If I live in Florida but work remotely for a company in North Carolina, do I owe NC income tax?

[matt16]

I am a full-time employee (not a contractor) for a company that does business in North Carolina. If I live in and work remotely from Florida and never step foot in NC, do I owe any income tax to NC?

[Zbucklyo]

No, you do not.

[acaral]

sorry to open a post so old but I have the same question and I understand the answer but my problem is my company by mistake held my taxes for North Carolina and in the W-2 says how much I paid for.

How can I recover that money back?

[FangxiaL]

It might not be a mistake by withholding state income tax for NC if your employer treats the income as NC-sourced income. In this case, you need to file a NC nonresident return.  If it is truly a mistake, you need to file a nonresident return to claim your refund. 

@acaral

[acaral]

 Hello FangxiaL,

thanks for you response. I talked with my employer this year and now they change my residence to Florida so tehy are not withhelding NC state taxes anymore.

THe problem is, if I file a nonresident NC state tazes and put teh money on the W2. It only refund me like a 1/7 of the total ammount. Shouldn't I get all the money?

[RaifH]

Yes, you should be refunded the entire amount of North Carolina taxes withheld in Box 17 of your W-2. To do this, you want to file a nonresident North Carolina return and allocate $0 of your wages to North Carolina. If you are not getting the entire amount refunded, something was entered incorrectly in the allocation screens. Make sure none of your income from this job or anything else is being allocated to North Carolina. 

In the North Carolina nonresident return, on the Wages Allocation screen under Part-Year and Nonresident Income,  use the Status Pulldown menu and select Not NC Source Income.

[user17574747932]

Hello,

I am having this same problem. Full time remote worker for a company in NC but I lives in FL and TN for a 2022-2025. 
My job kept my with NC so I got to taxed and I just realized. 

Do I need to have my job fix the W-2’s from previous years before filing to get the money back for those years?

[user17574747932]

Also, I did do a NC non resident return so I may have done it correctly but how so I know/ how do i check if that got my withholding back fully?

[Hal_Al]

Q. Do I need to have my job fix the W-2’s from previous years before filing to get the money back for those years?

A. No. 

It would be very difficult  for your employer to even try to do that for you.

You should file those past NC returns and attach a letter of explanation.

[user17574747932]

Okay, thank you! I then realized I actually did file an NC state return for non resident, so I think I did do it correctly. 
How can I check that I did in fact getting the correct bc state tax refund back? 

Another question, for 2025 taxes, should I ask my employer now to change the w-2 for the current state I have been living in (TN)?  Or just continue to file the federal return and NC non resident return?

[Hal_Al]

Q. How can I check that I did in fact getting the correct NC state tax refund back? 

A. You should have gotten all the NC withholding back, if you never lived or worked in NC. 

Q. Should I ask my employer now to change the w-2 for the current state I have been living in (TN)?

A. Yes, even  though they have bee withholding NC tax, for most of 2025.  You will still need to file a NC non-resident return for 2025.  TN (and FL) does not have an income tax, so there will be no TN withholding.  Ideally, your W-2 should show TN in box 15; but your employer may be unwilling or unable to do that.