North Carolina data centre incentives
Three exemptions that materially change the operating cost of a qualifying data centre — and the one question we will not answer for you.
North Carolina is consistently ranked a top-five state for data centre development, and the reason is mostly arithmetic. Three exemptions materially change the operating cost of a qualifying facility.
The three that matter
| Incentive | Effect |
|---|---|
| Sales and use tax on equipment | 100% exemption on qualifying data-centre equipment and software |
| Electricity sales tax | 100% exemption from the state's 7% electricity sales tax for qualifying data centres |
| Corporate income tax | Stepping down: 2% in 2026, 1% in 2028, 0% by 2030 |
Why the electricity exemption dominates
For a compute campus, power is the largest recurring cost by a wide margin. Removing 7% from the electricity bill compounds every month for the life of the facility, and it stacks on top of whatever rate the site already achieves.
Tier designations
North Carolina assigns counties a development tier, and Tier 1 designation unlocks the deepest part of the state's incentive stack. Project Foothold sits in a Tier 1 county.
What we will not tell you
We state the statutory position. We will not advise whether your specific build qualifies — eligibility depends on investment thresholds, employment commitments and the structure of your entity, and that determination belongs to your tax counsel. Any seller who tells you they are certain your project qualifies is telling you something they cannot know.
Statutory positions change. Verify current law with counsel before relying on any figure on this page.
See the site
Full technical and commercial materials — utility billing history, substation documentation, title and survey material, environmental reports and the site plan set — are released under NDA.