What are potential revenue options?

North Carolina is exploring funding options to meet growing transportation demands and to provide a more sustainable future for our transportation system.

Our efforts include identifying transportation revenue funding mechanisms that would ensure that those who use our roads, bridges, and other infrastructure pay for that use.

Options North Carolina is exploring…

  • This would increase the existing gas tax (motor fuel tax) in North Carolina. The gas tax charges drivers a flat tax for each gallon of fuel purchased at the pump. Alternative fuel and electric vehicles don’t pay this tax because they don’t need to buy gas or diesel. The 2024 state gas tax is 40.4 cents per gallon. The North Carolina General Assembly updates this rate each year to reflect changes in the state’s population and energy costs. This allows revenues to keep up with changes in the state and economy.

    As vehicles become more fuel efficient, people are purchasing less gas which results in less funding available for maintaining and improving our transportation system.

  • Increasing the highway-use tax is one option North Carolina is exploring. Instead of a sales tax on vehicles, North Carolina collects the highway-use tax whenever a title is transferred. In this scenario, the highway-use tax would increase.

  • A mileage-based user fee charges drivers for the use of roadways based the number of miles they drive. This is different from our current system, which charges based on how much gas they purchase. NCDOT has been exploring how an MBUF could work in North Carolina through The Eastern Transportation Coalition. Learn More

  • Another option would be increasing the state sales tax rate and dedicating the revenue to transportation. North Carolina Department of Transportation receives a dedicated portion of existing sales tax revenues. As the nation shifts to a service-based transportation model, the sales tax becomes more linked as a transportation user fee.

  • Introducing managed lanes, or express lanes, to congested expressways would mean adding lanes that drivers could pay a toll to use. Toll rates for use of these lanes could vary based on congestion levels.

  • A transportation utility fee would assess a statewide surcharge on residents and businesses based on the estimated road usage impacts of the property type. Much like local governments charge a monthly fee for water use, a state transportation utility fee could be used to distribute the cost of maintaining the transportation network.

  • Currently, a flat registration fee is charged on passenger vehicles. Fees could be increased or charged based on vehicle characteristics such as weight, fuel economy, age, or vehicle model type.

Let’s Calculate


Use this calculator to see an estimate of what you may pay today for transportation funding through the gas tax —based on the average number of miles you drive per year and your vehicle’s fuel efficiency. Select different options below to see how these changes could affect the annual payment. Then, see how your estimated annual payment could change under different funding options, such as an increased registration fee, a new registration fee for fuel-efficient vehicles, or a mileage-based user fee.