North Carolina Form D-400V is the Individual Income Payment Voucher that taxpayers send to the North Carolina Department of Revenue when they owe a balance with their state return and want to pay by check or money order. Every NC resident, part-year resident, or nonresident who files a Form D-400 and owes tax must include this voucher with their payment so the agency can match the dollars to the right Social Security number and tax year.
Filing the voucher correctly is the difference between a clean account and a frustrating notice. The NCDOR processes more than 4.7 million individual income tax returns each year, and a meaningful share of paper payments arrive without a matching voucher, which forces manual posting and can trigger late-payment penalties even when the check arrived on time, according to the NCDOR annual report.
Here is what you will learn in this guide:
- 📝 How to fill in every box on Form D-400V line by line, with sample entries
- 💵 How to calculate the exact amount to enter and avoid penalty traps
- 📬 Where to mail the voucher and which address to use for payments only
- 💳 How to pay online instead, using the NCDOR eServices portal
- ⚠️ The most common mistakes filers make on D-400V and how to dodge each one
What Form D-400V Is and Who Must File It
Form D-400V is a one-page payment voucher that travels with a check or money order to the NCDOR when a North Carolina taxpayer owes individual income tax. The voucher exists for one purpose: to give the agency the identifying information it needs to credit a payment to the correct return. Without it, a check sitting in a remittance envelope can drift in processing for weeks, which is the most common cause of incorrect late-payment penalties under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-236.
You must file D-400V if you owe a balance on your Form D-400 for the 2025 tax year and you choose to pay by paper check or money order. You also use it whether you e-filed the return or mailed it, as long as the payment is on paper. If you pay online through bank draft or card, you do not need this voucher because the portal captures the same identifying data.
The voucher is required for full-year residents, part-year residents on Form D-400 Schedule PN, and nonresidents who earned NC-source income. It is not used for amended returns; that payment travels with Form D-400V Amended instead. It is also not used for estimated payments, which use Form NC-40, or for extension payments, which use Form D-410.
The agency receiving the voucher is the NCDOR, not the IRS, and the statute that authorizes the underlying tax is N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-153.5. The deadline to send the voucher with payment is the same as the return deadline, which is April 15, 2026 for tax year 2025. Miss that date and the 10%-of-tax late-payment penalty plus daily interest start ticking immediately.
Before You Start: Documents and Information You Need
Gather these items before you open the voucher so you do not have to stop halfway through. Every entry on D-400V cross-references a number that already lives on your D-400 or in your records, and a missing item is the single biggest cause of mismatched payments.
- Your completed Form D-400. You need the final tax-due figure from Line 27 of the return, because that is the number the voucher must match.
- Your Social Security number. The NCDOR posts payments by SSN, so a wrong digit lands the money in someone else’s account.
- Your spouse’s SSN if filing jointly. Order matters; the SSN on top of D-400 must be on top of D-400V.
- A current mailing address. The agency mails refund corrections and notices to the address on the voucher, so use the same one printed on D-400.
- Your daytime phone number. NCDOR uses it to reach you about processing issues without escalating to a notice.
- The tax year you are paying. Tax year 2025 means the year that ended December 31, 2025, even though you are paying in 2026.
- A check or money order made payable to N.C. Department of Revenue. No abbreviations like NCDOR on the payee line.
- A printer with black ink. The voucher must be printed on plain white paper at full size; do not shrink it to fit.
- An envelope with a forever stamp plus postage for weight. A folded voucher and check can exceed one ounce.
- Your bank routing and account numbers if you decide to pay by bank draft instead. Useful as a backup if your check bounces.
If any of these is missing, stop and fix it. A voucher mailed without a check, or a check mailed without a voucher, both delay posting and can trigger a notice of late payment that you must then dispute in writing.
