North Carolina House Passes Budget Slowing Income Tax Drawdown

The North Carolina House of Representatives passed its roughly $66 billion two-year budget Thursday morning, teeing up a showdown with the state Senate over the speed and extent to which income taxes should be cut.

Both the House and Senate versions of the budget bill (SB 257) suggest decreases in the state’s 4.25% personal income tax rate. The House version, which passed a procedural vote Thursday 86-20, would decrease that rate to 3.99% in 2026 and to 2.49% in 2029 if certain revenue thresholds are met.

The Senate budget bill would eventually lower the income tax rate further ...