North Carolina Form E-585 is the claim nonprofits and qualifying governmental entities file with the North Carolina Department of Revenue (NCDOR) to recover sales and use taxes paid on their purchases. To complete and file it, you register for a refund account number, sort your receipts by county and tax type, fill out the form along with schedule E-536R, and mail everything to NCDOR by your deadline. Nonprofits file twice a year; governmental entities file once, after their fiscal year ends.
Confirm Your Organization Qualifies
The statute behind Form E-585 is N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-164.14, and it splits filers into two groups.1North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 105-164.14 – Certain Refunds Authorized
Nonprofit filers include most 501(c)(3) charities, religious groups, educational institutions, and scientific organizations; non-profit hospitals (including those run by public hospital authorities); and volunteer fire departments and rescue squads that serve a public function without being fully funded by a governmental unit. Hospitals that don’t otherwise qualify can still claim refunds on over-the-counter drugs purchased for use in their work.
One boundary to check before you invest time: certain 501(c)(3) organizations are excluded based on their National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) classification. Groups classified under Community Improvement and Capacity Building, Public and Societal Benefit, or Mutual and Membership Benefit cannot claim the refund. If your work centers on civic engagement, community development, neighborhood revitalization, or member services, look at your IRS determination letter for your NTEE code before filing.
Governmental filers are listed specifically in the statute and include counties, cities, metropolitan sewerage and water districts, water and sewer authorities, sanitary districts, regional councils of government, district health departments, public transportation authorities, and local airport authorities created by the General Assembly. Their refund does not cover purchases of electricity, telecommunications, piped natural gas, video programming, or prepaid meal plans.2Justia Law. North Carolina General Statutes 105-164.14 – Certain Refunds Authorized
Get a Refund Account Number First
You cannot file Form E-585 without a nonprofit refund account number issued by NCDOR. To get one, submit Form E-585NPA (Application for Nonprofit Sales and Use Tax Refund Account ID). NCDOR offers an online version you can complete and submit without printing or mailing anything.3North Carolina Department of Revenue. Refund Claim Registration for Nonprofits
Have your IRS determination letter ready if you’re a 501(c)(3); it confirms your tax-exempt status and NTEE classification. The account number NCDOR assigns goes on every E-585 you file from then on. Handle registration well ahead of your first deadline so you’re not waiting on an account while the filing window closes.
Pull the Records You’ll Need
Every dollar you claim needs documentation connecting the purchase to your organization. It’s much easier to organize records as purchases happen than to reconstruct them at filing time.
- Invoices and receipts showing the date, a description of what was purchased, and the exact amount of sales tax charged. If a receipt doesn’t break out the tax as a separate line item, you cannot claim that purchase.
- Proof of payment from the organization’s own funds: canceled checks, credit card statements, or bank records. General ledger entries alone won’t satisfy NCDOR during an audit.
- The North Carolina county where each purchase was made or where the items were delivered. NCDOR allocates refunds back to specific local jurisdictions, so this geographic detail belongs on every line.
Sort your totals into the three categories the form uses: state tax (the 4.75% rate), county and transit tax, and the 2% food tax. Qualifying groceries carry only that 2% local rate; no state, transit, or other local rates apply.4North Carolina Department of Revenue. Food, Non-Qualifying Food, and Prepaid Meal Plans For non-food purchases, local and transit rates across the state’s 100 counties run from 2% to 2.75% on top of the state rate.5North Carolina Department of Revenue. Current Sales and Use Tax Rates
Fill Out Form E-585
Download the current version of Form E-585 from NCDOR. The December 2025 version covers filing periods beginning July 2025 and forward.6North Carolina Department of Revenue. Form E-585, Nonprofit and Governmental Entity Claim for Refund State, County, and Transit Sales and Use Taxes
Identification
Enter your organization’s full legal name, current mailing address, and Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). Your refund check goes to whatever address you list here, so double-check it. Errors in the FEIN or account number are a reliable way to have your claim stalled or returned.
Refund Period
Mark the correct period. Nonprofits use two windows: January 1 through June 30, and July 1 through December 31. Governmental entities cover their full fiscal year in a single claim. File a separate form for each period. Don’t combine two windows on one form.7North Carolina Department of Revenue. Frequently Asked Questions – Refund Claimants
Tax Amounts
The form separates state tax, county and transit taxes, and the 2% food tax onto their own lines. Enter your state tax total from the 4.75% rate paid during the period. Put qualifying grocery tax on the food line. County and transit taxes require a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction breakdown, which goes on a supporting schedule.
Schedule E-536R
Form E-536R (Schedule of County Sales and Use Taxes for Claims for Refund) accompanies your E-585. List each county’s tax total individually. NCDOR uses this schedule to credit refunds back to the correct local jurisdictions, so lumping counties together or skipping the schedule isn’t an option. Pull these figures directly from the county-sorted records you assembled.
Before you submit, check your math. The sum of county amounts on the E-536R should match the county and transit total on the E-585. Mismatched numbers trigger a review that delays the refund.
Know Your Deadline
Filing deadlines depend on which group you’re in:
- Nonprofits: Claims for January through June are due by October 15 of the same year. Claims for July through December are due by April 15 of the following year.
- Governmental entities: Claims are due within six months after the end of the entity’s fiscal year.
Late filing isn’t automatically fatal, but there’s an outer limit. Under § 105-164.14(d), refund applications filed more than three years after their original due date are permanently barred.2Justia Law. North Carolina General Statutes 105-164.14 – Certain Refunds Authorized
Where to Send It
Mail the completed Form E-585, the E-536R schedule, and any supporting documentation to:
North Carolina Department of Revenue
Post Office Box 25000
Raleigh, NC 27640
Keep copies of everything. If NCDOR follows up asking for physical receipts, digital proof of payment, or clarification on a county allocation, you’ll need to answer with the same records that supported your original filing.
After You File
NCDOR reviews submissions and validates the claimed amounts against your organization’s history. Processing times vary with filing volume, and the department does not publish a guaranteed turnaround. Claims filed right at the deadline alongside thousands of others take longer than claims sent in early.
When your claim is approved, NCDOR mails a refund check to the address on the form. Some claims prompt a request for additional documentation, usually receipts for specific purchases or proof that a transaction belongs to the organization rather than an individual. Records already sorted by county and period make responding a matter of pulling a folder rather than searching through everything.
Get the Numbers Right
Honest mistakes carry civil penalties under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-236. Negligent noncompliance draws a penalty equal to 10% of the deficiency; an understatement of 25% or more of the tax liability raises that to 25%. Willful failure to file or supply required information is a Class 1 misdemeanor, and fraud carries a 50% penalty plus felony exposure for anyone who knowingly helps prepare a fraudulent claim.8North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 105-236 – Penalties, Situs of Violations, Penalty Disposition
The working rule: every line on your form should tie back to a receipt your organization can produce on request. Personal purchases don’t belong on the form, and inflated totals turn a routine refund into something much worse.