For NC, NC does not required you to itemize if the Federal is itemized.
AND
It is certainly possible that the State itemized deductions do not exceed their Standard deduction.
For instance, while Fed itemized Deductions can include up to $10,000 of state taxes paid+Property taxes, BUT, for NC itemized deductions (for those two items) it only includes property taxes. Thus, if one does not own a home, there can be up to $10,000 less of your itemized NC deductions.
IF you have the desktop software, you can open your tax return in Forms Mode, and check for the NC Schedule A....if not there you can add it, and it will show what value your NC-allowed itemized deductions actually are (if they were to be used).
.............or, if you can't get to that form (because you are using Online software) Use the NC Schedule A to see what your NC itemized deductions "could" be by adding them up yourself.
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https://files.nc.gov/ncdor/documents/files/2020-D-400-Schedule-A-Web.pdf
And compare to the allowed NC Std Ded for your filing status on page 14 of:
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https://files.nc.gov/ncdor/documents/files/2020-D-401-Instructions.pdf
____________*Answers are correct to the best of my knowledge when posted, but should not be considered to be legal or official tax advice.*
