USA Update: North Carolina Gives Remote Sellers a 60-Day Registration Grace Period, What International Sellers Must Do

Know when the new rule applies

Under Session Law 2026-31, Section 3.1, the change took effect on July 2, 2026. It applies to remote sellers and marketplace facilitators that exceed the applicable threshold on or after that date and have no other basis for being required to collect North Carolina sales and use tax.

A seller whose only North Carolina connection is crossing the threshold is considered engaged in business on the first day of the first calendar month that begins at least 60 days after exceeding it. You must register and begin collecting and remitting tax by that date.

This is a registration and collection grace period, not an exemption from the state’s sales tax rules. Once your start date arrives, you must be ready to collect tax on applicable sales and meet your filing and remittance obligations.

Track the $100,000 threshold across your sales

North Carolina’s threshold is more than $100,000 in gross sales sourced to the state during either the current or previous calendar year. The test uses gross sales, not just taxable sales. Exempt sales, sales for resale and marketplace-facilitated sales can count toward the calculation.

Combine sales across your channels. If you sell through your own website and one or more marketplaces, do not check each channel in isolation. Review your North Carolina-sourced sales across all channels and keep a record of how you calculated the total.

North Carolina repealed its former 200-transaction test effective July 1, 2024. The current remote-seller threshold is based on sales, not a transaction count. You can check the North Carolina Department of Revenue’s remote sales FAQs for further information on how sales are counted.

Marketplace facilitators have a separate calculation. Their threshold includes gross sales sourced to North Carolina, including marketplace-facilitated sales for all marketplace sellers. Sellers using a marketplace should distinguish their own registration and reporting responsibilities from the facilitator’s obligation to collect tax on facilitated transactions.

Use the calendar examples to find your start date

The NCDOR Important Notice, issued August 6, 2026, explains how to calculate the date. Its examples show how the 60-day period works:

• Remote seller crosses the threshold on July 5, 2026: The seller becomes engaged in business on October 1, 2026. Registration and collection must begin on or before that date.
• Marketplace facilitator crosses the threshold on November 27, 2026: The facilitator becomes engaged in business on February 1, 2027. Registration and collection must begin on or before that date.

Do not assume the start date is simply 60 days after the day you cross the threshold. The rule uses a calendar-month calculation. Record the date you exceeded the threshold, then calculate the first calendar month beginning at least 60 days afterward. Build in time to complete registration and update your checkout and tax settings before the start date.

Check for physical presence before relying on the grace period

The 60-day window is available only when exceeding the sales threshold is your sole basis for being engaged in business in North Carolina. Another connection can remove the delay, even if your sales are below $100,000.

Review your operations for links to North Carolina, including:

• Inventory held in a North Carolina warehouse or fulfillment center.
• Stock stored in the state by a third-party logistics provider or Amazon FBA.
• Employees, contractors, agents or representatives operating in North Carolina.
• Other physical activity or circumstances that may create a separate legal requirement to register and collect tax.

NCDOR gives the example of a retailer that opens a North Carolina warehouse. That retailer must register and begin collecting tax on or before the date its physical presence begins, even if it has not crossed the sales threshold. In practice, an Amazon seller should check where its inventory is held, not just where its company is based or where most customers are located.

If you discover North Carolina inventory or another relevant connection, do not rely on the 60-day threshold rule. Review your registration and collection requirements for the date that physical presence or other legal basis began.

Check whether your threshold was crossed before July 2

The new timing rule applies only to sellers that crossed the threshold on or after July 2, 2026. If you exceeded the threshold before that date, the law in effect when you crossed it continues to determine your obligations. The new grace period does not automatically reset or postpone an earlier registration or collection requirement.

This makes accurate historical records important. Keep sales totals by state and calendar year, along with the dates on which your business passed relevant thresholds. For marketplace sales, retain the reports needed to distinguish your own transactions from marketplace-facilitated sales and to understand how they contribute to the applicable calculations.

Prepare your registration and tax process in advance

If the new period applies to you, use the time to organize the steps required for compliant operations:

1. Confirm your North Carolina sales total. Include sales sourced to the state across channels and check both the current and previous calendar years.
2. Review your business footprint. Confirm whether you have inventory, staff, contractors or other activity in North Carolina.
3. Establish your start date. Apply the calendar-month calculation in NCDOR’s notice and note the registration and collection deadline.
4. Register with NCDOR. You can use the department’s online registration system or the Streamlined Sales Tax Registration System.
5. Prepare your sales systems. Set up collection for the applicable start date and check that product, shipping and transaction data can support accurate tax calculations and reporting.
6. Keep the evidence. Save sales reports, marketplace statements, inventory-location information, registration confirmations and filing records. Organized records make ongoing compliance easier and help you explain your calculations if questions arise.

A structured bookkeeping process helps you