Where to Get the Form and How to Access It
The official, current Form D-400V lives on the NCDOR website. Always download it directly from the agency rather than a third-party tax site, because outdated vouchers route to old scanning lines and may post incorrectly. The current version is the 2025 D-400V revised for the 2026 filing season, and the revision date is printed in the lower-left corner of the form.
Get the form from the official 2025 D-400V page on the NCDOR site. The page offers a fillable PDF you can complete on screen and a print-only PDF you can fill in by hand. Both versions print to the same scannable layout, so either is acceptable.
You can also pick up a paper copy at any of the seven NCDOR service centers located in Asheville, Charlotte, Durham, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Greenville, and Raleigh. Service centers stock the current voucher during filing season and can hand you one over the counter. Public libraries across the state also receive paper packets each January.
If you prefer to skip paper entirely, the NCDOR eServices portal accepts the same payment electronically by bank draft for free, or by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express through a third-party processor that charges a convenience fee of about 2% of the payment. The portal generates its own confirmation number, which serves the same matching purpose as the voucher.
Step-by-Step: How to Fill Out Form D-400V Line by Line
The voucher is short, but every box matters because it is read by an automated scanner. Use black or dark-blue ink, print in capital letters, and stay inside the boxes. Do not use commas, dollar signs, or decimals in money fields unless the box specifically prints them.
Tax Year Beginning and Ending Boxes
The very top of the voucher asks for the tax year beginning and tax year ending dates, which is the period covered by the D-400 you are paying. Most filers use a calendar year, so the entries are simply the start and end of 2025.
To answer, write the dates in MM-DD-YY format inside the printed boxes. For a calendar-year filer, that is 01-01-25 in the beginning box and 12-31-25 in the ending box. Use the last two digits of the year, not four.
For example, Maria Lopez, a single filer in Charlotte, writes 01-01-25 and 12-31-25 because she is paying tax for the full 2025 calendar year.
The nuance is fiscal-year filers. If you use a fiscal year (rare for individuals but common for some trusts and estates that file D-400 for a decedent), enter the actual fiscal-year start and end. A fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, would read 07-01-24 and 06-30-25.
The most common mistake here is leaving these boxes blank because the form pre-prints “2025” elsewhere. The consequence is that the scanner posts the payment to an unspecified year, which can cause the system to apply your money to a prior-year balance instead of the current return.
A misconception filers carry is that the dates are optional because they seem redundant. They are not optional; the boxes are read independently of any other field, and a blank period is treated as missing data.
Social Security Number (Yours)
This box asks for the primary taxpayer’s Social Security number, meaning the SSN that appears first on Form D-400. The NCDOR uses this number as the master key for posting your payment, so accuracy is critical.
Enter the nine digits with the printed dashes, like 123-45-6789. Do not skip the dashes; the scanner expects them. Print one digit per box if box dividers are shown.
For example, Marcus Johnson of Greensboro enters 234-56-7890 in this field because that is the SSN listed first on his D-400.
The nuance is taxpayers who use an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) instead of an SSN. The ITIN goes in the same box, formatted the same way, because the NCDOR system accepts both.
The most common mistake is transposing two digits, especially the middle pair. The consequence is that the payment posts to a stranger’s account, and you receive a late-payment notice with penalty and interest while the funds sit in someone else’s record.
A misconception is that you can write the spouse’s SSN here if the spouse earns more. You cannot; the order on the voucher must match the order on D-400, regardless of income.
Spouse’s Social Security Number
This box asks for the spouse’s SSN when the filing status on D-400 is married filing jointly or married filing separately with spouse identified. Leave it blank for single, head of household, and qualifying surviving spouse statuses.
Enter the nine digits in the same dashed format. Print clearly, because a missing or wrong spouse SSN on a joint return is the single largest cause of joint-return processing delays.
For example, Janet and Robert Williams file jointly. Janet’s SSN is on top of the D-400, so Janet’s SSN goes in the first box on D-400V and Robert’s SSN goes in the spouse box.
