What NC voters need to know about the constitutional tax amendments on the ballot
This year, North Carolina voters will approve or reject three amendments to the state constitution. One would require voters to provide photo identification before voting by mail, another would cap the state personal income tax rate at 3.5%, and the third would require the General Assembly to impose a limit on property tax increases by local governments.
The latter two, in particular, could impact North Carolina public schools. Large portions of both state and local budget appropriations — funded primarily by taxes — go toward education.
Bills passed to place the amendments on the ballot passed the three-fifths vote requirement in the General Assembly with almost entirely Republican support. Now, North Carolina voters must only reach a simple majority to enshrine the amendments in the constitution.
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What you’ll see on your ballot
Below is the language describing the amendments that will appear on the ballot, as written by the General Assembly:
- Constitutional amendment to require all voters, not just those presenting to vote in person, to present photo identification before voting
- Constitutional amendment to keep the State income tax rate from being raised higher than three and one-half percent (3.5%).
- Constitutional amendment requiring limits on property tax increases by local governments.
To read the full texts that would be amended to the constitution if the measures pass, consult the following bills:
- Voter ID amendment: Senate Bill 921
- Income tax amendment: Senate Bill 1080
- Property tax amendment: House Bill 1089
Some have criticized the wording of the language on the ballot as vague, or even deceptive — it’s hard to convey the full ramifications of these measures in a single sentence.
“I think if people had more information, they might think differently,” said Victoria Creamer, principal of Creekside Elementary School in Durham.
Personal income tax cap amendment
The amendment capping the state personal income tax rate at 3.5% aligns with a push by Republicans to gradually lower the income tax. The current constitutional cap is 7%.
In 2025, the actual tax rate was 4.25%. The 2026 state budget, which contains the most recent adjustment to the income tax, will lower it to 2.99% by 2033. The rate was 4.99% in 2022 and will be 3.49% next year. (You can read the full schedule on page 607 of the budget bill text.)
North Carolina is simultaneously on track to fully eliminate its corporate income tax by 2030.
“This keeps our promise to reduce the tax burden for all North Carolinians, while expanding access to incredible educational opportunities, keeping our communities safe, and solidifying North Carolina’s status as the best state in the nation,” Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said about the budget in a statement.
Some Democrats have said that North Carolina could face a deficit if tax cuts move forward. Reacting to the March revenue forecast, Democratic Gov. Josh Stein urged the General Assembly to “hit pause on outdated, irresponsible tax triggers.”
“Today’s forecast means that we will soon fall into a budget gap of at least $2.8 billion, causing the state to have to make painful cuts to critical services like public safety, education, and health care,” Stein said in March.
Income taxes account for about half of North Carolina’s General Fund revenue, which funds the main operations of the state and educational items such as teacher salaries.
The Public School Forum of North Carolina noted in a statement on the constitutional amendments that stricter limits on income tax “would likely result in a greater reliance on more regressive revenue sources like sales taxes, fines and fees, disproportionately impacting people with lower incomes.”
Tight margins between revenue and expenditures, and a debate over the degree to cut taxes, were among the roadblocks that stalled the passage of a state budget last year. Teachers did not receive raises in fiscal year 2025-26.
Read more
Property tax increase limit amendment
EdNC previously reported that educators have said the property tax amendment could harm public schools.
North Carolina public schools receive more than $4 billion in local funds, the majority of which come from property taxes. As the primary funding source for local governments, property taxes also fund infrastructure, public safety, and other essential services.
According to a fact sheet from the N.C. Budget & Tax Center, the amendment would not impose a direct limit on property tax rates, but “a ‘levy limit’ on the total property tax revenue local governments can collect.”
“If revenue exceeds the limit, tax rates would automatically decrease, but an individual homeowner’s bill could still increase,” the fact sheet says. “The constitutional amendment is very vague, but if passed, it allows the state legislature to restrict local communities in ways that will likely erode public services, fail to address unaffordable property tax bills, and exacerbate inequities.”
Property tax crash course
From EdNC’s previous reporting:
Property taxes are levied annually on real estate and other property — think of the annual tax you pay if you own a vehicle or home. The amount taxpayers owe depends on the value of their property and the rate at which it is taxed, set by their county government.
The average county property tax rate was $0.58 per $100 of value in fiscal year 2025-26. See all county property tax rates on the North Carolina Department of Revenue website.
