMDs start under SECURE 2.0, how much this year's is, and what missing it costs.

What a backdoor Roth conversion would actually cost you in tax — the pro-rata rule most calculators only describe.

The tax a leveraged rental owes inside a self-directed IRA — computed at trust rates, not the rate you'd assume.

401(k) and IRA withdrawals: Taxed
Social Security: Not taxed
Top marginal rate: 3.99%; A flat rate on all taxable income.
Tax year: 2026; Brackets are legislated and change on a fixed calendar, so the year matters.

North Carolina is a hard state for a private-sector retiree and an easy one for a military retiree. The flat 3.99% applies to every dollar of 401(k) and IRA income with no age-based relief, while a 20-year military pension is deducted in full.
The Bailey exemption is keyed to vesting as of August 12, 1989 and therefore covers a population that only shrinks. Treating 'North Carolina exempts government pensions' as a forward-looking fact is wrong for anyone who entered state, local, or federal service after that date.
DELIBERATE OMISSION: autoIraProgram is not populated. North Carolina has no state-facilitated auto-IRA employer mandate, so leaving the field unset is the accurate record rather than a gap.