Hiring Your First Employee in North Carolina (2026)
The North Carolina-specific steps for a first W-2 hire, layered on top of the federal checklist. Every figure links to the state agency or official source we checked.
Minimum wage
$7.25/hour, the same as the federal minimum.
State unemployment tax (SUTA)
Beginning employers pay 1%, on a much higher wage base than most states: $34,200 for 2026.
Income tax withholding registration
Register with the NC Department of Revenue for income tax withholding (online, or Form NC-BR), and with the Division of Employment Security for unemployment. Employees file Form NC-4.
New-hire reporting
Report within 20 days of the start date to the NC New Hires directory.
Workers' compensation
Required once you regularly employ 3 or more employees (corporate officers count), or one or more employees exposed to radiation.
Paid sick leave, family leave & disability
We found no North Carolina law requiring private employers to provide paid sick leave, and North Carolina has no state paid family leave or disability insurance program.
Required posters
NCDOL requires the N.C. Workplace Labor Laws poster, which combines the state wage-and-hour and safety notices, along with the federal posters. Federal posters apply too; the DOL FirstStep Poster Advisor shows which ones. Official posters are free.
Worked example: one full-time employee at $18/hour
This uses the same assumptions as our employee cost calculator: $18/hour, 40 hours a week, 52 weeks, 2026 federal rates, and North Carolina's new-employer SUTA rate. Workers' comp is a placeholder; your insurer's rate for the job class will differ.
| Wages: $18 × 40 h × 52 weeks | $37,440.00 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | $2,321.28 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | $542.88 |
| FUTA (0.6% of first $7,000) | $42.00 |
| NC unemployment: 1% of first $34,200 | $342.00 |
| Workers' comp, illustrative $1.00 per $100 of payroll | $374.40 |
| Total before benefits | $41,062.56 |
That's 1.10× wages, or about $19.74 per hour paid, before benefits, paid leave, and payroll software. $18/hour is above North Carolina's 2026 minimum wage.
FAQ
What is the North Carolina SUTA rate for new employers in 2026?
Beginning employers pay 1%, on a much higher wage base than most states: $34,200 for 2026.
Is workers' comp required for my first employee in North Carolina?
Required once you regularly employ 3 or more employees (corporate officers count), or one or more employees exposed to radiation.