Updated September 5, 2026. Quick answer: DC’s deferral charges 6% simple interest, or zero if you’re 75 or older with 25 years in a District home and modest interest/dividend income, and its lien statute; confirmed by a direct read of the actual code section; genuinely never says a word about priority against a mortgage.
What DC’s deferral requires, including a rare zero-interest carve-out
D.C. Code §47-845.03 opens to homeowners 65 or older who own at least half of a small residential property, of no more than five dwelling units, that is their home, with household adjusted gross income under $50,000; a flat figure written into the code with no inflation-indexing language in this section. A distinct, narrower path drops the interest rate to zero entirely: owners 75 or older, with less than $12,500 in household interest and dividend income, who have owned a District residence for the preceding 25 years, qualify for an interest-free version of the same deferral.
6% interest for everyone else, and a lien statute that is genuinely silent
Outside that zero-interest carve-out, deferred tax accrues at a flat one-half percent a month, which works out to 6% a year, until it is paid. On security, the code states only that there shall be a lien on the property in the amount of the deferred tax, interest, and any penalties; and that is the entire lien provision. Reading the section directly confirms it: there is no language anywhere in §47-845.03 ranking that lien against a mortgage or any other encumbrance, an honest silence rather than an unresolved research gap.
When it comes due, and how to apply
A transfer of the property triggers repayment within 30 days. Death triggers a different timeline depending on probate: if the property is not in active probate, the balance is due within 90 days of death, or 30 days after probate or a transfer concludes, whichever comes sooner, unless it passes by trust or transfer-on-death deed, in which case a full year is allowed; if the estate is in active probate, payment is due within one year of the personal representative’s transfer of the property. Notably, DC does not list a homeowner simply ceasing to occupy the property as its own separate repayment trigger the way most other states in this family do; ongoing eligibility is instead checked through periodic re-verification the Mayor’s office can require. Applications are filed with the Mayor’s office under penalty of perjury and, once approved, carry forward automatically each year subject to that re-verification.
District of Columbia’s broader senior property-tax picture, covering exemptions, freezes and circuit-breaker credits, not just the deferral: property tax breaks for seniors in District of Columbia.
How every state’s programme compares: property tax relief for seniors by state. What a deferral means in general, and who it catches out: the property-tax deferral lien trap.
Statutory text read at each state’s own legislature, revisor, or revenue agency this session. General information, not tax or legal advice; rates, caps and thresholds change most years and a county or state agency retains the final say on your own application.