District of Columbia Code
Chapter 5 - Tax Rates, Records, and Surplus Funds
§ 47–501. Tax on real and personal property

For the purpose of defraying such expenses of the District of Columbia as Congress may from time to time appropriate for, there hereby is levied for each and every fiscal year, a tax at such rate on the real and personal property subject to taxation in the District as will, when added to the other taxes and revenues of the District, produce money enough to enable the District to pay promptly and in full all sums directed by Congress to be paid by the District, and for which appropriation has been duly made; and the Council of the District of Columbia hereby is empowered and directed to ascertain, determine, and fix, annually for real property, and at such times as it may deem necessary for personal property, such rate of taxation as will, when applied as aforesaid, produce the money needed to defray the share of the expenses of the District during the year for which the rate is fixed; provided, that the rate of taxation on personal property levied for any tax year shall apply to succeeding tax years unless the Council acts to ascertain, determine and fix a different rate of taxation thereon in accordance with the provisions of this section; and the Mayor of the District shall, in accordance with existing law, cause all such taxes and revenues to be promptly collected and, when collected, to be daily deposited in the Treasury to the credit of the District for the purposes herein set out. Beginning September 30, 2011, personal property tax shall be reported in the fiscal year in which it is collected.
(June 29, 1922, 42 Stat. 669, ch. 249; Sept. 13, 1980, D.C. Law 3-92, § 301, 27 DCR 3390; enacted, Apr. 9, 1997, D.C. Law 11-254, § 2, 44 DCR 1575; Dec. 24, 2013, D.C. Law 20-61, § 7172, 60 DCR 12472.)
1981 Ed., § 47-501.
1973 Ed., § 47-501.
This section is referenced in § 47-811.
The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 20-61 added the last sentence.
Real property tax rates, authority and procedure to establish, see § 47-811 et seq.
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Clarification of Personal Property Tax Revenue Reporting Emergency Act of 2011 (D.C. Act 19-233, November 21, 2011, 58 DCR 10091).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Clarification of Personal Property Tax Revenue Reporting Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-307, February 21, 2012, 59 DCR 1682).
For temporary amendment of section, see § 2 of the Clarification of Personal Property Tax Revenue Reporting Emergency Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-507, October 26, 2012, 59 DCR 12772), applicable as of October 6, 2012.
For temporary amendment of section, see § 2 of the Clarification of Personal Property Tax Revenue Reporting Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-618, January 18, 2013, 60 DCR 1330), applicable as of January 4, 2013.
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7172 of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-130, July 30, 2013, 60 DCR 11384, 20 DCSTAT 1827).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7172 of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-204, October 17, 2013, 60 DCR 15341, 20 DCSTAT 2311).
Section 2 of D.C. Law 19-91 added the following sentence to the end of the section: “Beginning September 30, 2011, personal property tax shall be reported in the fiscal year in which it is collected.”.
Section 4(b) of D.C. Law 19-91 provided that the act shall expire after 225 days of its having taken effect.
Section 2 of D.C. Law 19-220 amended this section to read as follows:
“For the purpose of defraying such expenses of the District of Columbia as Congress may from time to time appropriate for, there hereby is levied for each and every fiscal year, a tax at such rate on the real and personal property subject to taxation in the District as will, when added to the other taxes and revenues of the District, produce money enough to enable the District to pay promptly and in full all sums directed by Congress to be paid by the District, and for which appropriation has been duly made; and the Council of the District of Columbia hereby is empowered and directed to ascertain, determine, and fix, annually for real property, and at such times as it may deem necessary for personal property, such rate of taxation as will, when applied as aforesaid, produce the money needed to defray the share of the expenses of the District during the year for which the rate is fixed; provided, that the rate of taxation on personal property levied for any tax year shall apply to succeeding tax years unless the Council acts to ascertain, determine and fix a different rate of taxation thereon in accordance with the provisions of this section; and the Mayor of the District shall, in accordance with existing law, cause all such taxes and revenues to be promptly collected and, when collected, to be daily deposited in the Treasury to the credit of the District for the purposes herein set out. Beginning September 30, 2011, personal property tax shall be reported in the fiscal year in which it is collected.”
Section 4(b) of D.C. Law 19-220 provided that the act shall expire after 225 days of its having taken effect.
Section 7171 of D.C. Law 20-61 provided that Subtitle Q of Title VII of the act may be cited as the “Clarification of Personal Property Tax Revenue Reporting Act of 2013”.
Applicability of D.C. Law 20-61: Section 11001 of D.C. Law 20-61 provided that, except as otherwise provided, the act shall apply as of October 1, 2013.

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