Updated October 7, 2026. Quick answer: Washington, D.C.’s estate tax exclusion is $4,988,400 for deaths in 2026. It is indexed each year by a cost-of-living adjustment, and the Office of Tax and Revenue documents read list no 2027 amount yet. The federal exclusion is $15,000,000 for 2026.
Washington, D.C. estate tax exemption: 2026 and 2027 at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| Exemption, 2026 deaths | $4,988,400 |
| How it is set | Indexed annually by a cost-of-living adjustment under D.C. Code section 47-3701 |
| 2027 figure | Not published: the Office of Tax and Revenue page lists amounts through 2025, and the 2026 D-76 booklet gives the 2026 amount |
| Rates | 11.2% rising to 16.0% above the exclusion |
| Return and deadline | Form D-76, due 10 months after death |
| Federal basic exclusion amount, 2026 | $15,000,000 |
| Sources | DC Office of Tax and Revenue; D.C. Council; IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 |
What changes in 2027
The 2026 D-76 instructions state that estates of decedents who died in 2026 have an exclusion amount of $4,988,400. The Code sets the zero bracket at $4 million for deaths after December 31, 2020, increased each year from 2022 by a cost-of-living adjustment, which is the ratio of the CPI for the preceding calendar year to the CPI for the base year 2017.
The Office of Tax and Revenue computes the figure; CMG did not recompute it. The estate tax page the Office posts still lists amounts only through 2025, and the 2026 figure comes from the 2026 instructions booklet. No document read gives a date for the 2027 amount.
How the D.C. estate tax works
The statute sets graduated rates above the zero bracket, with a top rate of 16% over $10 million. The D-76 worksheet table for 2026 deaths is below. Generally, the return must be filed and the tax paid within 10 months after the death of the decedent; a 6-month extension of time to file may be requested.
| Column A: over (dollars) | Column B: not over | Column C plus Column D rate on the excess over Column A |
|---|---|---|
| 4,988,400 | 5,000,000 | 0 + 11.2% of excess over 4,988,400 |
| 5,000,000 | 6,000,000 | 1,299 + 12.0% of excess over 5,000,000 |
| 6,000,000 | 7,000,000 | 121,299 + 12.8% of excess over 6,000,000 |
| 7,000,000 | 8,000,000 | 249,299 + 13.6% of excess over 7,000,000 |
| 8,000,000 | 9,000,000 | 385,299 + 14.4% of excess over 8,000,000 |
| 9,000,000 | 10,000,000 | 529,299 + 15.2% of excess over 9,000,000 |
| 10,000,000 | and above | 681,299 + 16.0% of excess over 10,000,000 |
In the documents’ own words
- D-76 Estate Tax Instructions for Estates of Individuals (2026) (DC Office of Tax and Revenue): “have an exclusion amount of $4,988,400.00”
- D.C. Code 47-3701 Definitions (D.C. Council): “increased annually, beginning with the year commencing on January 1, 2022, by the cost-of-living adjustment”
- D-76 Estate Tax Instructions for Estates of Individuals (2026) (DC Office of Tax and Revenue): “the DC estate tax return must be filed and the tax paid within 10 months after the death of the decedent”
How this compares with the federal exemption
Federal estate tax is separate. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 says the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, section 70106, increased the “basic exclusion amount to $15,000,000 for calendar year 2026”. CMG’s page on the federal exemption for 2027 is the federal estate tax exemption for 2027. The state figure on this page is not the federal one: it is the amount at which Washington, D.C. starts to tax an estate.
What the documents do not say
- The Office of Tax and Revenue’s estate tax page had not been updated for 2026 when this page was built, so the 2026 figure rests on the 2026 instructions.
- Portability of an unused exclusion is not addressed in the documents read.
Common mistakes
- Using the federal $15,000,000 base for a D.C. estate.
- Assuming a nine-month deadline; the D.C. return is due 10 months after the date of death.
Related: Washington, D.C. estate tax (2026), estate tax by state, the federal estate tax exemption for 2027, and Washington, D.C. retirement taxes.
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Answer againSources
- D-76 Estate Tax Instructions for Estates of Individuals (2026): https://otr.cfo.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/otr/publication/attachments/2026_D-76_v1.0_final.pdf
- D.C. Code 47-3702 Tax on transfer of taxable estate of residents: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/47-3702
- D.C. Code 47-3701 Definitions: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/47-3701
- Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (Internal Revenue Service): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 7, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and an estate attorney, a tax preparer or the state agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.