North Carolina runs its own Wage and Hour Act: 1.5 times pay after 40 hours a week, matching federal rules, with the $7.25 floor. Enter your rate and hours for a North Carolina paycheck estimate.
Rules verified November 2026 · Sources: U.S. Department of Labor
By Mudassir Khan
NC Wage and Hour Act rules. Each workweek stands alone.
North Carolina gives you two years to pursue unpaid wages, and the Bureau needs the claim to be over $50. Estimates only. Not tax, legal, or payroll advice. Confirm with your employer or a qualified professional.
The North Carolina Wage and Hour Act requires 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek for nonexempt workers. The NC Department of Labor states the rule plainly: overtime is based on hours worked each workweek, not on hours worked each day.
File with the NCDOL Wage and Hour Bureau or sue in court within two years. The Bureau only accepts complaints over $50, and you must wait at least 10 days after the payday before filing a complaint.
North Carolina makes employers keep written promises on pay, bonuses, and vacation. If your employer promised a rate or a bonus in writing, the Wage and Hour Act treats that promise as enforceable wages.
Gross = (40 × rate) + (hours over 40 × rate × 1.5)
| Rule | North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Overtime rule | NC Wage and Hour Act: 1.5 times pay after 40 hours in a workweek, no daily overtime |
| Minimum wage 2026 | $7.25, unchanged since 2009, no local increases allowed |
| State income tax | Yes, flat 3.99 percent, no city or county income taxes |
| Claim agency | NC Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Bureau |
| Claim deadline | 2 years; Bureau complaints must exceed $50 and wait 10 days after payday |
| Worker | Math | Gross |
|---|---|---|
| $21/hr, 46 hours | $840 + 6 × $31.50 | $1,029.00 |
| $7.25/hr (minimum wage), 48 hours | $290 + 8 × $10.88 | $377.00 |
| $18/hr, 55 hours | $720 + 15 × $27 | $1,125.00 |
| $14/hr, 40 hours | 40 × $14, no overtime | $560.00 |
Example 3 shows how fast overtime adds up at a mid range rate: 15 overtime hours at $27 each add $405 to the $720 regular week, a 56 percent bump.
The rate phasedown finished in 2026. North Carolina's flat income tax stepped down from 4.75 percent in 2023 to 3.99 percent for 2026, and no city or county adds its own income tax. A single 3.99 percent rate on taxable income is the whole state income tax layer on your overtime.
Seasonal amusement workers are the exception. North Carolina's one big overtime carve out: seasonal amusement and recreational establishments owe overtime only after 45 hours in a workweek, not 40. If you work the rides in the summer, your overtime line sits 5 hours later than everyone else's.
The $50 and 10 day filing rules. The Wage and Hour Bureau will not open a complaint under $50, and you cannot file until at least 10 days after the payday passed. Small, fresh disputes go to the employer first, not straight to the Bureau.
North Carolina overtime math matches the federal baseline explained in the FLSA overtime rules guide. For a neighboring state with no wage law at all, see our Georgia overtime calculator.
Yes. The North Carolina Wage and Hour Act requires 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek, mirroring the federal FLSA, with no daily overtime rule.
$7.25 an hour, the same as the federal rate and unchanged since 2009. State law blocks cities and counties from setting a higher local minimum wage.
With the North Carolina Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Bureau, or in court. Claims generally must be brought within two years. The Bureau only takes complaints over $50, and you must wait at least 10 days after the payday before filing.
No. North Carolina has no daily overtime rule. Minimum wage and overtime are based on hours worked each workweek, not on the number of hours worked each day, and each workweek stands on its own.
Yes. North Carolina taxes wages, including overtime, at a flat 3.99 percent rate for 2026, the final step of a multi year phasedown. There are no city or county income taxes anywhere in the state.
Yes, if nonexempt. A salary alone does not remove overtime rights in North Carolina. Only employees who pass the exempt duties and salary tests can be denied overtime pay.
Rates and rules checked against these sources in November 2026.
Want the same math without the North Carolina framing? Use the overtime pay calculator. Curious what the no tax on overtime deduction does to a North Carolina paycheck? Try the deduction calculator, with the flat 3.99 percent state tax, the math stays simple.