What a taxable index-fund account is actually worth after expense-ratio drag and after North Carolina takes its share of the gain — which, in most states, is not at the federal preferential rate.
There is no state equivalent of the federal preferential rate here — a long-term gain is charged at North Carolina's normal income brackets, exactly like wages. This is the common case, and it surprises people who assume the federal 15% carries over. Long-term capital gains are taxed as ordinary income at the flat 3.99%. North Carolina taxable income begins from federal AGI, which already includes net capital gain, and the state's individual income tax statute provides no preferential rate, no holding-period discount, and no general exclusion. The federal preferential long-term rate does NOT carry over. The flatness cuts both ways here: unlike a graduated state, a very large gain does not push the North Carolina rate up, so the marginal state cost of a liquidity event is the same 3.99% as the marginal cost of a paycheck.
What your state actually takes from a 401(k) withdrawal, a pension, and Social Security — in dollars, not a yes/no list.
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 retiring actually costs across all fifty states in 2026 — the three lines that decide it, why ranking states by income tax gets the answer wrong, the federal rules that follow you everywhere, and the decisions that are worth real money before you move.
North Carolina charges $1,925 in state income tax on a typical retirement income, $2,525 in property tax on its median home and $3,025 in insurance — $7,475 together, which is 26th of 50.
What moving actually saves, on your own income mix rather than a headline rate — and how to establish domicile so the state you left cannot follow you.
Which account to draw first, priced. The three cliffs a withdrawal can cross without warning, the conversion window almost nobody uses, and why the order is the last big decision you can still change.