District of Columbia Tax Year 2009
Homestead Deduction
(§ 47-850 DC Code). A condition of eligibility for this program is that the applicant resides in the "owner-occupied property as [his or her] principal residence."
For purposes of levying the real property tax during a tax year, the Mayor shall deduct $64,000 from the estimated market value of real property which qualifies as a Homestead. Currently this deduction results in a savings of $544.00 annually.
Class 1 Property Tax Rate
Effective fiscal year 2009 (October 1, 2008 - September 30, 2009 and thereafter) the tax rate was reduced from $0.88 per $100 of taxable assessment to $0.85 per $100. This reduction for Class 1 property amounts to $30 per $100,000 of taxable assessment per year (i.e. a $150 savings per year from the 2007 for a property with a taxable assessment of $500,000). Below is a rate table for the different Classes of property in the District.
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Class
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Tax Rate per $100
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Description
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1
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$0.85
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Residential real property, including multifamily
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|
|
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2
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$1.65 & $1.85
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Commercial and industrial real property, including hotels and motels
(portions of assessment < $3 million @ $1.65 & >$3million @ $1.85)
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|
|
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3
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$10.00
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Vacant real property
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|
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|
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Owner-Occupant Tax Credit
The District of Columbia's effort to assess properties at market value, coupled with a surge in property values in the District, has caused the assessed value of many properties to increase dramatically in the last few years. In an effort to limit the dramatic increase in the taxable liability for owners, the District has imposed an "Assessment Cap Credit" (§ 47-864.01 DC Code). Currently, the "cap" effectively limits the increase on taxable liability for those eligible to 10% above the prior years taxable liability.
Eligibility requirements for the credit are as follows:
- The property was not sold or transferred to a new owner in the previous tax year;
- The dwelling is the owner's principal residence (an owner can receive a credit only on one property - the principal residence);
- There was no change in the zoning classification requested by the owner, which resulted in an increased value of the property;
- The previous assessment was not clearly erroneous;
There was no significant construction or rehabilitation to the property that caused at least a 10 percent increase in the value of the improvements.
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