District of Columbia Income Tax Calculator 2026

How DC income tax is computed

DC taxes taxable income in seven brackets from 4% to 10.75%, and unlike most states it uses the same brackets for every filing status. Taxable income is federal AGI after DC additions and subtractions, less the DC standard deduction ($15,000 single, $22,500 head of household, $30,000 married) or itemized deductions.

For a single filer on $100,000: $100,000 − $15,000 = $85,000 taxable. The tax is $3,500 on the first $60,000, plus 8.5% of the $25,000 above it, for $5,625 in total, 5.63% of income.

Married couples: filing separately on the same return

Because DC's brackets do not double for joint filers, two-earner couples should compare a joint return with "married filing separately on the same return", a DC filing status that lets each spouse be taxed on their own income while still filing one D-40. Two spouses earning $100,000 each would owe about $12,850 filing jointly, against $11,250 filing separately on the same return. Each spouse gets the $15,000 standard deduction and their own trip through the lower brackets.

DC credits that pay real money

The District runs some of the most generous refundable credits in the country:

• DC Earned Income Tax Credit: from tax year 2025 it equals 100% of your federal EITC. If the DC credit is $1,200 or more, you can choose to receive it in 12 equal monthly payments instead of one lump sum (note this can affect SNAP eligibility). Non-custodial parents can claim a separate DC EITC on Schedule N.
• Schedule H Homeowner and Renter Property Tax Credit: up to $1,425 for 2025, for residents with federal AGI up to $66,000 (under 70) or $90,000 (70 and older). Renters qualify as well as owners.
• Keep Child Care Affordable Tax Credit (Schedule ELC) for qualifying child care costs.
• DC's own child tax credit was repealed for 2025, so it no longer appears on the D-40.

Income DC subtracts or adds

Several items are treated differently from your federal return:

• Social Security and tier 1 railroad retirement benefits included in federal AGI are subtracted, so DC does not tax them.
• Unemployment benefits from DC or any state are excluded from DC income.
• DC and federal government survivor benefits are subtracted for survivors aged 62 or older.
• Interest from other states' municipal bonds became taxable in DC from tax year 2025.
• DC did not adopt the federal deductions for tips, overtime, car-loan interest or the enhanced senior deduction, so those amounts stay in DC income.

Filing your D-40

The 2026 D-40 is due April 15, 2027. File Form FR-127 by that date for a six-month extension to file (an extra six months is available if you live or travel abroad). From tax year 2025 you must file whenever your gross income is at least the DC standard deduction for your filing status, $15,000 for single filers, even if you do not have to file a federal return. If you expect to owe $100 or more beyond withholding, DC asks for estimated tax payments.

You are a DC resident if you were domiciled in DC at any time during the year, or if you kept a place of abode there for 183 days or more. People who move in or out during the year file a part-year return and prorate the standard deduction.