Solid Waste Disposal Tax FAQs

You must register using Form NC-SWR, Registration Application for Solid Waste Disposal Tax.

Send payments and returns to the North Carolina Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 25000, Raleigh, NC 27640-0710.

Report and pay the solid waste disposal tax to the Department using Form E-500K, Solid Waste Disposal Tax Return.

You must file and pay quarterly. Return and payments are due on the last day of January, April, July, and October for the preceding three-month period.

Example: The payment and return for the 3rd Quarter (July-September) are due to the Department on or before October 31.

No.

The solid waste disposal tax is computed by weighing the municipal solid waste and construction and demolition debris, carrying the portion of a ton to three (3) decimal places or the number of decimal places the scales allow, and multiplying the number of tons by the rate of $2.00.
Example: 100.555 tons of municipal solid waste and construction and demolition debris with a rate of $2.00. The amount of solid waste disposal tax would be $201.11 (100.555 x 2.00).

All landfills and transfer stations that send waste out-of-state have scales to measure waste tonnage. Generally, the tax is calculated on all the tonnage coming into your facility for disposal.

Yes. An owner or operator may add the amount of the solid waste disposal tax due to the charges made to a third party for disposal of waste.

No. A transfer station that transfers all the waste it receives for disposal to a landfill in North Carolina should not charge the solid waste disposal tax to its customers. If the North Carolina landfill charges the transfer station the tax, the transfer station may raise its fees or charges to generate the revenue it will use to pay the North Carolina landfill. For example, if your tipping fee at the transfer station is $40, you can raise the fee to $42. You cannot charge the extra $2 as tax.

Yes. Tax is due on the waste tonnage disposed. If you receive 10 tons of waste from a school district, you must pay $20 ($2 x 10 tons) to the Department on that tonnage. The tax is due even if you did not charge tipping fees on that tonnage.

Yes. The amount of waste that goes into the landfill will be subject to tax whether you charge a flat fee or by the ton.

No. Only the weight of the waste that will be disposed of outside North Carolina should be taxed. You can account for the leachate in one of the following ways:

The waste should be weighed when the truck leaves the transfer station for out-of-state disposal. The tax is due on that amount of waste.
Records should be kept that account for the weight of leachate removed for treatment. That amount should be subtracted from the incoming trucks’ weight to determine the final weight to be taxed.

Note: For purposes of this question, leachate is fluid included with loads of waste that is not disposed of in a landfill.

No. However, the landfill must keep records of the weight of waste disposed of in the landfill.

Tax is due on the weight disposed of in the landfill. If recyclables are removed and a landfill does not want to pay the tax on the removed tonnage, the landfill must either:

re-weigh the load after recyclables are removed and record the tax due on that instead of the original weight, or
record the weight of recyclables removed for the load and deduct it from the recorded disposed waste for that load.

You must report the tax by legal entity.

No. A facility operated by the Federal Government (including military bases) is not subject to the solid waste disposal tax.

You must keep records of all waste which is deposited into the landfill or which leaves a transfer station for disposal outside North Carolina. If you remove items from waste prior to disposal in a landfill, you must keep records of the weight of items removed.

No. Transfer stations that export the waste out-of-state will pay the tax on the tonnage actually transferred out-of-state. For example, if a facility sends a portion of waste to Virginia, the trucks headed to Virginia from the facility need to be weighed on departure. The portion of waste that is sent to Virginia will be subject to tax.

The tax collected, less the Department of Revenue’s cost of collection, is distributed as follows:

50% to the Inactive Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund.
37.5% to cities and counties to be used solely for solid waste management programs and services.
12.5% will go to the General Fund.

Refer to the distribution schedule provided by the Department of Revenue’s Distribution Unit.

How do I register to submit solid waste disposal tax?

Where do I send the tax?

What form do I file?

When are my returns and payments due?

Am I required to prepay the solid waste disposal tax?

How do I calculate the tax?

How do I calculate the taxable tonnage?

Can an owner or operator that owes the tax collect the tax from its customers?

Can a transfer station that transfers all waste to a landfill in NC charge its customers the tax?

Is waste from state agencies such as the NCDOT or schools subject to the tax?

Is tax owed if I charge a flat rate?

I remove leachate before transferring waste. The leachate is sent to a wastewater treatment plant. Is the weight of the leachate subject to tax?

Do I owe tax on the weight of recyclables that are removed from the waste before it goes into the landfill?

Do I owe tax on the weight of yard waste, white goods, aluminum cans, and tires received at the facility but not disposed of in the landfill?

If recyclables are removed after the load is weighed, how are the loads treated?

How is the tax reported when there are several different facilities on one permit?

Are facilities operated by the federal government required to pay the tax?

What records are required to be kept?

Do all transfer stations pay the tax?

How is the tax used?

When is the tax distributed to cities and counties?