DC property tax: rates, homestead deduction and real bills

At a glance

Estimate your DC property tax

Tax year 2026, DC Office of Tax and Revenue: Class 1B is $0.85 per $100 of taxable value up to $2,558,000 and $1.00 above; the homestead deduction takes $91,950 off the assessed value. Your bill uses OTR's assessment of the parcel, not the price you pay. Nothing you enter is saved or sent.

What is the DC property tax rate on a house?

Since tax year 2025, DC has taxed a house or a condo unit at two rates: $0.85 per $100 of assessed value on the first $2.558 million and $1.00 per $100 on everything above it. Most rate pages, and even the DC Chief Financial Officer's summary page, still show a single $0.85 rate. On a $1.5 million Georgetown row house that makes no difference. On a $6 million house it understates the bill by $5,163 a year.

The second rate doesn't change the bigger picture. DC still taxes the same house less than Fairfax County or Arlington, and the gap widens as the price rises. What it changes is your budget: if you're buying above about $2.6 million, use the two-rate math on this page, not a flat 0.85%.

All figures here are for tax year 2026, which ran October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026. The Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) had not published tax year 2027 rates, the new threshold or the new homestead amount as of October 13, 2026.

DC property tax rates by class

DC assesses property at 100% of market value and sorts it into classes. The class sets the rate.

Class 1B: houses and condo units

Almost every Georgetown house and every individually owned condo unit is Class 1B under DC Code § 47-813. The threshold started at $2.5 million in tax year 2025 and now rises each year with a cost-of-living adjustment. If you own a luxury condo in DC, the same two-rate rule applies to your unit.

Class 1A: co-ops and apartment buildings

Co-op buildings stay in Class 1A at a flat $0.85, and the tax reaches you through the monthly carrying charge.

Classes 2, 3 and 4

Commercial, vacant and blighted property carry far higher rates. A house that the Department of Buildings classes as vacant pays $5.00 per $100, almost six times the residential rate, so an estate sale or a long renovation with no one living in the house is worth checking with the department.

How is DC property tax calculated?

OTR's method is simple: divide the assessed value by $100 and multiply by the rate. Its own example is a $500,000 home at $0.85, which comes to $4,250 a year. For a Class 1B house above the threshold you run the math in two slices.

What your assessed value means

The assessed value is OTR's estimate of market value as of January 1 before the tax year starts, so the bill that began October 1, 2026 uses values as of January 1, 2026. The assessor uses mass appraisal and weighs comparable sales, zoning and government restrictions, which in Georgetown include the rules on the Old Georgetown Board review page.

The bill in three steps

1. Start with the assessed value. Subtract $91,950 if the house is your homestead.
2. Tax the first $2,558,000 at $0.85 per $100, which is $21,743.
3. Tax anything above $2,558,000 at $1.00 per $100, then add the two numbers.

Here is the $3 million case with a homestead: $3,000,000 minus $91,950 leaves $2,908,050. The first $2,558,000 costs $21,743 and the remaining $350,050 costs $3,500.50, for a bill of $25,243.50.

Computed from OTR's tax year 2026 rates and homestead amount. Swap in your own assessed value and the three steps give you the bill. The calculator for DC closing costs and property tax runs the same formula alongside your transfer taxes and mortgage payment.

What lowers a DC property tax bill?

DC has several reliefs, but at Georgetown prices only two matter for most owners: the homestead deduction and the assessment cap. Both require that the house be your primary residence.

Homestead deduction: $91,950

For tax year 2026 the homestead deduction cuts $91,950 off the assessed value before tax is figured. OTR says that saves $781.58 a year. That's true at $0.85, but on a house assessed above roughly $2.65 million the deduction comes off the slice taxed at $1.00, so it's worth $919.50. Either way it's small next to the bill.

The timing matters more than the amount. Under DC Code § 47-850, an application approved for filing between October 1 and March 31 gets the full year; one filed April 1 to September 30 gets half, on the second-half bill. If you close in the spring, file the same week. Only one homestead is allowed per household.

Assessment cap credit: 10% a year, until you sell

A homestead property can't be taxed on more than a 10% rise in assessed value each year. The cap doesn't change the assessment on your notice; it shows up as a credit on the bill. In a long-held house where values have outrun the cap, that credit can be the biggest line on the bill.

The catch is for buyers. The credit belongs to the owner, not the house. A buyer keeps the seller's credit only for the half-year of purchase, and after you apply for homestead the cap generally becomes available within a year. Your first full bill is on the whole current assessment, so a neighbor's bill tells you little about yours. Budget from the assessment, not from the seller's last bill.