The nuance is married-filing-separately filers. NC requires both spouses’ names and SSNs on each separate return, so the spouse box still gets filled in even though the spouse files their own voucher.
The most common mistake is reversing the spouses between D-400 and D-400V. The consequence is that the NCDOR cannot match the voucher to the return, and the payment is held in suspense until a clerk reconciles it by hand.
A misconception is that the spouse’s SSN is private and can be omitted. It cannot; both SSNs are required by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-152 on any joint return and the documents that accompany it.
Your First Name, M.I., and Last Name
This field asks for the primary taxpayer’s legal name as it appears on the D-400 and on Social Security records. Print one letter per box if box dividers appear; otherwise, print neatly inside the printed line.
Enter your first name, middle initial, and last name in capital letters. Do not include suffixes like JR or III in the first-name box; those go in a separate suffix area if printed.
For example, Aisha N. Patel writes AISHA in the first-name box, N in the middle-initial box, and PATEL in the last-name box.
The nuance is hyphenated or two-word last names. Write the full last name without inserting a comma, as in SMITH-JONES or VAN BUREN.
The most common mistake is using a nickname like Mike instead of Michael. The consequence is a name-mismatch flag against SSA records, which can pause processing under NCDOR data-match procedures.
A misconception is that the name on the voucher must match a driver’s license. It must match the Social Security card, which is the cross-reference database the NCDOR uses.
Spouse’s First Name, M.I., and Last Name
This field asks for the spouse’s legal name when filing jointly or married filing separately. Skip it for other statuses.
Enter the spouse’s first name, middle initial, and last name exactly as printed on the D-400. If the spouse uses a different surname, write that surname; do not assume a shared last name.
For example, Janet Williams writes ROBERT and WILLIAMS in the spouse name boxes because Robert is her husband and they share a last name.
The nuance is recently married filers whose spouse has not yet updated their Social Security card. Use the name currently on the Social Security card, not the new married name, until SSA records are updated.
The most common mistake is writing the spouse’s maiden name when SSA still shows the married name, or vice versa. The consequence is a name mismatch and a delayed match between voucher and return.
A misconception is that the spouse’s name is decorative once the SSN is correct. It is not; both fields are checked, and a mismatch on either triggers manual review.
Address, City, State, and ZIP
This block asks for the mailing address where you want NCDOR correspondence about the payment to go. Use the same address printed on Form D-400 to avoid split records.
Enter the street number and street name on the address line, the city, the two-letter state abbreviation, and the five-digit or nine-digit ZIP code. Apartment or unit numbers go on the same line as the street address, separated by a space.
For example, Carlos Rivera in Raleigh writes 412 OAK ST APT 3B on the address line, RALEIGH for city, NC for state, and 27601 for ZIP.
The nuance is P.O. Box filers. A P.O. Box is acceptable in place of a street address, written as PO BOX 1234 with no periods.
The most common mistake is using an old address that no longer matches the SSA or DMV record. The consequence is that any refund correction, notice, or penalty letter is mailed to the old address and may be missed entirely.
A misconception is that you can use a tax preparer’s address to receive notices. You cannot; the address must be the taxpayer’s residence or mailing address, and a preparer’s address triggers a flag.
Daytime Phone Number
This field asks for a phone number the NCDOR can use during business hours if there is a posting issue with your payment. It is not used for collection calls on a routine return.
Enter the area code and seven-digit number with dashes, like 919-555-0142. Use a number you actually answer; an unanswered phone leads straight to a written notice.
For example, Marcus Johnson writes 336-555-0117, his cell phone, because he answers it during the day.
The nuance is filers without a phone. You may leave the field blank, but doing so eliminates the agency’s ability to contact you quickly and increases the chance of a written notice.
The most common mistake is writing a tax preparer’s phone number. The consequence is that the preparer fields the call without your knowledge and may not relay the issue, especially after filing season ends.
