A Physician Assistant earning $150K/year in North Carolina takes home $107,766 after all taxes. That’s $8,981/month, with an effective tax rate of 28.2%.
The estimated median salary for Physician Assistants in North Carolina is $114K (adjusted from the national median of $120K using North Carolina’s cost-of-living index of 95). At $150K, you’re earning 32% above the state-adjusted median for this profession.
This salary places you in the upper tier for Physician Assistants in North Carolina, likely reflecting senior-level experience, specialized skills, or management responsibilities. At this level, tax optimization becomes increasingly important — the difference between the best and worst states at $150K is $12,968/year.
Filing as married filing jointly on $150K (single earner) saves you $9,324/year ($777/month) compared to filing single. This marriage bonus comes from the doubled standard deduction ($32,200 vs $16,100) and wider lower brackets.
Physician assistants who take on locum tenens (temporary) assignments may receive 1099 income subject to self-employment tax. If you work in multiple states during a year, you may owe taxes in each state where you practiced. Continuing medical education (CME) expenses are no longer deductible federally as unreimbursed employee expenses, but some employers reimburse them tax-free. If you carry student loan debt, the student loan interest deduction (up to $2,500) phases out at higher income levels.
At #24 out of 50 states for take-home pay on a $150K salary, North Carolina falls in the upper half of states. You’d keep $5,985 more per year in Alaska (#1), or $499/month.
After adjusting for cost of living, North Carolina ranks #26 in purchasing power. That’s a drop from #24 in raw take-home — North Carolina’s higher cost of living erodes some of your advantage.