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District of Columbia · calendar and forms
District of Columbia calendar and forms for the 2026 return
The dates that matter for a District filer between now and October 2027, the forms and schedules that make up a D-40 and what each one does, how to file and pay for free at MyTax.DC.gov, where to check a refund, and how to reach the Office of Tax and Revenue. One page to keep by the desk.
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, November 3, 2026; updated November 12, 2026 after the election · not yet reviewed by a District of Columbia practitioner
The District’s 2026 individual return, Form D-40, is due April 15, 2027, and so is the tax. A six-month extension to October 15, 2027 comes only from the District’s own Form FR-127, filed by April 15 with payment of what you expect to owe; a federal Form 4868 is not accepted in its place, and there is no extension of time to pay. Estimated payments for 2026 fall on April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027, and the same four dates repeat for 2027. Everything can be filed and paid without charge at MyTax.DC.gov, which is also where you check a refund. The Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) has not yet posted the 2026 forms or the 2026 inflation-adjusted figures; the 2025 versions are linked below, and the 2026 ones will appear on the same page.
The calendar
| Date | What is due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| January 15, 2027 | Fourth 2026 estimated payment, Form D-40ES | The last chance to reach the 90% or 110% safe harbor for 2026 before interest starts |
| January 2027 | OTR begins accepting 2026 returns | Date to come. Employers must have W-2s out by January 31 |
| April 15, 2027 | Form D-40 and payment of 2026 tax | Also Schedule H filed on its own, Form D-40B nonresident refund requests, and the payment voucher D-40P if paying by check |
| April 15, 2027 | Form FR-127 extension request, with payment | Extends filing to October 15, 2027; does not extend payment. Not needed if you expect a refund and have paid enough |
| April 15, 2027 | First 2027 estimated payment | Required if you expect to owe $100 or more for 2027 after withholding and credits |
| April 15, 2027 | Last day to claim a 2023 refund | Three years from the original due date of the 2023 return |
| June 15, 2027 | Second 2027 estimated payment | |
| September 15, 2027 | Third 2027 estimated payment | |
| October 15, 2027 | Extended due date for the 2026 D-40 | Also the due date for a filer serving in a combat zone. A further six months is available only to someone living or traveling outside the United States who filed the FR-127 |
| December 31, 2027 | Schedule L, Lower Income Long-Term Homeowner Credit | The one individual form on OTR’s list with a year-end deadline |
| January 15, 2028 | Fourth 2027 estimated payment | Or the next business day when the 15th falls on a weekend or holiday |
| Within 90 days of an IRS change | Amended D-40 | Required whenever the IRS adjusts your federal return |
When a due date falls on a weekend or a District legal holiday, the return or payment is due the next business day. All of the 2027 dates above fall on weekdays. OTR has not yet published the date it will begin accepting 2026 returns.
Estimated payments
You must make estimated payments if you expect to owe the District $100 or more after withholding and credits. There is no interest if payments and withholding together reach 90% of this year’s tax or 110% of last year’s, or if you had no DC liability last year. The 110% figure applies to everyone; the District has no 100% option. Interest on an underpayment is 10% a year, compounded daily, computed on Form D-2210, which also offers an annualized method for uneven income. Pay at MyTax.DC.gov or by mailing the D-40ES vouchers; a payment over $5,000 for any period must be made electronically.
Worked example: a self-employed resident sets her 2027 estimates
A consultant living in the District had DC tax of $9,000 on her 2026 return and expects about $12,000 for 2027, with no withholding. The prior-year test is cheaper and certain.
| 2026 DC tax, from the D-40 as filed | $9,000 |
| Prior-year safe harbor: 110% of $9,000 | $9,900 |
| Current-year safe harbor: 90% of $12,000 | $10,800 |
| Each of four installments under the prior-year test | $2,475 |
| Balance due with the 2027 D-40 in April 2028, if the tax is $12,000 | $2,100 |
The $2,100 is paid with the return, with no interest, because the installments met the 110% test. Had she paid 100% of last year’s tax, $2,250 a quarter, she would have fallen $900 short of the safe harbor and owed interest at 10% compounded daily on the shortfall in each quarter.