A misconception is that the NCDOR will call you for collections if you list a phone. The voucher phone is used for clerical questions only; collection contacts follow a separate written process under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-242.
Amount of Payment
This is the most important box on the voucher. It asks for the dollar amount of the check or money order you are sending with the voucher.
Enter the amount in whole dollars and cents, right-aligned, without dollar signs or commas. A payment of one thousand two hundred forty-seven dollars and fifty cents is written as 1247.50.
For example, Maria Lopez owes $843.00 on Line 27 of her D-400, so she writes 843.00 in the amount box and writes a check for the same amount.
The nuance is partial payments. NC accepts partial payments, so if you can only pay $500 of an $843 balance, write 500.00 and pay the rest later under an installment payment agreement.
The most common mistake is rounding the voucher to whole dollars when the check is written for cents, or vice versa. The consequence is that the scanner reads a different number than the bank, and the smaller of the two is posted, leaving a residual balance.
A misconception is that paying more than you owe creates an automatic refund credit. It does, but only after processing; in the meantime, the overpayment sits as a credit and is not refunded until the return is fully reconciled.
Three Filled-Out Examples Using Real Scenarios
Below are three scenarios that cover the most common D-400V filing situations. Each table shows what the named filer enters in each major section of the voucher.
Scenario 1: Maria Lopez, Single W-2 Employee in Charlotte
Maria is a single filer who owes $843 after her employer under-withheld during 2025.
| Form Section | What Maria Enters |
|---|---|
| Tax Year Beginning | 01-01-25 |
| Tax Year Ending | 12-31-25 |
| Your SSN | 123-45-6789 |
| Spouse SSN | (blank, single filer) |
| Your Name | MARIA LOPEZ |
| Spouse Name | (blank) |
| Address | 875 TRYON ST APT 12 |
| City, State, ZIP | CHARLOTTE NC 28202 |
| Daytime Phone | 704-555-0188 |
| Amount of Payment | 843.00 |
Maria writes a check for $843.00 payable to N.C. Department of Revenue, writes 2025 D-400 and her SSN on the memo line, and mails the voucher and check together to the payment address.
Scenario 2: Janet and Robert Williams, MFJ With Self-Employment Income in Durham
Janet and Robert file jointly. Robert’s consulting income pushed their balance due to $4,512.
| Form Section | What Janet and Robert Enter |
|---|---|
| Tax Year Beginning | 01-01-25 |
| Tax Year Ending | 12-31-25 |
| Your SSN (Janet) | 234-56-7890 |
| Spouse SSN (Robert) | 345-67-8901 |
| Your Name | JANET A WILLIAMS |
| Spouse Name | ROBERT B WILLIAMS |
| Address | 2210 ERWIN RD |
| City, State, ZIP | DURHAM NC 27705 |
| Daytime Phone | 919-555-0233 |
| Amount of Payment | 4512.00 |
Janet writes the check for $4,512.00, signs it, and notes 2025 D-400 234-56-7890 on the memo line so the NCDOR can post it even if the voucher is separated.
Scenario 3: Carlos Rivera, Part-Year Resident Who Moved to Raleigh in July 2025
Carlos moved from Virginia in July and owes NC tax of $1,206 on his part-year income.
| Form Section | What Carlos Enters |
|---|---|
| Tax Year Beginning | 01-01-25 |
| Tax Year Ending | 12-31-25 |
| Your SSN | 456-78-9012 |
| Spouse SSN | (blank, single filer) |
| Your Name | CARLOS M RIVERA |
| Spouse Name | (blank) |
| Address | 412 OAK ST APT 3B |
| City, State, ZIP | RALEIGH NC 27601 |
| Daytime Phone | 984-555-0177 |
| Amount of Payment | 1206.00 |
Carlos uses the new Raleigh address even though half the tax year was in Virginia, because the address on the voucher is for current correspondence, and his D-400 already reports the part-year status on Schedule PN.
