To: University Business Managers
MOU Leads
HR Officers
From: Elizabeth C. (Betsi) Snipes, Director of Payroll Services
Dennis Press, University Controller and Assistant Vice Chancellor
Date: January 23, 2015
Effective Jan. 1, 2015, the North Carolina Department of Revenue (NCDOR) has revised the state income tax withholding rules applicable to wages for non-resident aliens working in North Carolina. For the 2015 calendar year, non-resident aliens, who were not listed in previous wage bracket tables, receiving pay from Jan. 1 onward are not eligible to claim the standard deduction. They must fill out a new form instead of the Form NC-4 or Form NC-4 EZ. An additional amount of income will be withheld for each pay period to account for the inclusion of the standard deduction in wage bracket tables, percentage and annualized methods of computing income tax withheld.
Non-resident aliens employed by your school/department must complete a new form, the NC-4 NRA, which can be found at https://www.ncdor.gov/documents/nonresident-alien-employees-withholding-allowance-certificate. The new form will determine the proper amount of North Carolina income tax to be withheld from wages for these employees. Please note that this applies to state income tax only, and does not affect deductions on the federal W-4 form. The new Form NC-4 NRA will need to be completed and the original mailed to Payroll Services, CB #1260, by Jan. 30, 2015. If a non-resident alien does not complete the NC-4 NRA by this date, they will be considered a single taxpayer with zero exemptions.
If you have any questions about completing the form, please visit the NCDOR website at https://www.ncdor.gov/ or contact a tax professional. For any other questions, contact Andrea Cox at amcox@email.unc.edu.