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.
24 min read
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.
7 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).
9 min read
In 2021 and 2022 alone, more states enacted laws converting graduated-rate individual income tax structures into single-rate income tax structures than did so in the whole 108-year history of state income taxation up until that point.
10 min read
Short FormWorking from home is great. The tax complications? Not so much.
4 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).
9 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.
7 min read
While some recommendations follow the principles of sound tax policy and may improve the District’s tax climate, some proposals make the tax code more complex and less neutral, potentially disincentivizing investment and business activity.
6 min read
The pandemic has accelerated changes to the way we live and work, making it far easier for people to move—and they have. As states work to maintain their competitive advantage, they should pay attention to where people are moving, and try to understand why.
5 min read
People respond to incentives. As tax rates increase or products are banned from sale, consumers and producers search for ways around these penalties and restrictions.
17 min read
Contrary to initial expectations, the pandemic years were good for state and local tax collections, and while the surges of 2021 and 2022 have not continued into calendar year 2023, revenues remain robust in most states and well above pre-pandemic levels even after accounting for inflation.
4 min read
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.
8 min read
To alleviate the regressive impact on wireless consumers, states should examine their existing communications tax structures and consider policies that transition their tax systems away from narrowly based wireless taxes and toward broad-based tax sources.
18 min read