How to File the Completed Form
You can file D-400V three ways: by mail with a check, online through the NCDOR portal, or in person at a service center. Each channel has its own address, fee structure, and proof-of-filing.
By mail with a check or money order. Mail the voucher and payment to NCDOR, P.O. Box 25000, Raleigh, NC 27640-0640, the dedicated payment address listed in the D-400V instructions. There is no fee. Use first-class postage or, for proof, USPS Certified Mail with return receipt for about $4.85. Processing takes about three weeks for the payment to appear on your account. Keep the certified-mail receipt as proof of filing.
Online by bank draft. Log in or create a guest account at the NCDOR eServices portal, choose D-400 Tax Due, and enter your bank routing and account numbers. The fee is zero. Processing takes one to two business days. Save the confirmation number as your proof of filing; that number replaces the paper voucher.
Online by credit or debit card. The same portal links to a third-party processor that accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. The convenience fee is roughly 2% of the payment, charged by the processor and not the state. Processing posts the same day. Save the processor’s confirmation email.
In person. Walk into any of the seven service centers and hand the voucher and check to a cashier. Bring a photo ID. There is no fee. The cashier hands you a stamped receipt, which is your proof of filing and posts immediately.
If you mail the voucher, do not staple the check to it. Use a paper clip or simply place both in the envelope. Do not include the D-400 return with the voucher if you already e-filed; the payment address is for payments only, and a return mailed there will be rerouted, which adds two to three weeks to processing.
What Happens After You File
After NCDOR receives the voucher and payment, it scans the voucher, posts the payment to your SSN, and issues a credit dated to the postmark or portal date. You will not receive a separate confirmation letter for an on-time, in-full payment; silence is good news.
You can verify posting through the NCDOR Where’s My Refund and Account tool or by logging into eServices about three weeks after mailing. The tool shows the payment date, amount, and tax year applied. If the system shows nothing after four weeks, call NCDOR at 1-877-252-3052 with your certified-mail receipt or check number.
If you underpaid, the NCDOR sends a Notice of Tax Due showing the remaining balance plus the 10% late-payment penalty under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-236(a)(4) and daily interest at the current rate, which is 5% per year for 2026. You then have 45 days to pay or formally object.
If you overpaid, the overage is refunded by paper check or, if you elected direct deposit on D-400, by ACH within about six weeks. There is no need to file an amended return for a simple overpayment; the system reconciles automatically.
Mistakes to Avoid When Filling Out the Form
- Wrong tax year. Writing 2024 dates instead of 2025 posts the payment to last year and triggers a current-year delinquency notice.
- Transposed SSN. Two swapped digits route money to a stranger and leave your account showing unpaid.
- Spouses out of order. Reversing the SSNs on a joint voucher breaks the match between voucher and return.
- Check payable to wrong agency. A check made out to IRS or State of North Carolina is rejected by the bank.
- No SSN on the check. If the voucher and check separate, a check without your SSN cannot be posted.
- Stapled check. Staples jam the scanner and force manual processing, slowing posting by a week or more.
- Sent with the return. Mailing the voucher and the D-400 return to the payment-only P.O. Box delays processing of both.
- Decimals in box meant for whole dollars. A misread amount underposts the payment, leaving a small balance and a notice.
- Voucher printed at reduced size. Shrinking the PDF to fit a smaller paper breaks the scan registration.
- Missing signature on check. An unsigned check is returned by the bank, and the voucher then sits unmatched.
- Old address. A prior address routes notices to a place you no longer live, so disputes start late.
- Paying with cash by mail. NCDOR does not accept mailed cash, and any cash sent is treated as lost.
Do’s and Don’ts
Do’s
- Do download the current voucher from the official NCDOR page, because outdated forms scan to the wrong line.
- Do match the voucher amount exactly to the check, so the scanner and the bank agree.
