How to Form a Corporation in North Carolina
By Edmond Hui · Facts verified July 29, 2026 against primary state sources
Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC
Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.
What you file in North Carolina
Incorporation filing
| Document | Articles of Incorporation (Form B-01) |
| Fee | $125 |
| Recurring report | Business Corporation Annual Report (filed with the NC Secretary of State; no numbered form) — every year, $25 |
| First report due | By the 15th day of the 4th month following the close of the corporation's fiscal year (April 15 for calendar-year corporations) |
This page covers the state filing and the charges that follow it. For the procedural side — name availability, registered agent, bylaws and the federal EIN — see the formation guide and how to get an EIN, both of which apply to corporations as well as LLCs.
What it costs to incorporate and stay filed
State filing charges only. Corporate income tax and franchise tax are excluded — both depend on income or net worth, so no flat figure would be true for every corporation.
| Charge | Amount | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Articles of Incorporation (Form B-01) | $125 | One time |
| Business Corporation Annual Report (filed with the NC Secretary of State; no numbered form) | $25 | Every year |
| First-year state filing charges | $150 | — |
| Five-year state filing charges | $250 | — |
North Carolina is the 34th cheapest of 49 states on the incorporation filing fee alone. Nationally the fee runs from $35 in Montana to $300 in Texas, averaging $113.06. It is a one-off charge, so over five years it is usually outweighed by the recurring report fee and any annual franchise or minimum tax.
States that are cheaper to incorporate in
A cheaper filing fee elsewhere rarely saves money if you actually operate in North Carolina. Every state sets its own threshold for what counts as transacting business, and where that threshold is met an out-of-state corporation is generally required to register as a foreign corporation — which would mean fees in both states rather than one. Whether it applies to you depends on facts this page cannot see, so check foreign qualification in North Carolina before incorporating elsewhere to save on the filing fee.
North Carolina corporation vs North Carolina LLC
State filing charges only. Corporate income tax and franchise tax are excluded because both depend on income or net worth, so no flat figure exists for either entity.
| Corporation | LLC | |
|---|---|---|
| Formation filing fee | $125 | $125 |
| Report cadence | Every year | Every year |
| Report fee | $25 | $200 |
| Entity-level tax on the LLC side | — | Franchise Tax (only LLCs that elect corporate tax treatment) |
Both entities cost $125 to file in North Carolina, so the filing fee is not a reason to pick one over the other.
Full North Carolina LLC cost breakdown · LLC vs C-corp explained · LLC vs S-corp explained
State taxes a North Carolina corporation pays
Corporate income tax
| Applies | Yes |
| Rate | 2.00% flat for tax year 2026 (down from 2.25% in 2025; statutorily phasing down toward 0% in future years) |
Franchise or gross-receipts tax
NC franchise (privilege) tax applies to both C and S corporations at $1.50 per $1,000 of the corporation's tax base with a $200 minimum; for tax years 2025 forward the tax on the first $1,000,000 of base is capped at $500 (holding companies capped at $150,000).
What these totals leave out: the filing-charge figures on this page are what you pay the business filing office. They exclude corporate income tax and any franchise or gross-receipts tax, because both depend on income, net worth or receipts. The section above sets out what North Carolinalevies — or that it levies neither. Where a state's franchise tax carries a flat minimum, that minimum is an unavoidable annual cost these totals do not include, and over five years it can be the larger number.
C-corp return: CD-405 (C-Corporation Tax Return)
Electing S-corporation status in North Carolina
North Carolina follows the federal S election. Full North Carolina S-corporation election guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where these numbers come from
This page covers the state filing required to incorporate in North Carolina and the charges that follow it. Every figure was checked against North Carolina's own published sources on July 29, 2026— the state business filing agency's fee schedule, the governing statute, and where a state tax applies, the state Department of Revenue. Commercial formation-service pages were used as leads only and are never cited. Anything the review could not confirm from an official source is left blank on this page rather than filled with an estimate.
Corporate income tax and franchise tax are quoted as the state publishes them, as rate schedules and thresholds, and are excluded from every dollar total here. They depend on income or net worth, so there is no flat figure that would be true for every corporation.
Primary sources:
- https://www.ncdor.gov/taxes-forms/corporate-income-franchise-tax/corporate-income-and-franchise-tax-rates
- https://www.sosnc.gov/forms/by_title/_Business_Registration
- https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_55/GS_55-1-22.html
- https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_55/GS_55-16-22.html
- https://www.ncdor.gov/taxes-forms/corporate-income-franchise-tax/corporate-tax-forms-and-instructions