Washington has a single property tax schedule for all eight wards: $0.85 per $100 of taxable assessed value on homes, with $1.00 per $100 charged only on the slice of a Class 1B home’s taxable value above $2,558,000. On tax year 2026 figures from the Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR), a homestead rowhouse assessed at $812,430 owes $6,124.08 a year and a $3.4 million house owes $29,243.50. The District of Columbia property tax calculator below follows OTR’s order of operations: subtract the $91,950 homestead deduction, hold the 40 percent floor, apply the split rate, then halve the result for qualifying seniors and owners with disabilities. Enter the full assessed value from your OTR notice (already 100 percent of market value) and let the tool take the deduction off.
You get the yearly bill, the halves due March 31 and September 15, a monthly escrow amount, and what your filed relief saves. The assessment cap credit is left out because it depends on last year’s taxable assessment; if your bill shows one, subtract it.
District of Columbia Property Tax Calculator (OTR 2026)
Enter the assessment from your OTR notice, pick Class 1A or 1B, and tick the homestead and senior boxes that apply. The estimate runs the District's own math: the $91,950 deduction, the 40 percent floor, the $1.00 split rate above $2,558,000, and 50 percent senior or disability relief.
Planning estimate built on tax year 2026 figures from the DC Office of Tax and Revenue: $0.85 per $100 for Class 1A, $0.85 up to $2,558,000 and $1.00 above it for Class 1B, a $91,950 homestead deduction, and 50 percent senior or disability relief. Not included: the 10 percent (2 percent for seniors) assessment cap credit, the $445,000 disabled veterans' deduction, the trash credit for condos and co-ops, half-year benefits for late applications, and commercial or vacant classes. OTR indexes the deduction, income limit, and split threshold each October. Confirm your figures on MyTax.DC.gov or with OTR at (202) 727-4829.
One Jurisdiction, One Schedule, Eight Wards
Most American homeowners pay a stack of levies: county, city, school district, maybe a fire district. A DC bill has no layering. The District is the only taxing authority, so a Ward 3 house and a Ward 8 house with the same class, assessment, and relief owe exactly the same amount.
The DC Council sets class rates. Since tax year 2026 the Mayor also computes the Class 1A and 1B rates so each class raises last year’s revenue plus the lesser of 7 percent or its assessment growth, and reports them to the Council by January 5. The residential rate has held at $0.85. Sites quoting a “DC property tax by county” table or a 0.58 or 0.78 percent average rate are describing a statistic, not the formula on your bill.
Class 1A, Class 1B, and the Split Above $2,558,000
The Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Support Act (D.C. Law 25-217, effective September 18, 2024) replaced the single residential class with two, starting in tax year 2025. Class 1B covers improved residential property with no more than two dwelling units, whether detached, semi-detached, or a row structure, plus up to two contiguous condo units under common ownership. A rowhouse with an English basement unit is 1B. Class 1A takes the rest, including buildings with three or more units and cooperatives.
Both classes start at $0.85. Class 1B’s line was $2,500,000 of taxable value in 2025 and is indexed for inflation from tax year 2026, which put it at $2,558,000. Only the portion above the line pays $1.00, a marginal bracket, unlike commercial Class 2, where one rate ($1.65 up to $5 million, $1.77 up to $10 million, $1.89 beyond) covers the whole value.
Worked example: a Class 1B house assessed at $3,400,000 with the homestead deduction has a taxable base of $3,308,050. The first $2,558,000 costs $21,743.00 and the remaining $750,050 costs $7,500.50, for $29,243.50. The same taxable value in Class 1A would owe $28,118.43, so the split adds $1,125.07. Vacant property pays $5.00 per $100 and blighted property $10.00.
The $91,950 Homestead Deduction and Its 40 Percent Floor
For tax year 2026, the homestead deduction removes $91,950 from the assessment before any rate applies. At $0.85 that is worth $781.58 a year. Under DC Code 47-850 it rises each October with a cost of living adjustment. You qualify if the home is your principal residence in a building of five or fewer units and your application (ASD-100 on MyTax.DC.gov) is approved. File October 1 through March 31 for the whole tax year; filing April 1 through September 30 gets half, on the second installment.
