North Carolina charges a flat 3.99% on federal AGI less its own standard deduction ($12,750 single, $25,500 joint). NCDOR has confirmed the federal tips and overtime deductions do not reduce North Carolina taxable income, because they are taken after AGI is calculated.
What it means on a real paycheck
Take a single filer earning $50,000 a year, $8,000 of it in tips. Against the same person with no tips to declare, the federal deduction is worth $960.
In North Carolina it is worth nothing extra. The state bill is identical either way, so $960 is the whole of it.
How North Carolina works out the tax
North Carolina charges a flat 3.99%, after a standard deduction of $12,750 single or $25,500 filing jointly. It begins from your federal adjusted gross income and applies its own reliefs from there.