More Info to Qualify for DC Homestead
Information about the Homestead Deduction and Property Tax Relief for Seniors or Disabled
• Domicile: To apply for the Homestead Deduction/Disabled/Senior Citizen Tax Relief, you must be domiciled in the District of Columbia and the property listed on this form must be your principle residence. To establish District domicile, the District must be your permanent home. Actions which you should take to establish domicile include obtaining a District driver’s license/ Identification card, registering your vehicle in the District, and registering and actively voting in the District. You should also file District and Federal income tax returns from this residence.
• Active Duty Military Service Members: Submit Form DD 2058, State of Legal Residence Certificate, with your homestead application. Form DD 2058 must have been submitted to your local military Finance Office to indicate the District as your domicile.
• Congress/Congressional Aide: A member of Congress is generally not considered a District domiciliary. A Congressional aide who is a resident of the Member’s home state and is not registered to vote in the District is not generally considered domiciled in the District.
• Move-in Date: This is the date you moved or will have moved permanently from your prior residence to the new homestead.
• Multiple Homesteads: Taxpayers may not receive the Homestead Deduction on more than one lot. If you move to a new home, you must notify the Homestead Unit of the Office of Tax and Revenue (“OTR”) to cancel the homestead deduction of the former principal residence. The cancellation form is available on our Web site.
• Non-U.S. Citizen/G-4 Visa: Non-U.S. citizens are generally not eligible to be considered District domiciliaries unless they possess valid Permanent Resident Alien Cards. Proof of indefinite asylum is also acceptable. Temporary visas and work visas do not qualify. Please include a copy of the front and back of your Permanent Resident Alien Card. An applicant holding a G-4 visa may be considered a District domiciliary. Please include a copy of the front and back of your G-4 visa as well as a letter from your international organization employer verifying your employment and term.
• Social Security Number: Disclosure of your social security number and those of members of your household (Part 4) is mandatory. The social security number will be used to verify taxpayer identity information and Homestead/Disabled/Senior Citizen eligibility.
•Tax Abatement: You must indicate in Part 3 whether you own a property that is receiving the 5-year low-income tax abatement.
• Titled in Trust or Business Organization: Property cannot receive the Homestead Deduction if it is held in an irrevocable trust (except a special needs trust) or if the record owner is a corporation, LLC or other business entity (except a partnership in which all partners occupy the property as their principal residence).
• Approved Applications: If an approved application is filed from October 1 to March 31, the property will receive these benefits for the entire tax year. If an approved application is filed from April 1 to September 30, the property will receive the benefit on the second-half tax bill. Homestead Deduction/Disabled/Senior Citizen Tax Relief begins with the period when the application is filed; you cannot obtain the benefits for prior periods, even if you otherwise qualified for them.
• Cancellation: If the property ceases to qualify for Homestead/ Disabled/Senior Citizen benefits, you must provide written notification to OTR’s Homestead Unit within 30 days of the change in eligibility. Loss of eligibility may result if the ownership changes or if the owner moves out of the property or loses District domicile. A notification form is available on OTR’s website. If you fail to provide written and timely notification as instructed, you may have to pay a penalty of 10% of the delinquent tax and 1.5%interest on such tax for each month that the property wrongfully received the benefit(s).
View the Homestead Deduction application.