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District of Columbia · 2027 and beyond
District of Columbia in 2027 and beyond: what is already law, and what is still open
No tax measure on the ballot. DC allows the federal tips, overtime and senior deductions for 2026 through 2028. What is on the 2026 return, what starts with tax year 2027, and what is scheduled or conditional after that.
By Charles Trautman, EA, editor
Need to Know Tax · written from DC Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR), Office of the Chief Financial Officer sources and the unofficial November 3 election returns, November 12, 2026 · not yet reviewed by a District of Columbia practitioner
No tax measure on the ballot. DC allows the federal tips, overtime and senior deductions for 2026 through 2028. This page keeps apart three things that get mixed together in the news: what is on the 2026 return you file in early 2027, what begins with tax year 2027, and what is scheduled, conditional or still undecided after that. Election figures are the unofficial November 3, 2026 returns and are not final until the state certifies them.
What the voters decided on November 3, 2026
No statewide tax measure was on the November 3, 2026 ballot in District of Columbia. Nothing voted on that day changes a District of Columbia return.
This return, next year, and later
| When | What applies |
|---|---|
| The 2026 return, filed in early 2027 | The federal deductions for tips, overtime, car-loan interest and the $6,000 senior deduction are allowed for 2026 through 2028, after being disallowed for 2025. |
| DC has its own standard deduction for 2025 through 2029: $15,000 single, $22,500 head of household, $30,000 joint. | |
| The DC earned income credit is 85% of the federal credit for 2026 through 2028, down from 100%. | |
| Starting with tax year 2027 | A resident who installs a home charging station can claim 50% of the cost, up to $1,000, beginning with tax year 2027. |
| The sales tax stays at 6% through September 30, 2027; the increase to 7% was delayed a year. | |
| 2028 and later, or conditional | The federal deductions and the 85% earned income credit rate both run through 2028. |
| The DC standard deduction rule runs through 2029. |
Items under 2027 and later do not change the 2026 return. They matter for 2027 withholding, estimated payments and planning. The detail behind each line is in the other District of Columbia articles.
The 2025 federal law and the District of Columbia return
Form D-40 starts from federal adjusted gross income. The four federal deductions are taken below that line, so DC had to adopt them by statute, and the Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Support Act, effective October 2, 2026, did so for 2026 through 2028.
That is the reason a change on the federal return, such as the deductions for tips, overtime and people 65 and older, may or may not show up on the District of Columbia return. The federal side is in The new deductions for tips, overtime and seniors.
What to watch
The fiscal 2028 budget, which the Council takes up in the spring of 2027. When something on this page changes, the change is logged on the updates page with its date.
What to bring
- Your 2026 federal and District of Columbia returns, once filed, to set 2027 withholding and estimated payments against them
- Your last pay stub of 2026 and the first of 2027, to see whether withholding changed
- Any notice from the state about a 2027 rate, credit or filing change
Questions people ask
Does anything here change the District of Columbia return I file in early 2027?
Only what is listed under the 2026 return. Everything listed under 2027 or later affects withholding, estimated payments and planning, not the return for 2026.
How will I know if this page changes?
Every change is logged on the updates page with its date and the article it affects. State legislatures meet in early 2027 and some act before the filing deadline.
District of Columbia, after the election
No tax measure on the ballot. DC allows the federal tips, overtime and senior deductions for 2026 through 2028.
Written by Charles Trautman, EA, editor · Need to Know Tax, Lone Tree, Colorado
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Sources and where to check
- OTR: DC Individual and Fiduciary Income Tax Rates
- OTR: Notice of Oct. 1, 2025 Tax Changes
- OTR Newsroom (no Oct. 1, 2026 notice posted as of November 3, 2026)
- Thomson Reuters: District of Columbia 2027 budget support legislation becomes law (Law 26-189)
- ArentFox Schiff: the District’s tax decoupling dispute and H.J. Res. 142
- D.C. Code § 47-1806.17, child tax credit, with amendment history