North Carolina LLC structure and cost: no series, no franchise tax, and no privacy

North Carolina’s entity rules are simpler than most states covered in this project, and the simplicity runs in both directions. There is no series LLC to consider, no franchise tax on a pass-through company, no publication requirement, and no operating agreement to file. There is also no privacy, and there is an annual report that costs more than most states charge.

The result is a state where the structural decisions are few and the recurring cost decision is the real one. That belongs on the filing page, and the rest belongs here.

North Carolina keeps the entity rules simple and puts the cost in the annual report rather than the structure.

Where the entity actually lives

A North Carolina LLC has a birthplace and a residence, and the where your LLC lives doctrine decides which controls what. North Carolina governs the internal affairs covered on the governance page; where the company operates governs tax and the courtroom.

One practical note for out-of-state owners. If you form a North Carolina LLC and then have to qualify it back in your home state, you add your home state’s registration and annual obligations on top of North Carolina’s $200 report. Given that North Carolina’s ongoing cost is high for the region, forming here to operate elsewhere is a poor trade, and the sound reason to use a North Carolina LLC is that the business is actually in North Carolina.

No series LLCs

North Carolina does not authorize series LLCs, which removes a decision rather than creating a problem.

An owner who wants walled compartments in North Carolina forms separate LLCs, which is what this site recommends in most series states anyway.

The series LLC page sets out why: the internal walls in series states rest on statutes with almost no case law, the bankruptcy treatment is unresolved nationally, the federal tax answer was never finalized, and the bookkeeping burden of ten series equals ten companies. North Carolina’s answer is the conservative one by default. The tradeoff is cost: ten separate North Carolina LLCs means ten $200 annual reports, which is $2,000 a year, and that is a real number for a portfolio owner. It is also the price of ten liability shields courts have honored for a century, which is the same tradeoff the series page frames everywhere.

Taxes

North Carolina has a personal income tax at a flat rate that has been declining on a legislated schedule for several years. That schedule makes published figures go stale quickly, so confirm the current rate with the Department of Revenue rather than trusting a rate quoted in an article, including a recent one.

A pass-through North Carolina LLC pays no franchise tax, so the entity itself is not taxed for existing.

Income from a pass-through LLC flows to the members and is taxed on their North Carolina returns. There is no franchise tax on the pass-through entity, which distinguishes North Carolina from states like Delaware and California that charge for existence regardless of income.

North Carolina charges an excise tax when real property is conveyed, and this page does not publish the rate.

North Carolina imposes an excise tax on conveyances of real property, collected through the register of deeds, and certain counties are authorized to impose additional amounts. This site publishes tax rates it has read from the source or none at all, and this rate was not verified for this page. Before moving North Carolina real property into an entity, price the excise tax with the register of deeds for the specific county and get the exemption analysis from counsel. The question that decided the answer in Florida, Nevada, Illinois, and California is the same one here: whether a contribution to an entity you already own, with ownership unchanged on both sides, falls within an exemption.

Privacy

There is none worth planning around, and it starts at formation.

North Carolina’s Articles name a company official, so someone is on the public record from day one.

The formation document requires the name of at least one member, manager, or organizer, and that name becomes part of the public record. The annual report then refreshes company information every year. If you act as your own registered agent, your street address joins the record too, since North Carolina requires a physical in-state address and rejects post office boxes. The anonymous LLC page covers the states where privacy is a designed feature; North Carolina is not one of them.

The bottom line

North Carolina does not authorize series LLCs, so separate companies are the way to separate assets.

Ten separate North Carolina LLCs means $2,000 a year in annual reports, which is the real cost of that conservatism.

A pass-through North Carolina LLC owes no franchise tax, so the entity is not taxed for existing.

North Carolina’s flat income tax has been declining on a schedule, so confirm the current rate rather than trusting a published figure.

An excise tax applies when real property is conveyed, and whether a contribution to your own entity is exempt is the question to answer before recording.

The Articles name a company official on the public record, so North Carolina offers no meaningful entity privacy.

What this page does not cover

This page is about what the entity costs and what it can be. How creditors reach you, including the exclusive-remedy charging order, is on the protection page. What the statute decides when your agreement is silent is on the governance page. The $200 annual report, the cure period, and the reinstatement arithmetic are on the filing page.

Last verified July 2026.