Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: The District of Columbia does not recognize S-corp status at all for its own franchise tax. It taxes an S-corp exactly like a C-corp, 8.25% of D.C. taxable income with a $250 or $1,000 minimum, with zero pass-through relief, while an LLC doing identical work could owe $0 under D.C.’s unincorporated-business exemption.
Does this state require its own election
No separate Washington, D.C. filing exists to obtain S-corp status; the federal election controls. There is nothing to elect into at the District level, because the District disregards the federal S election for its own franchise tax entirely.
“For District tax purposes, S corporations, including Qualified Subsidiaries (Q-Subs), are C corporations. Therefore, each S corporation and each Q-Sub must file Form D-20 and prepare all applicable schedules on the D-20.”
D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue, Form D-20 Corporation Franchise Tax booklet
What it costs at the entity level
A federal S-corp doing business in D.C. files the corporation franchise return, Form D-20, the same one C-corps file, not the unincorporated-business return, Form D-30, that carries an 80% personal-services exemption an LLC or partnership can use.
| What Washington, D.C. charges | Figure |
|---|---|
| Rate | 8.25% of D.C. taxable income |
| Minimum | $250 if D.C. gross receipts are $1,000,000 or less; $1,000 if greater, owed even at a loss |
“a tax at the rate of 8.25% upon the taxable income of every corporation, whether domestic or foreign … The minimum tax payable under this section shall be $250. If District gross receipts are greater than $1 million, the minimum tax payable shall be $1,000.”
D.C. Code § 47-1807.02
Where recognition breaks down
An S-corp cannot file Form D-30 at all, so it cannot reach the 80% personal-services exemption a same-work LLC or partnership can use to owe $0 District tax.
“Who is not required to file Form D-30? … A corporation (including an S corporation) subject to the DC corporation franchise tax…”
D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue, Form D-30 Unincorporated Business Franchise Tax booklet
The comparison against a plain LLC
A D.C. LLC or partnership doing personal-services work can exempt up to 80% of its income on Form D-30 and owe nothing. An S-corp doing identical work cannot file that form and instead owes 8.25% of taxable income with a minimum of $250 or $1,000 no matter what.
What this does not model
This page does not model the D.C. individual/unincorporated business income tax that an LLC owner would separately owe on their personal return; the comparison here is entity-level only.
No federal tax modelling is repeated here; see the federal S-corp election calculator for the payroll-tax and QBI mechanics this page assumes but does not recompute. No personal Washington, D.C. income tax on the pass-through income itself is modelled either.
Sources
Every figure on this page is read from the text quoted above, fetched directly from the state’s own site or code, as read on September 4, 2026.
| What it establishes | Source |
|---|---|
| Whether Washington, D.C. requires its own S-corp election | D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue, Form D-20 Corporation Franchise Tax booklet |
| What Washington, D.C. charges an S-corp at the entity level | D.C. Code § 47-1807.02 |
| How Washington, D.C. treats S-corp recognition | D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue, Form D-30 Unincorporated Business Franchise Tax booklet |
General consumer information, not financial, tax or legal advice. State rules are as published by the cited source on September 4, 2026 and change; your own facts govern, and an S-corporation election is a decision to take with a tax professional who has seen your books.