Property taxes make up most of the money in county budgets, which fund programs such as public schools, parks, environmental departments, police and fire departments, health departments, and many other social services.
See Mecklenburg County’s budget, for example. Property taxes contribute 58.7% of the county’s revenue, followed by sales taxes, fees, and other sources.
In legislative committee meetings earlier this year, lawmakers from both parties said property taxes are too high, but Democratic lawmakers expressed reservations about restricting local revenue while state funds already don’t completely cover programs like public education.
Rep. Brian Echevarria, R-Cabarrus, previously said the amendment is “the next step toward a modern, fairer, and more predictable property tax system.”
North Carolina law already limits the local property tax rate to $1.50 per $100 of appraised value. The average property tax rate was $0.58 per $100 in fiscal year 2025-26. No county had a tax rate over $1 per $100 of value.
Many counties and municipalities currently employ a practice of lowering property tax rates to remain revenue-neutral as property values rise, especially in areas with fast-rising property values, mitigating the cost for property owners. Meanwhile, as property values increase, owners’ equity grows.
Read more about property taxes and education
What educators are saying
Educators that spoke to EdNC questioned the motivation behind the proposed tax amendments, and said they pose a threat to the revenue public schools depend on.
“If this passes, the amount of revenue that is drawn from income tax will decrease significantly, such that schools will be facing millions of dollars in shortfall, which will impact our staffing, our instructional supplies, our busses, our teacher pay, our support staff,” Creamer, the Durham principal, said.
Creamer noted that school districts use local supplements to increase teacher salaries, with the dual purpose of trying to alleviate cost of living pressures and incentivizing new teachers to join the profession amid a teacher shortage.
“If (the district) can’t pay according to the cost of living in that community, we can’t attract educators. You know, we have educators who can’t afford to live here,” she said. “(The amendment) is absolutely infringing on that local community’s ability to fund services to the people who live in that community, and public schools are one of those services.”
In many districts, local dollars fund entire additional teaching positions. The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) funds 2,000 such local positions, according to WCPSS Board of Education Chair Tyler Swanson.
“If this constitutional amendment is to go through, that puts a strain on what our county commissioners in Wake County can do,” Swanson said. “Our county, Wake County County Commissioners, and the voters of Wake County have, in fact, saved public education in Wake County through their historic investments.”
Swanson said the constitutional amendments on the ballot are an attempt by the “majority party” — the Republican party — to drive voter turnout and obscure a lack of investment in public schools.
“I hope (the voters) pay attention and reject these constitutional constitutional amendments, because what they’re attempting to do is enshrine injustice permanently into our constitution,” he said.
Polling indicates the amendments are likely to pass
An Elon University poll from September showed strong support among voters for all three proposed amendments. The poll found that 67% of likely voters favored the income tax cap amendment and 72% favored the property tax limit amendment.
A Catawba College-YouGov survey also found broad support for the property tax limit amendment. However, support decreased when respondents were presented with competing arguments about its potential benefits and tradeoffs.
From the survey:
When asked straightforwardly whether they would support an amendment requiring limits on how much local North Carolina governments could raise property taxes, support was strong across the partisan spectrum: 94% of Republicans, 78% of independents and 71% of Democrats backed the measure.
But when respondents were presented with arguments on both sides — emphasizing homeowner affordability and raising concerns that financially struggling counties could be forced to cut services if they could not raise sufficient tax revenue — support declined overall and across partisan groups. Eighty-seven percent of Republicans still supported the measure, along with 67% of independents and 57% of Democrats.
External resources
Leading up to the election, many advocacy groups have been campaigning against the passage of the constitutional amendments on the ballot. Some support the amendments. Below, find third-party resources on the topic.
- Is a tax revolt brewing? From the John Locke Foundation
- Vote NO on lowering state income taxes, Public Ed Works
- Information on the amendments from the Center for Racial Equity in Education (CREED)
- NCVoteAgainst.org, a coalition of organizations against the amendments
- The North Carolina Association of Educators on opposition to the amendments
- Enlace Latino on the amendments (in Spanish)
- The Public School Forum of North Carolina on opposition to the amendments
- The League of Women Voters of North Carolina on opposition to the amendments
- Ballotpedia’s resources on:
- The NC Budget & Tax Center on the amendments