At a glance
| State estate tax | Yes — exemption $4,988,400D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue — Notice of Oct 1, 2025 Tax Changes · 2026 |
|---|---|
| Estate top rate | 16%D.C. Code § 47-3702 · current |
| Inheritance tax | No |
| Small-estate ceiling | $80,000D.C. Code § 20-351 · current |
| TOD deed for real estate | AvailableD.C. Code § 19-604.01 (Uniform Real Property TOD Act) · 2013 |
| Community-property state | No |
Estate tax
The District imposes an estate tax on deaths in 2026 where the taxable estate exceeds the exclusion of $4,988,400. DC indexes the exclusion annually for inflation; the Office of Tax and Revenue set the 2026 figure in its Notice of October 1, 2025 Tax Changes, up from $4,873,200 for 2025.
Under D.C. Code § 47-3702, value at or below the exclusion is taxed at 0% and value above it is taxed on a graduated schedule reaching a 16% top marginal rate on amounts over $10,000,000 — so the exclusion works as a zero bracket, not a cliff.
The District provides no portability of a deceased spouse's unused exclusion, so each spouse's exclusion is available only to that spouse's own estate. Because the exclusion is far below the federal one, an estate can owe DC tax while owing nothing federally.
Inheritance tax
District of Columbia has no inheritance tax — beneficiaries are not taxed on what they receive by the state. The District of Columbia imposes no inheritance tax; an inheritance-tax return is required only for estates of decedents who died before April 1, 1987.
Probate basics
An estate whose DC-administered property is $80,000 or less can be administered under the abbreviated small-estate procedures of D.C. Code § 20-351. That threshold was raised from $40,000 to $80,000 by D.C. Law 25-302, effective March 21, 2025.
District of Columbia is a common-law (separate-property) state for ownership between spouses. A transfer-on-death deed for real estate is Available D.C. Code § 19-604.01 (Uniform Real Property TOD Act) · 2013. The probate deadlines for this state — filing the will, the creditor-claim window, the inventory — are cited in the Executor & Heir’s Guide.
State-specific quirks
The exclusion is indexed and moves every year
DC adjusts its estate-tax exclusion for inflation each January 1: $4,528,800 (2023), $4,715,600 (2024), $4,873,200 (2025), $4,988,400 (2026). Confirm the exclusion for the year of death rather than reusing a prior-year figure.
Far below the federal exclusion
The District's 2026 exclusion of $4,988,400 is a fraction of the federal exclusion, so an estate can owe DC estate tax while owing nothing federally — DC-resident and DC-property estates need separate analysis.
No portability, but no cliff either
DC allows no portability between spouses, so couples relying on federal portability can still face DC tax without credit-shelter planning. The exclusion does, however, work as a 0% zero bracket — only the value above it is taxed, not the whole estate.
Where to read next
- the federal lifetime exemption — how the far larger federal exclusion works — and why a state tax can still apply below it
- funding a revocable trust — the most common way to keep property out of probate entirely
- the ILIT cluster — keeping a life-insurance death benefit out of a taxable estate
- the Executor & Heir's Guide — the probate deadlines for this state, cited to the statute
- ← Back to the 51-jurisdiction comparison
Sources & methodology
Methodology & sources
Every tax figure on this page links to the primary source it was verified against — a District of Columbia statute or department-of-revenue page — with that source’s own effective date. Aggregator round-ups are never used as a source. State death and probate law changes every legislative session; this page carries the date it was last re-verified, and any figure that could not be confirmed from a primary source is flagged for you to check with the state rather than guessed. See our editorial standards.
This page is educational and is not legal or tax advice. Whether a death tax applies turns on residency, where property sits, and how title is held — details a general page cannot resolve. Confirm your own situation with a professional licensed in District of Columbia.
Last verified July 20, 2026.