Take a Class 1B rowhouse assessed at $812,430. The taxable base is $720,480, the yearly bill is $6,124.08, each half is $3,062.04, and the monthly set aside is $510.34. Without the deduction it would owe $6,905.66.
The floor surprises owners of modest condos. DC Code 47-864(e) says a homestead property’s taxable assessment cannot fall under 40 percent of its assessed value, which starts to bind on anything assessed under about $153,000. A $140,000 condo is therefore taxed on $56,000, not $48,050, and owes $476.00.
Veterans rated totally and permanently disabled can instead take a $445,000 deduction (since October 1, 2022) with household income under $163,500. It replaces the regular deduction, senior relief, and the cap credit; since October 1, 2025 an eligible surviving spouse can claim it too.
Seniors and Owners With Disabilities: Half the Bill, a 2 Percent Cap
An owner who is 65 or older, or who has a qualifying disability, can cut the bill by 50 percent under DC Code 47-863. The requirements for tax year 2026: at least 50 percent ownership, the homestead deduction in place, and household federal adjusted gross income under $163,500 for 2024, counting everyone in the home except tenants paying market rent.
On a $455,950 Class 1B condo, the deduction leaves $364,000 taxable, which comes to $3,094.00 before relief and $1,547.00 after. That is $773.50 per half, or $128.92 a month.
These owners also get a tighter assessment cap. Their taxable assessment can rise no more than 2 percent a year, against 10 percent for other homestead owners. Some tax sites still say 5 percent; DC Code 47-864 uses a 102 percent multiplier and OTR’s relief page says 2 percent. Seniors with household income under $50,000 can also defer the entire bill at 6 percent interest (0 percent at 75 and older with 25 years of DC ownership).
March 1 Notices, the 10 Percent Cap, and the April 1 Appeal
OTR reassesses every parcel yearly at 100 percent of estimated market value and mails proposed assessments by March 1 for the tax year starting the next October 1. There is no assessment ratio.
If you hold the homestead deduction, your taxable assessment cannot be taxed on more than 10 percent growth per year. The limit shows up as a credit on the bill, not as a lower figure on the notice. After a sale, the buyer keeps the seller’s credit only for the half year of purchase.
To contest a value, start with a first level administrative review before the Real Property Assessment Division, filed on or before April 1 (the next business day when April 1 falls on a weekend) through MyTax.DC.gov. Your property worksheet and an area sales list are free. Still disagree? Appeal to the Real Property Tax Appeals Commission within 45 days of that decision, then to DC Superior Court.
What the Census Says a Typical DC Owner Pays
The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2024 five year estimates) puts the median real estate tax paid in the District at $4,312 on a median owner occupied value of $737,100, a 0.58 percent ratio. The statutory math on a $737,100 Class 1B homestead gives $5,483.78. The Census figure runs lower because it pools owner reported answers from 2020 through 2024 and already reflects senior relief, cap credits, and the floor. It is context, not a forecast for your address.
Due Dates, Late Charges, and the Tax Sale
The tax year runs October 1 through September 30. The first half bill goes out in February, due March 31; the second is mailed in August, due September 15. Late mailed bills get later due dates.
Miss a deadline and OTR adds a 10 percent penalty plus interest of 1.5 percent per month. Unpaid taxes become a lien that can be sold at the District’s tax sale. You can redeem by paying the taxes, fees, and the buyer’s legal costs until a court forecloses that right.
What to Watch for Tax Year 2027 and After
Tax year 2027 runs from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, so its first half is due March 31, 2027 and its second half September 15, 2027. OTR indexes three numbers this calculator uses every October: the homestead deduction, the $163,500 income limit, and the $2,558,000 split threshold. We will swap in the tax year 2027 figures once OTR posts them, and recheck the $0.85 rate against the Mayor’s January 5 computation. Notices for tax year 2028 arrive by March 1, 2027, with first level appeals due April 1, 2027.
Sources: DC Office of Tax and Revenue real property tax rates, relief, billing, and appeal pages (tax year 2026 figures); DC Code sections 47-812, 47-813, 47-850, 47-863, and 47-864; Census Bureau ACS 2024 five year estimates, tables B25103 and B25077, for the median context only. Verify your class, assessment, and relief on MyTax.DC.gov or with the OTR Customer Service Center at (202) 727-4829.