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Tools · Security Deposit

North Carolina Security Deposit Calculator (2026)

Enter your rent and move-out date to see the most a North Carolina landlord can charge and the exact date your deposit is due back — up to 1.5 months of rent, returned 30 days (final accounting within 60 days if damages are unsettled) after the tenancy ends and possession is delivered.

Cited to N.C.G.S. §§42-50 to 42-56Source: North Carolina General Assembly.

North Carolina security deposit calculator

Security deposit · North Carolina
North Carolina rule applied to your numbers
Maximum deposit
$3,000
Up to 1.5 months' rent under North Carolina law. Week-to-week: 2 weeks' rent. Month-to-month: 1.5 months' rent. Longer terms (a fixed lease): 2 months' rent.
Return deadline
30 days (final accounting within 60 days if damages are unsettled)
30 days (final accounting within 60 days if damages are unsettled) after the tenancy ends and possession is delivered. Enter your move-out date for the exact deadline.

These are the North Carolina figures applied to what you entered — a plain summary of the rule and the dates, not a determination that anyone did or did not comply.

If a deposit is wrongly kept
Willful noncompliance forfeits the landlord's right to keep any of the deposit; the tenant may recover damages, and the court may award reasonable attorney's fees (§42-55).
Interest on the deposit
North Carolina does not require a landlord to pay interest on a security deposit.

Informational only, not legal advice. Security-deposit rules carry exceptions (lease type, small landlords, city ordinances) this summary cannot weigh. See the full statute and exceptions on the North Carolina security deposit reference, cited to N.C.G.S. §§42-50 to 42-56.

How North Carolina security deposits work

North Carolina scales the deposit cap to the kind of tenancy you have: two weeks' rent for week-to-week, a month and a half for month-to-month, and two months for a longer fixed lease. It's also a trust-account state — your landlord has to park the deposit in an insured North Carolina bank (or post a bond) and tell you where within 30 days of move-in. If damages can't be tallied within the 30-day return window, the landlord gets a little breathing room: an interim accounting at 30 days and a final one by day 60.

This calculator shows the North Carolina figures applied to your own rent and dates. It is informational only and not legal advice — exceptions this summary cannot weigh may apply. For the full rules, penalties, and citations, see the North Carolina security deposit reference.

Security deposit calculators for other states

Same tool, each with its own cap and return deadline.