Your Uber or Lyft ride will cost a bit more in NC this summer. Here’s why.
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- New state tax adds up to 1.5% to rideshare and taxi fares in NC starting July 1.
- Revenue will go to the Highway Fund, reducing dependency on motor fuel taxes.
- Uber and Lyft worked with lawmakers to shape the percentage-based tax model.
Riding in a taxi, Uber or Lyft in North Carolina will get a little more expensive this summer.
Starting July 1, taxi, limousine and rideshare companies will begin collecting a new state tax of 1.5% on fares for exclusive rides and 1% for shared rides. It’s essentially a sales tax, like the ones North Carolinians pay when they buy clothes or a meal in a restaurant.
State lawmakers voted to create the “transportation commerce tax” two years ago to generate more money for the state’s Highway Fund. The N.C. Department of Transportation draws on that fund to maintain existing roads and to help local governments with road, pedestrian and bicycle projects.
The new taxes are part of a broader effort to diversify the sources of money North Carolina can use to build and maintain roads and bridges. Lawmakers and NCDOT want to reduce the state’s reliance on gas taxes, which are becoming less dependable as cars become more fuel efficient or, in the case of electric vehicles, don’t use gas at all.
Lawmakers estimated that the transportation commerce tax would generate more than $11 million a year for the Highway Fund. Other sources of revenue tapped in recent years include higher registration fees for EVs; a new registration fee for plug-in hybrid vehicles and new transaction fees on electronic payments to the Division of Motor Vehicles.
The effort began in 2022 when the General Assembly voted to divert state sales tax revenue to transportation for the first time. Starting last year, 6% of sales taxes goes to the Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund, which is used for new construction.
The changes originated with the NC Ten Commission, a group of business and interest groups convened by Sen. Vickie Sawyer, a Republican who co-chairs the appropriations committee for transportation.
Sawyer said both Lyft and Uber were involved with the commission and helped craft the new rideshare tax. The original idea was a flat 25 or 50 cents per ride, but the companies said a percentage tax was easier to collect, she said.
The state’s motor fuel tax is still the largest source of revenue for NCDOT. In the fiscal year that ends this month, the department expected to receive $8.26 billion in revenue, including state vehicle sales taxes and federal funds. State fuel taxes account for nearly $2.6 billion or 31% of that.
In the runup to the new tax, the state Department of Revenue has been encouraging taxi and rideshare companies to register with the department. As of Tuesday, 38 businesses had signed up to pay the tax, according to spokesman Thomas Beam, who said more were expected to register by July 1.
This story was originally published June 25, 2025 at 12:59 PM with the headline "Your Uber or Lyft ride will cost a bit more in NC this summer. Here’s why.."