Senior or disabled owner relief: 50% off

An owner 65 or older, or disabled, who holds at least half the deed can cut the tax in half if household federal adjusted gross income was under $163,500 for tax year 2026. Those owners also get a tighter cap: taxable value can't rise more than 2% a year.

Disabled veterans' deduction

Qualifying disabled veterans, and since October 1, 2025 surviving spouses, can take a $445,000 deduction instead of the homestead deduction, with the same $163,500 income limit. It can't be combined with homestead, senior relief or the cap credit.

Trash credit for condo owners

Condo and co-op owners, and some owners who pay for private trash pickup, get a $136 credit for 2026. DC also has a deferral program for low-income seniors, which at these prices rarely applies.

How do I appeal a DC property tax assessment?

If your assessment is above what similar homes sold for, appeal it. OTR says plainly that an opinion without facts will probably not lower an assessment, so bring sales.

First level: OTR administrative review by April 1

File on MyTax.DC.gov by April 1 for the coming tax year. A new owner who bought during the year can file by April 1 or 45 days after the transfer, whichever is later, which gives a spring buyer a short window most owners don't know about. OTR gives you your property worksheet and an area sales list free; compare them with sales on your block.

Second level: Real Property Tax Appeals Commission

If the review doesn't satisfy you, file with the commission within 45 days of OTR's decision notice. The commission won't hear a case that skipped the first level.

Third level: DC Superior Court

After the commission, the last step is DC Superior Court, a formal case where a tax attorney is worth the fee on a large assessment.

A win lowers the assessment for the tax year at issue, not past years. The Georgetown housing market page tracks where values sit.

When is DC property tax due?

Two bills a year

DC bills property tax in halves. The first half covers October 1 to March 31 and is due March 31. The second half covers April 1 to September 30 and is due September 15.

The tax year and a new owner's first bill

The tax year runs October 1 to September 30, so a closing in June lands in the second half of one tax year. Your settlement statement shows how the current half's tax is split with the seller, and your first bill in your own name may still reflect the seller's homestead and cap credit. Expect the next one to be higher.

Are property taxes higher in DC or Virginia?

Virginia's are higher at every price on this page. Fairfax County adopted a rate of $1.12 per $100 for FY2027 and Arlington $1.053 for 2026. Both are flat, so the gap with DC grows with the price even after DC's $1.00 slice.

Virginia figures are at the adopted rates with no exemptions. Montgomery County's local rate was $1.0392 per $100 for FY2025 before Maryland's state property tax, which this page doesn't quote.

Property tax is the smaller half of the comparison. On a $3 million house DC saves about $8,357 a year against Fairfax, and DC's income tax overtakes that saving once taxable income passes about $330,700, a crossover that assumes the DC homestead deduction; without it the line falls to about $304,400. The DC income tax rate comparison runs both lines together, and the cost of living in Washington DC page puts them next to the other bills.

What should buyers and sellers do with this?

If you're buying

Work out the bill from the current assessment, file for homestead the week you close, and note the 45-day new-owner appeal window. The one-time settlement taxes are on the DC transfer and recordation tax page.

If you're selling

A buyer will look at your bill, so tell them it reflects your cap credit and won't carry over. Saying so early can head off a dispute after the first bill arrives. If the house has a tenant, check the DC tenant purchase rules before you list; if it's part of an estate, remember that DC estate tax is figured on market value, not the assessment. When you're pricing a Georgetown home to sell, I can pull the assessment and recent sales on your block side by side.

Confirm with a DC tax professional

This page explains how DC property tax works using OTR's published tax year 2026 figures. It isn't tax advice. Tax year 2027 rates, the new Class 1B threshold and the new homestead amount were not on OTR's site as of October 13, 2026, and the Mayor recomputes the rates each year. Confirm your class, reliefs and bill with OTR or a DC CPA before you rely on a number.

Common questions

Sources

• OTR: Real Property Tax Rates
• OTR: Real Property Tax Reliefs, Credits, and Deductions
• OTR: Real Property Tax Bill Due Dates and Delayed Tax Bills
• OTR: Real Property Assessment Appeal Rights & Application
• DC CFO: Tax Rates and Revenues, Property Taxes
• DC Code § 47-812 (real property tax rates)
• DC Code § 47-813 (classes of property)
• DC Code § 47-802 (definitions)
• DC Code § 47-820 (assessment)
• DC Code § 47-850 (homestead deduction)
• DC Code § 47-864 (assessment cap credit)
• DC Code § 47-825.01a (assessment appeals)
• Fairfax County: Board of Supervisors Adopts FY 27 Budget, Reduces Real Estate Tax Rate
• Arlington County: FY 2027 Adopted Budget
• Maryland Department of Legislative Services: 2025 County Local Tax Rates