DC Estate Tax 2026: $4,988,400 Exclusion, 16% Top Rate, Form D-76

What the law and the 2026 form say

The number most pages print, $4,988,400, appears in the form that estates actually use. The Office of Tax and Revenue’s booklet (revised October 2025) says estates of decedents who died in 2026 have an exclusion amount of $4,988,400.00, and the OTR notice of October 1, 2025 says the same under the heading “Estate Tax.”

One wrinkle: the statute says no return is needed if the gross estate “does not exceed” the zero bracket amount, while the instructions’ table lists $4,988,400 “or more.” An estate at exactly the line is an edge case; ask the preparer, and use MyTax’s own prompts. For federal comparison, see our federal estate tax exemption page; DC’s tax follows its own code and does not move when the federal figure does.

The 2026 tax table: 11.2% starts at once

Most readers expect a low first rate. The statute lists brackets from $1 million upward (6.4% on the first $500,000 over $1 million, rising 0.8 points every step), but those apply to “incremental values of the taxable estate above the zero bracket amount.” Because the zero bracket is now nearly $5 million, the bracket that applies first is the one for $4 million to $5 million, 11.2%. The 2026 worksheet shows it directly.

The $1,299 in the second row is 11.2% of the $11,600 between $4,988,400 and $5,000,000, rounded (our arithmetic). The same worksheet for 2025 deaths starts at $4,873,200 and reaches $694,202 at $10,000,000, so a 2026 death costs $12,903 less at that size, because the line moved up and the rates did not (our arithmetic).

Tax by estate size, $4,988,400 to $20 million

Every figure below is our arithmetic from the worksheet. It assumes the number is the taxable estate (gross estate less debts, expenses and the marital and charitable deductions), a decedent who lived in DC with all property in DC, and a 2026 death.

The first $100,000 over the line costs $13,299 at a $5,100,000 estate and the next $900,000 costs another $108,000, which is why a small overage is cheap and the bill then grows quickly (our arithmetic). Compare the neighbors on our Maryland estate and inheritance tax page and our Massachusetts page; the state-by-state list puts DC next to the twelve states that tax estates.

Ten years of the exclusion

The line has not risen steadily. It fell by more than $1.7 million for 2021 deaths, when the base was reset to $4,000,000, and has been indexed since 2022.

The 2026 line is 24.71% above the $4,000,000 base (our arithmetic). The statute’s index uses the Washington-Baltimore consumer price index for the 12 months ending July 31, and we have not found the 2027 figure published yet.

Property outside DC, nonresidents and how real estate is held

The D-76 worksheet multiplies the tax by the percent of the gross estate that is in DC, rounded to four decimal places. The statute sets two versions of that rule: a resident’s tax is reduced by the proportion that real or tangible property outside the District bears to the gross estate (D.C. Code 47-3702(a-1)(2)), and a nonresident’s tax is the tax computed under the same table multiplied by the share of the gross estate with its taxable situs in DC (47-3703(b-1)).

The examples take the gross estate equal to the taxable estate; deductions change the tax but not the DC share. What decides the share is where the D-76 instructions place each asset: real property where it sits, tangible personal property where it is usually located, and intangible personal property at the domicile of the decedent, “except for intangible personal property used in a trade or business in DC.” They add that partnership property is treated as intangible “regardless of the character of the property,” so real estate held by a partnership is taxed at the decedent’s domicile. Whether a given LLC, trust or fund interest is treated that way is a question for the estate’s attorney; this page does not decide it. A reader with rentals or fund shares will find the related questions on our pages about non-traded REIT and BDC shares at death and probate for real estate.

Couples: no portability found

We found no provision in D.C. Code sections 47-3701 through 47-3706 or in the 2026 D-76 instructions that lets a survivor use a deceased spouse’s unused exclusion. The statute does treat a domestic partner as a spouse for the gross estate and the taxable estate, and an estate passing wholly to a spouse or charity files the D-76EZ. In our arithmetic, for a couple with $10,000,000 combined and no growth:

The difference is $678,608 (our arithmetic). It ignores growth, the exclusion for the year of the second death (the survivor’s own line will be indexed), and income-tax basis: assets in a bypass trust do not get a second step-up, which our credit-shelter, QTIP and disclaimer page and step-up page explain. Federal portability of the federal exclusion does not change this, because the DC tax is computed under DC’s own table. We have not found an OTR statement on portability, only the absence of a rule, so confirm with the estate’s attorney.

Deadlines, extensions and penalties

For tax of $100,000 paid late, five months of delay would bring a penalty of $25,000, which is the 25% cap (our arithmetic, penalty alone, before interest).

What a reader can do with this

What you can check before talking to anyone:

• Find the taxable estate. Add the home, rentals, fund and LLC interests, retirement accounts, life insurance you own and cash; subtract debts, expenses and what passes to a spouse or charity; read the grid above.
• Test the line twice. Gross estate decides whether a return is filed; the taxable estate decides whether tax is due. An estate left entirely to a spouse can file and still owe $0.
• List what is outside DC and how it is titled. A deed to a building in another state reduces a resident’s DC share; an LLC interest, on the instructions’ wording, may not.
• If you live elsewhere and own DC property, compare the DC share of your gross estate with the worksheet: a large estate with a small DC holding can still produce a bill.
• For a couple, check whether the first death will use the first $4,988,400 or waste it, since we found no portability.
• Put the 10-month date on the calendar and the cash that goes with it; interest at 10% compounded daily starts on that date.

The decision, and who makes it. The estate plan is drafted by an estate-planning attorney, the DC and federal returns are prepared by that attorney or a CPA, and appraisals come from credentialed appraisers. A financial adviser’s part is how the tax would be paid and what to sell. Nothing here is a recommendation to change a plan.

This is analysis of public documents, not investment, legal or tax advice.

FAQ

Sources, read and saved on October 30, 2026: D.C. Code 47-3701, 47-3702, 47-3703, 47-3704, 47-3705 and 47-3706 (code.dccouncil.gov); Office of Tax and Revenue, D-76 Estate Tax Instructions for Estates of Individuals, 2026, revised 10/2025, with the D-77 instructions and the computation worksheets for deaths from 2002 to 2026 (otr.cfo.dc.gov); Office of Tax and Revenue, Notice of Oct. 1, 2025 Tax Changes. The Office of Tax and Revenue’s own estate tax information pages returned errors when we tried them, so the figures come from the instruction booklet and the notice. Tax grids, worked cases and percentages marked “our arithmetic” are ours.