How does DC’s tax code compare? The District of Columbia (DC) has a graduated individual income tax, with rates ranging from 4.00 percent to 10.75 percent. DC has an 8.25 percent corporate income tax rate. DC has a 6.00 percent sales tax rate. DC also has a 0.57 percent effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing value.
DC has an estate tax. DC has a 34.9 cents per gallon gas tax rate and a $5.03 cigarette excise tax rate. The District of Columbia collects $13,275 in tax collections per capita. DC has $29,714 in debt per capita and has a 107 percent funded ratio of public pension plans. DC’s tax system ranks 48th overall on the 2025 State Tax Competitiveness Index.
Each tax code is a multifaceted system with many moving parts, and DC is no exception. The first step towards understanding the DC tax code is knowing the basics. How does DC collect tax revenue? Click the tabs below to learn more! You can also explore our state tax maps, which are compiled from our annual publication, Facts & Figures 2024: How Does Your State Compare?
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The State Tax Competitiveness Index enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much state governments collect in taxes, the Index evaluates how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement.
115 min read
Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
2 min read
Tax burdens rose across the country as pandemic-era economic changes caused taxable income, activities, and property values to rise faster than net national product. Tax burdens in 2020, 2021, and 2022 are all higher than in any other year since 1978.
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Individual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections. How do income taxes compare in your state?
8 min read
Graduated corporate rates are inequitable—that is, the size of a corporation bears no necessary relation to the income levels of the owners.
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Retail sales taxes are an essential part of most states’ revenue toolkits, responsible for 32 percent of state tax collections and 13 percent of local tax collections (24 percent of combined collections).
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Legal sports betting has grown rapidly since the Supreme Court granted states the ability to establish online sports betting markets in Murphy vs. NCAA in 2018.
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The latest IRS and Census data show that people and businesses favor states with low and structurally sound tax systems, which can impact the state’s economic growth and governmental coffers.
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States would do better to broaden the sales tax base to include currently exempt classes of final consumption than to impose disproportionate taxes on prepared foods.
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Property taxes are the primary tool for financing local governments and generate a significant share of state and local revenues.
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As much as 98 percent of vaping products sold in the US are illicit. Most states levy an excise tax on vaping products, but these tax systems vary substantially. The result is a messy tax system covering largely illicit products, and no one knows whether taxes are being collected and remitted on most products sold nationwide.
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However well-intended they may be, sales tax holidays remain the same as they always have been—ineffective and inefficient.
11 min read
An ideal sales tax is imposed on all final consumption, both goods and services, but excludes intermediate transactions to avoid tax pyramiding.
15 min read
Retail sales taxes are an essential part of most states’ revenue toolkits, responsible for 32 percent of state tax collections and 13 percent of local tax collections (24 percent of combined collections).
8 min read