District of Columbia paycheck guide
Who pays DC income tax: residents only
DC's income tax reaches only District residents. The Home Rule Act that created the District's government forbids it from taxing the wages of people who live elsewhere, so a federal employee from Silver Spring or a lawyer from Arlington who works downtown owes nothing to DC. Nonresidents give their employer Form D-4A, the Certificate of Nonresidence, and the employer withholds for their home state instead.
The protection depends on where you actually live. If you keep a home in the District and spend 183 days or more there during the year, DC treats you as a resident even if your legal domicile is elsewhere. Once you become a resident, replace the D-4A with Form D-4 so DC tax is withheld.
It also works the other way. Maryland and Virginia both exempt DC residents from their income tax, so a District resident who commutes to Bethesda or Tysons pays income tax only to DC. Your Maryland or Virginia employer should withhold for the District once you file the right exemption form with them.
DC's brackets and the 2026 worked example
DC taxes income in seven brackets: 4% on the first $10,000, 6% up to $40,000, 6.5% up to $60,000, 8.5% up to $250,000, 9.25% up to $500,000, 9.75% up to $1,000,000, and 10.75% above that. The jump from 6.5% to 8.5% at $60,000 is the biggest step in the schedule, and it lands right where many professional salaries begin.
For a single filer earning $75,000, our estimate subtracts a $16,100 standard deduction, leaving $58,900 of DC taxable income. That income pays $400 at 4%, $1,800 at 6%, and $1,229 on $18,900 at 6.5%, for $3,429 in total, an effective rate of 4.57%. At this salary the 8.5% bracket has not kicked in yet.
On the federal side, the same worker owes $7,670 of income tax plus $4,650 for Social Security and $1,088 for Medicare. Take-home pay comes to $58,163, about $4,847 a month. The DC $75,000 salary breakdown shows each pay period.
What else comes out of a DC paycheck
Because DC is both a state and a city, there is no separate local income tax layered on top, unlike Baltimore or the Maryland counties. The District rate is the whole local picture.
DC's Paid Family Leave program is funded entirely by employers, and DC law does not allow them to deduct it from your wages. The program covers people who work in the District wherever they live, and the employer carries the full cost, so a DC job adds no leave deduction to your stub.
Federal workers and contractors make up a large share of the DC workforce, and their withholding follows the same D-4 or D-4A rule as anyone else's. If you switch from a Virginia employer to a District one while living in DC, nothing changes in what you owe, only in who withholds it.
Withholding with Form D-4
DC residents complete Form D-4, the District's own withholding certificate, separate from the federal W-4. Revisit it when your taxable income approaches $60,000, because the 8.5% bracket can leave withholding short if you also have a second job, a working spouse, or investment income.
If you move into the District mid-year from Maryland or Virginia, file a D-4 with your employer right away and expect to file a part-year DC return. DC taxes the income you earn after you become a resident, and your former state taxes what you earned before.
DC compared with Maryland and Virginia
At $75,000 the three jurisdictions are nearly tied. A single Maryland resident keeps $232 more than a DC resident at the state level, and a Virginia resident keeps $69 less. DC ranks 42nd of 51 for take-home pay at this salary. Maryland's figure leaves out county income tax, which every Maryland county charges, so living in Montgomery or Prince George's County usually costs more than living in the District. Compare the details on DC vs Maryland and DC vs Virginia.
Higher up the scale, DC falls behind. Its 8.5% bracket applies from $60,000 all the way to $250,000, so at $150,000 a single filer pays $9,782 to the District and DC drops to 50th of 51. Against a state with no income tax, a DC resident earning $75,000 gives up $3,429 a year.
What to expect at your income
Earning under $50,000
DC's lowest brackets are gentle. A single resident earning $30,000 owes $634 to the District, an effective 2.11%, and takes home $25,651. At $50,000 the bill rises to $1,834 and take-home pay is $40,521, about $3,377 a month. A full-time worker earning $41,600 a year keeps $34,276 after $1,330 of DC tax. The District also has its own earned income tax credit for residents who claim the federal one, so check it when you file.
Earning $50,000 to $150,000
This is where DC's 8.5% bracket bites. It starts at $60,000 of taxable income, so a single resident at $100,000 pays $5,532 to the District, an effective 5.53%, and takes home $73,648, or about $6,137 a month. Married couples filing jointly reach 8.5% later: a joint income of $100,000 owes $4,163. Pre-tax 401(k) and HSA contributions save 8.5% in DC tax here on top of 22% or 24% federal.
Earning over $150,000
A single DC resident earning $150,000 pays $9,782 to the District and keeps $104,009, and at $250,000 the bill is $18,282, an effective 7.31%, leaving $164,900. Rates rise again above $250,000, to 9.25%, then 9.75%, then 10.75% above $1,000,000. At these incomes the choice between living in DC and commuting from Virginia or Maryland can be worth thousands a year, so run the numbers before you sign a lease.
District of Columbia paycheck tips
Commuters: file Form D-4A
If you live in Maryland, Virginia, or any other state and work in DC, give your employer Form D-4A so no District tax is withheld. If DC tax was withheld by mistake, file a DC return to get it back.
Watch the 183-day rule
Keeping a DC apartment while claiming residence elsewhere can make you a DC resident for tax purposes once you spend 183 days or more there.
DC residents working in Virginia or Maryland
File the exemption form your employer's state provides so it withholds DC tax instead. You should not pay Maryland or Virginia income tax on wages as a District resident.
Recheck your D-4 at the 8.5% bracket
Raises that push taxable income past $60,000 move your top dollars from 6.5% to 8.5%. Adding a flat extra amount per pay period on Form D-4 avoids a balance due.
Check for leave deductions
DC Paid Family Leave is an employer-only tax. If you see a DC paid leave deduction on your pay stub, ask payroll about it, because the District does not permit charging it to workers.
Common mistakes
Letting an employer withhold DC tax from a commuter
New hires from Maryland and Virginia sometimes have DC tax taken out because they never filed a D-4A. That money comes back only after you file a DC nonresident return, and your home state may bill you in the meantime.
Comparing DC with Maryland at the state level only
The $232 edge Maryland shows at $75,000 ignores county income tax. Once county tax is added, most Maryland suburbs cost more than living in the District.
Assuming the move date does not matter
DC taxes residents on income earned while they live there. Moving in or out mid-year means a part-year return, and claiming the wrong dates can trigger a notice from the Office of Tax and Revenue.
Moving to or from District of Columbia
Moving to District of Columbia
Moving into DC from Virginia changes little for a $75,000 earner, who keeps $69 more as a District resident, and moving from Maryland usually saves money once county tax is counted. Higher earners feel the 8.5% bracket that runs from $60,000 to $250,000. File Form D-4 with your employer as soon as you move, and keep proof of your move date for the part-year return.
Leaving District of Columbia
Leaving DC for the suburbs keeps your downtown job tax-free in the District, since DC cannot tax nonresidents. You then owe Maryland state and county tax or Virginia tax instead, so file Form D-4A and your new state's withholding form on the same day. A move to a no-income-tax state saves the $3,429 a $75,000 earner pays the District.