Insufficient Funds for Taxes Penalty Modification.

This bill modifies the penalty charged to taxpayers in North Carolina when their checks or electronic payments for taxes bounce due to insufficient funds. Instead of the current rule that imposes the greater of a flat $25 fee or 10% of the payment amount, the new law sets a tiered penalty structure based on how often a person bounces payments within a five-year period. For the first two violations, the fee will be $25 plus 1% of the payment amount, while any subsequent violation will incur a $50 fee plus 2% of the payment amount, with a maximum penalty cap of $1,000. The legislation also includes an exemption for taxpayers who had sufficient money in their accounts but accidentally failed to initiate the transaction, and it provides funding to help educate the public and tax collectors about these changes.