Self-employed in Winston-Salem, NC: taxes and retirement for 2026

Guides for North Carolina

Winston-Salem local rules

Local income tax

No city income tax in Winston-Salem.

City business license

There is no general city business license; only certain trades need a City privilege license (beer and wine sales, door-to-door solicitors, fortune tellers, panhandlers, pawnbrokers, tattoo artists, taxicabs). Home-based businesses in Forsyth County need an occupation permit through City/County Inspections.

Also worth knowing

North Carolina cities do not levy personal income tax. Business names must be registered with the Forsyth County Register of Deeds. Massage businesses with employees or contractors who provide massage need a city massage business permit. We found no Winston-Salem ordinance for gig, app-based, or freelance workers. No official state list of jurisdictions without a local income tax exists; this is confirmed via Tax Foundation's 2023 local income tax primer (secondary source, https://files.taxfoundation.org/20230222173518/Local-Income-Taxes-A-Primer-2023.pdf), which does not list this state among the 16 states whose localities levy income taxes, and we found no 2026 change.

North Carolina rules that apply in Winston-Salem

State income tax (2026)

North Carolina has a flat 3.99% state income tax for 2026. Flat rate: 4.5% for 2024, 4.25% for 2025, and 3.99% for tax years beginning after 2025 (S.L. 2023-134).

State estimated tax

You must pay estimated tax if the tax shown due on your return, after North Carolina withholding and allowable credits, is $1,000 or more. Same dates as federal (April 15, June 15, September 15, January 15). The January installment is not required if you file and pay in full by January 31. Farmers and commercial fishermen (at least two-thirds of income) may pay by January 15, or skip estimates by filing and paying by March 1. Form NC-40.

Minimum wage (2026)

$7.25 an hour; tipped cash wage $2.13 an hour. North Carolina's Wage and Hour Act sets the state minimum wage at $7.25 per hour, the same as the federal rate. Tipped employees may be paid $2.13 cash if tips make up the difference. Agricultural and domestic employees fall under the federal minimum wage.

Employee Fair Classification Act (N.C. Gen. Stat. 143-785 to 143-791)

Created the Employee Classification Section in the NC Industrial Commission (S.L. 2017-203). The section investigates businesses that misclassify employees as independent contractors to avoid tax and insurance duties and helps agencies recover back taxes, wages, and penalties. Workers can report suspected misclassification.

Voluntary Portable Benefits Plan Act (H1083, pending)

Would set up a framework for voluntary portable benefits plans for independent workers. It passed the House 79-33 on June 30, 2026 and was referred to the Senate Rules Committee on July 1, 2026. It is not law as of October 7, 2026.

Questions

Track it in one place

Gigaverse estimates your quarterly taxes from what you actually earn, logs business trips, categorizes expenses from your bank and answers money questions with your own numbers.

Sources

• www.ncdor.gov/taxes-forms/information-tax-professionals/revenue-laws/2025-tax-law-changes/2025-personal-taxes-law-changes
• www.ncdor.gov/taxes-forms/individual-income-tax/estimated-income-tax
• www.labor.nc.gov/workplace-rights/employee-rights-regarding-time-worked-and-wages-earned/minimum-wage-nc
• www.ic.nc.gov/CriminalInvestigations&EmployeeClassification.html
• www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/H1083
• www.cityofws.org/824/Business-License

Facts researched from official sources and independently re-checked; last verified October 2026, next scheduled review 2027-01-02. Educational information for 2026, not tax, legal or investment advice. Rules change; check the official sources listed and a tax professional for your situation. Gigaverse AI, Inc. is a financial technology company, not a bank, and not itself a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer.