Sales and Use Tax Directive 26-4

The following definitions apply to this directive:

• Certified Datacenter - A datacenter that is a qualifying or eligible internet datacenter as defined in G.S. § 105-164.3.
• Tax Paid – The amount of sales and use tax paid on electricity for use at a Certified Datacenter. This includes tax paid to the utility and use tax paid directly to the NCDOR.
• You – The entity that purchases electricity for use at a Certified Datacenter. This includes a user of the Certified Datacenter that purchases electricity for use at the Certified Datacenter.

You must use the online form: “Tax Paid on Purchases of Electricity by Certified Datacenters.” You must complete a separate form for each Certified Datacenter for which you purchase electricity. 

The form requires the following information:

Datacenter Information

• Type of Certified Datacenter (Qualifying or Eligible Internet Datacenter)
• Street Address

Purchaser Information

• Federal Employer ID Number (FEIN)
• Entity Legal Name
• Name of Contact Person
• Contact Telephone Number
• Email Address
• Mailing Address (if different than datacenter street address)

Tax Information

• Calendar Year and Quarter
• Total Tax Paid During Each Month (enter 0 if no tax is paid during a month)

Signature

• Electronic Signature
• Name of Person Signing
• Date Signed 

If you need to amend a previously filed report or report a refund of Tax Paid, you must contact NCDOR at 919-754-2500.

Click the link below to fill out the Tax Paid on Purchases of Electricity by Certified Datacenters Form.

Submit Certified Datacenter Report

If you do not comply with the requirements of G.S. § 105-251.2(c1) or this directive, you are subject to penalty. The penalties1 apply to each quarterly report and include the following:

• Failure to Timely File – If you don’t file the report on time, you will be assessed a penalty of $50 per day, up to $1,000.
• Failure to File in Format Prescribed - If you don’t file the report in the required electronic format, you will be charged a $200 penalty.

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  G.S. § 105-236.

Operator purchases electricity every month for a qualifying datacenter. Each billing period starts on the 20^th of the month and end on the 19^th of the following month.  The operator received bills and paid tax as follows:

Operator must file its first quarterly report with NCDOR on or before October 30, 2026. However, operator did not pay tax during the prior calendar quarter (July through September) because the billing periods paid during the quarter started before the effective date of the repeal of the exemption.1 As a result, operator will report $0 tax paid for each month of the calendar quarter on its report.

On or before January 30, 2027, operator must report the $5,000 in tax paid during October on its quarterly report. This quarterly report must also include the tax paid during November and December.

• 1

  “. . . [T]he repeal of the Electricity Exemptions applies to the first billing period that starts on or after August 6, 2026. . . .”  Important Notice: Repeal of Exemptions for Electricity Used at Datacenters.