North Carolina ballot measure · November 3, 2026

North Carolina Constitutional Amendment - Maximum Income Tax Rate of 3.5%, explained

Limit the state income tax rate to 3.5%. A ballot measure is a yes-or-no question put directly to voters — no candidate is involved, and the wording on the ballot is the wording that becomes law. This page shows that wording first, then what it actually changes.

The official wording

"[ ] FOR [ ] AGAINST Constitutional amendment to keep the State income tax rate from being raised higher than three and one-half percent (3.5%)."

This is what appears on the ballot. Everything below explains it.

What it actually means

This proposed constitutional amendment would set a 3.5% ceiling on the North Carolina income tax rate. Because it is written as a ceiling, it would not itself change the tax rate unless the existing law would otherwise allow a rate above 3.5%.

If you vote YES

The North Carolina Constitution would prohibit the State income tax rate from exceeding 3.5% for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2027.
The cap would apply to both personal income tax and corporate income tax.
The current corporate income tax rate would remain below the cap, so the amendment would not change that rate by itself.
If the personal income tax rate is already below 3.5% under existing law, the amendment would not lower it further by itself.

If you vote NO

The Constitution would not be amended to add the 3.5% ceiling.
The current constitutional 7% income-tax ceiling would remain in place unless changed by some other later amendment.
Future legislatures would keep the same constitutional flexibility they have now to set income-tax rates up to the existing cap.

The numbers that matter

Current constitutional income-tax cap: 7%
Proposed constitutional income-tax cap: 3.5%
Current personal income tax rate: 3.99%
Projected personal income tax rate under existing law: 3.49% in 2027 and 2.99% in 2028 and after
Current corporate income tax rate: 2%
Possible future floor under current law: 2.49%

Why supporters say YES

Joseph Harris of the John Locke Foundation said the measure is a safeguard because North Carolina has already moved away from the old high-income-tax model, and the amendment would help keep future politicians from raising rates back up.
— Joseph Harris, fiscal policy analyst, John Locke Foundation
The bill sponsors described the measure as a way to keep taxes lower over the long term, and the bill’s short title is "Lower Taxes for All NC."
— Sen. Michael Lee, Sen. Benton Sawrey, and Sen. Lisa Barnes (primary sponsors)

Why opponents say NO

Gov. Josh Stein said the amendment is "a con, a cynical shell game and a millionaire protection cap" and argued it would not lower current taxes because current law is already driving rates down.
— Gov. Josh Stein
Alexandra Sirota of the NC Budget & Tax Center said the amendment would hinder future lawmakers from responding to changing economic conditions and protecting funding for schools, child care, and disaster response.
— Alexandra Sirota, executive director, NC Budget & Tax Center
The League of Women Voters of North Carolina said current law already keeps the individual income-tax rate below the proposed cap, so the amendment would not lower current taxes and would limit future elected leaders’ flexibility.
— League of Women Voters of North Carolina

What’s genuinely uncertain

I could not verify a separate official state-issued voter guide explaining arguments for and against this specific amendment beyond the legislative staff analysis and the ballot wording.
I did not find a formal, organized ballot-question committee filing that clearly represented the pro or con side in the sources I checked.

The bottom line

This measure would constitutionalize a 3.5% ceiling on State income taxes, but official analysis says current law already keeps rates below that level in the near term, so the main change is a lasting legal limit on future tax increases.

One neutral sentence describing the tradeoff — not a recommendation.

Sources:house.ncleg.gov webservices.ncleg.gov dashboard.ncleg.gov ncbudget.org my.lwv.org carolinajournal.com

Checking it against the official text

The North Carolina State Board of Elections publishes the certified measures and, in most states, an official voter guide with fiscal notes. That is the authoritative version. Everything here is an explanation of it, not a substitute for it.

Confirm this with the official source

Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at North Carolina State Board of Elections.

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