- Do write your SSN and 2025 D-400 on the check memo line as backup matching data.
- Do mail by certified mail near the deadline, because the postmark is your legal proof of timeliness.
- Do keep a copy of the voucher and the front of the check, so a dispute is resolvable.
- Do consider paying online to skip postal delays during the April rush.
Don’ts
- Don’t staple the check to the voucher, because staples damage scanners.
- Don’t mail cash, because lost cash is not reimbursed.
- Don’t combine a payment voucher with the return in one envelope, because they go to different addresses.
- Don’t write in red ink, because the scanner drops red as background.
- Don’t use a voucher from a prior year, because the scan codes change annually.
- Don’t rely on a tax preparer’s address as your own, because notices can be missed.
Pros and Cons of Filing on Paper vs. Online
Pros of paper voucher
- No convenience fee for check or money order, unlike credit-card payments.
- Familiar process for filers who have used paper for years.
- Postmark proof through certified mail is widely recognized.
- Works without internet access, which matters in rural areas.
- Easy to combine with paper-filed returns sent separately.
Cons of paper voucher
- Slower posting, often three weeks vs. one to two days online.
- Higher error rate from scanner misreads on handwritten boxes.
- Postal risk during the April surge can delay delivery.
- Manual reconciliation when checks and vouchers separate in the mailroom.
- No instant confirmation, which leaves filers wondering for weeks.
FAQs
Do I need Form D-400V if I e-filed my return and paid online?
No. If you paid through the NCDOR eServices portal, the portal captured your data, and you do not need to mail the voucher.
Can I use a 2024 D-400V to pay a 2025 balance?
No. Each year has its own scan codes, so an old voucher misroutes the payment; download the current 2025 form.
Do I write the spouse’s SSN if filing single?
No. Leave the spouse SSN blank when your D-400 filing status is single, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse.
Should the payment box include cents?
Yes. Enter cents even when the amount is a round dollar figure, so 843.00 rather than 843 prevents scanner ambiguity.
Can I send a personal check from a joint account my spouse owns?
Yes. Any valid bank check is accepted, as long as the payee is N.C. Department of Revenue and the SSN on the memo line matches the voucher.
Do I include the D-400 return with the voucher in the same envelope?
No. The voucher goes to the payment-only P.O. Box 25000, while a paper D-400 return goes to a different return-processing address.
Is staple or paper clip preferred for attaching the check?
No to staples; yes to a paper clip or no fastener at all, because staples jam the scanning equipment.
Can I pay part of the balance with the voucher and the rest later?
Yes. NC accepts partial payments, and the remaining balance accrues penalty and interest until paid or set up under an installment plan.
Do I write NCDOR on the check payee line?
No. Write the full name N.C. Department of Revenue, because banks reject ambiguous payees.
Should I sign Form D-400V?
No. D-400V has no signature line; the signature on the underlying D-400 return is the legal signature, and the check signature authorizes the payment.
Can I use an ITIN instead of an SSN on the voucher?
Yes. ITIN holders enter the nine-digit ITIN in the SSN box in the same dashed format, and the system accepts it.
Does mailing on April 15 count as on time?
Yes if the envelope is postmarked by April 15, 2026; the postmark, not the receipt date, controls timeliness under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-263.
Can I pay D-400V by credit card?
Yes through the eServices portal’s card processor, which charges roughly a 2% convenience fee on top of the tax owed.
Will I be penalized if my check bounces?
Yes. A returned check triggers a $25 bad-check fee plus the original late-payment penalty if the replacement payment arrives after April 15.
Related reading
- How to Fill Out North Carolina Withholding Form NC-4 + FAQs
- How to Fill Out North Carolina Form AOC-E-905 (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out North Carolina Form D-400 (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out North Carolina Form D-410 (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out North Carolina Form D-422 (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out North Carolina Form N-01 (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out North Carolina Form AOC-CV-100 (w/Examples) + FAQs