Updated October 5, 2026. Quick answer: No. The District of Columbia has no gift tax for a gift made in 2026. The Office of the Chief Financial Officer’s D.C. Tax Facts says: “There is no inheritance or gift tax in the District of Columbia.” The District does have an estate tax. The federal annual exclusion is $19,000 per recipient for 2026.
District of Columbia gift tax at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| State gift tax | None |
| What the documents say | D.C. Tax Facts 2024, from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, says there is no inheritance or gift tax in the District |
| State estate or inheritance tax | Yes: a District estate tax (D.C. Code Title 47, Chapter 37), with an exclusion amount of $4,873,200 for deaths in 2025 |
| Federal annual exclusion, 2026 | $19,000 per recipient |
| Federal basic exclusion amount, 2026 | $15,000,000 |
| Source | DC Office of the Chief Financial Officer; DC Office of Tax and Revenue; IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 |
What the District of Columbia documents say
The sentence appears in the Estate Tax section of D.C. Tax Facts, a 2024 publication, followed by the citation “D.C. Code Citation: Title 47, Chapter 37.” and the table of present rates for taxable estates.
Estates, inheritances and gifts near death in District of Columbia
The Office of Tax and Revenue’s instructions for Form D-76 say that estates of decedents who died in 2025 “have an exclusion amount of” $4,873,200. The Office’s estate page says the return and tax are due “within 10 months after the decedent’s date of death”.
What applies to a gift from a District of Columbia resident
Federal gift tax is separate and applies wherever you live. The IRS says gifts “not more than the annual exclusion for the calendar year” are generally not taxable gifts, and Revenue Procedure 2025-32 sets the 2026 annual exclusion at “the first $19,000 of gifts to any person”. The same procedure puts the basic exclusion amount at “$15,000,000 for calendar year 2026”. The IRS adds that “The donor is generally responsible for paying the gift tax”.
An illustration: a $50,000 gift to one child in 2026 is $31,000 above the federal annual exclusion, and District of Columbia adds no gift tax of its own on top of that. CMG’s gift tax limit and Form 709 who must file pages explain the federal side, and how District of Columbia taxes 401(k) and IRA withdrawals covers a gift of retirement money.
What the documents do not say
- D.C. Tax Facts is a 2024 document, so the gift tax statement is as of 2024. The documents read do not give the 2026 estate tax exclusion amount and do not say whether the District adds back gifts made near death.
Common mistakes
- Concluding that no gift tax means no District tax on a large transfer at death; the District’s estate tax has an exclusion of $4,873,200 for 2025 deaths, far below the federal figure.
- Assuming the state answer settles the federal one, or the answer for a gift of property located in another state.
Related: the federal gift tax limit, gift tax by state, District of Columbia estate tax, and District of Columbia probate cost.
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Answer againSources
- D.C. Tax Facts 2024: https://cfo.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ocfo/publication/attachments/DC%20Tax%20Facts%202024.pdf
- D-76 Estate Tax Instructions 2025: https://otr.cfo.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/otr/publication/attachments/2025_D-76_v1.0_Final_041825.pdf
- DC Estate, Inheritance and Fiduciary Tax Information: https://otr.cfo.dc.gov/page/dc-estate-inheritance-and-fiduciary-tax-information
- Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (Internal Revenue Service): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf
- Frequently asked questions on gift taxes (Internal Revenue Service): https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/frequently-asked-questions-on-gift-taxes
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 5, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a tax professional or the state agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.