The forms
The D-40 is the return; everything else attaches to it. The 2026 versions will replace the 2025 ones on OTR’s forms page when released. Watch for a new subtraction line on the 2026 D-40 or Schedule I for the federal tips, overtime, car-loan interest and senior deductions, which the District allows for 2026 through 2028 but has not yet said how to claim (verify).
| Form | What it is | Who needs it |
|---|---|---|
| D-40 | Individual Income Tax Return | Every resident and part-year resident filer |
| D-40 booklet | Instructions, tax tables to $100,000, the Calculations | Everyone; the 2025 edition was revised in August 2026 |
| Schedule S | Supplemental Information and Dependents | Anyone claiming dependents or filing head of household |
| Schedule I | Additions to and Subtractions from Federal AGI | Other states’ municipal bond interest, bonus depreciation, U.S. Treasury interest, DC College Savings Plan contributions, teacher expenses, part-year adjustments |
| Schedule U | Additional Miscellaneous Credits and Contributions | Credit for tax paid to another state, alternative fuel credits, the Keep Child Care Affordable credit total, voluntary contributions |
| Schedule H | Homeowner and Renter Property Tax Credit | Owners and renters under the income limits; can be filed on its own without a D-40 |
| Schedule ELC | Keep Child Care Affordable Tax Credit | Parents of a child under 4 in a licensed child development facility |
| Schedule N | DC Non-Custodial Parent EITC Claim | Non-custodial parents current on child support |
| Schedule HSR | DC Health Care Shared Responsibility | Residents without qualifying health coverage for part of the year |
| Schedule L | Lower Income Long-Term Homeowner Credit | Long-term owners within the limits; due December 31 |
| D-2440 | Disability Income Exclusion | SSA-certified disabled residents with household income under $100,000 |
| D-2441 | Child and Dependent Care Credit for Part-Year Residents | Part-year residents claiming the care credit |
| D-2210 | Underpayment of Estimated Income Tax by Individuals | Anyone short of the safe harbor |
| D-40ES | Estimated Payment vouchers | Anyone expecting to owe $100 or more |
| D-40P | Payment Voucher | Anyone mailing a check with the return |
| FR-127 | Extension of Time to File | Anyone who cannot file by April 15; pay with it |
| D-40B | Nonresident Request for Refund | Nonresidents who had DC tax withheld in error; now e-fileable |
| DC-8379 | Injured Spouse Allocation | A joint filer whose refund would be taken for the other spouse’s debt |
| FR-147 | Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer | Survivors and executors |
| D-4 | Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate | Every DC resident employee; file a new one after a move or a change in income |
| D-4A | Certificate of Nonresidence in the District of Columbia | Nonresidents working in DC, to stop DC withholding |
Direct links to the 2025 D-40, Schedule I, Schedule U, D-40B and D-4A, and to OTR’s forms page for the rest, are in the forms box at the end of this article.
How to file
Free, directly with the District. MyTax.DC.gov files the D-40 and its schedules, the D-40ES, the FR-127 and, beginning with the 2025 return, the D-40B, at no charge. The booklet notes that the portal has some limitations. The District is not a participant in IRS Direct File.
With the federal return. Any authorized software, online service or paid preparer can e-file the D-40 with the Form 1040; the refunds arrive separately. Check that the software uses the District’s own standard deduction and not the federal one.
Free help in person. IRS VITA (1-800-906-9887) and AARP Tax-Aide (1-888-227-7669) prepare returns by appointment for those who qualify. OTR’s walk-in center no longer prepares individual returns.
On paper. A return with a payment goes to Office of Tax and Revenue, P.O. Box 96169, Washington, DC 20090-6169. A refund return, or one with nothing due, goes to P.O. Box 96145, Washington, DC 20090-6145. A Form D-40B goes to P.O. Box 96147, Washington, DC 20090-6147. Paper forms can be downloaded, ordered by phone or picked up at District public libraries.
How to pay
At MyTax.DC.gov, an account holder pays by ACH debit at no fee; anyone can pay by card for a processor’s fee. A check or money order is payable to the “DC Treasurer,” with your taxpayer identification number, daytime phone, “tax year 2026” and “Form D-40” on it, attached to Form D-40P. Payments from a bank account outside the United States are not accepted. If you cannot pay in full, OTR’s advice is to file anyway, pay what you can, and contact the Department about the balance; it will extend the time for payment if the plan is acceptable.
Refunds
Refunds come by direct deposit, paper check or a U.S. Bank ReliaCard. As an anti-fraud step OTR has been converting first-time direct deposit requests to paper checks mailed to the address of record (verify), so a new filer, or one who changed banks, should not count on a deposit. Returns selected for security review can take up to eight weeks. A DC earned income credit of $1,200 or more can be taken in twelve monthly payments by marking the oval on Line 27.
