Federal and State Income Tax Withholding

 

The amount of Federal and State withholding taxes you pay is based on the information you provide on your W-4 and NC-4 withholding certificates and the amount of your taxable earnings.

Taxable Earnings is the portion of your gross earnings that is subject to being taxed.

Federal and state taxable earnings are the total salary plus non-wage compensation, reduced by “pre-tax” deductions for dental, health and vision insurance, Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D), dependent care &flexible medical savings accounts, supplemental medical plan, pre-taxed parking, retirement contributions and annuity payments (403b, 401k, and 457 Deferred Compensation).

Federal Tax Chart for 2020

As of January 1, 2014 the State of North Carolina personal income tax changed to a “flat” tax.  This means everyone pays the same percentage of tax on their taxable earnings. There are no longer tax brackets.   For 2014 the percentage is 5.8%.

To estimate your state income taxes 1) multiply your state taxable wages by the number of payperiods in a year (12 for those paid monthly, 26 for those paid bi-weekly)  2)subtract $7,500 (personal exemption) 3) Multiply the remaining balance by 5.8% and then divide it by the number of pay periods in a year.  This is the calculation for anyone claiming Single or Married, with zero allowances.  Please see the “Note” below.

All employees default to Marital Status = single with zero personal allowances for both Federal and State Income tax calculation purposes when they are hired. If you wish to change your Marital Status and/or amount of personal allowances claimed you can review and change this information through MyPack Portal.  Please see the note below before making any changes.

To change your withholding log into MyPack Portal using your Unity ID & password, then click on the “For Faculty & Staff” tab on the top of the page.  In the Employee Self Service section select Payroll and Compensation.  You will then click on the option NC4/W4 Tax Data.  You will have two options – Federal Withholding and North Carolina State Withholding.   NOTE:  If you will not be working in the state of North Carolina, call the Payroll office at 515-4350 for assistance immediately.


NOTE: As a result of the changes to the North Carolina tax system as of January 1, 2014 how you determine the number of allowance for tax year 2014 will differ from previous years.  Most tax payers will not be entitled to as many allowances and as a result, more tax payers should claim zero allowance.  This is for North Carolina State Income tax purposes only.