To check a refund, go to MyTax.DC.gov and enter your Social Security number, the tax year and the refund amount you claimed. It covers returns filed within the last six months; for anything older, call (202) 727-4TAX (4829), Monday through Friday, 8:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Reaching the Department
| Who | How |
|---|---|
| Customer Service Center, general questions, refund status | (202) 727-4TAX (4829); fax (202) 442-6890; TTY 711; Monday–Friday 8:15 a.m.–5:30 p.m. |
| Walk-in service | 1101 4th Street SW, Suite W270, Washington, DC 20024; by appointment |
| MyTax.DC.gov e-services support | (202) 759-1946 |
| Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, for a problem the normal channels have not solved | (202) 442-6348; request form at MyTax.DC.gov |
| Collection and Enforcement Administration | (202) 724-5045 |
| Return Integrity Unit, identity-review holds | (202) 741-8629 |
| Tax Practitioner Hotline | (202) 727-1435 |
| Real Property Tax Administration, homestead and senior relief | Assessment Services (202) 442-6685 |
Email addresses for each unit are on OTR’s contact page; a MyTax.DC.gov account also carries secure messages.
Behind the scenes: why the federal extension does not count
Most of the District’s return rides on the federal one: it starts from federal AGI, follows the federal filing status and itemizing choice, and is transmitted with the Form 1040. The extension is where the piggybacking stops, because the FR-127 is, in substance, a payment form: it exists to collect the tax you expect to owe by April 15. A taxpayer who files a federal Form 4868 and assumes the District is covered has filed nothing with OTR. The booklet softens this in one case: if you expect a refund, or have paid enough to cover the tax, you do not need the FR-127 at all.
What to bring
- Your 2025 D-40 as filed, for the prior-year tax that sets the 110% safe harbor and any overpayment applied to 2026
- DC estimated payments made for 2026, with dates and amounts, and any payment sent with an FR-127
- Every W-2 and 1099 showing DC withholding
- Bank routing and account numbers for a refund or a direct debit
- Any notice from OTR, and any IRS notice changing a prior-year return, with its date
Questions people ask
I filed a federal extension. Am I extended with DC?
No. The District needs its own Form FR-127 by April 15, 2027, with payment of the tax you expect to owe. Without it the return is late, and even with it the payment is late if it was not made by April 15.
When does the District start accepting 2026 returns?
OTR has not announced the 2027 date. Filing early does not speed a return that is selected for identity review, which can take up to eight weeks.
Do I have to make estimated payments if I have a job?
Only if your withholding will leave you owing $100 or more. The common gap is a DC resident whose employer is in Maryland or Virginia and does not withhold DC tax, or a retiree whose pension payer was never asked to. Ask for DC withholding first; estimates are the fallback.
How long do I have to claim a refund?
Three years from the original due date of the return. A 2026 refund can be claimed until April 15, 2030. There is no late-filing penalty on a return that shows a refund.
The IRS changed my 2024 return. Do I have to tell DC?
Yes. File an amended D-40 within 90 days of the final federal adjustment, marking the amended-return oval and attaching an explanation of the changes. Do not send it in the same envelope as any other return.
April 15 is the date for everything, and the FR-127 is the only extension
Pay the tax, or the estimate of it, by April 15, 2027; file at MyTax.DC.gov; and if an out-of-District employer or a pension payer is not withholding for you, start the D-40ES payments now.
Written by Charles Trautman, EA, editor · Need to Know Tax, Lone Tree, Colorado
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Forms and official pages named in this article
- OTR: Individual income tax forms, the full list with due dates (D-40, booklet, Schedules S, I, U, H, ELC, N, HSR, L; D-2440, D-2441, D-2210, D-40ES, D-40P, FR-127, D-40B, DC-8379, FR-147)
- Form D-40, Individual Income Tax Return (2025)
- 2025 D-40 booklet (revised August 2026): due dates, FR-127, payment methods, refund options, amended returns, VITA and AARP
- Schedule I, Additions to and Subtractions from Federal AGI (2025)
- Schedule U, Additional Miscellaneous Credits and Contributions (2025)
- Form D-40B, Nonresident Request for Refund (2025)
- Form D-4A, Certificate of Nonresidence in the District of Columbia
- MyTax.DC.gov, the District’s filing, payment and refund-status portal
Sources and where to check
- OTR: Individual income tax filing FAQs (due date, FR-127, mailing addresses, three-year refund window, amended returns, 90-day rule)
- OTR: Estimated tax requirement and underpayment interest (the $100 threshold, due dates, safe harbors, 10% interest)
- OTR: Check your tax refund status
- OTR: Individual income tax payment and refund FAQs (eight-week processing, payment plans)
- OTR: Contact OTR (phone numbers and the Customer Service Center address)