Tagged : property tax RSS Feed

Found 5 blog entries tagged as "property tax".

A Washington Post article about DC’s property tax lien sales sparked outrage this week. According to the investigative report, since 2005, hundreds of DC property owners have lost homes due to the sale of tax liens. One of those delinquent tax bills was only $44.

When a DC homeowner fails to pay property taxes, the DC Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) imposes a lien on the home.  If the lien goes unpaid for a certain period of time, OTR sells the lien to an investor at an annual auction. The homeowner then owes the delinquent tax bill plus interest to the investor.  If the homeowner is unable to pay within six months, the investor can start foreclose proceedings. In order to avoid foreclosure, the owner must pay back the original tax bill, interest, and…

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DC transfer and recordation tax is due to the Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) Recorder of Deeds during the sale of residential property in the city. This tax is part of various closing costs such as lender charges, settlement fees, title insurance, escrow reserves, pre-paid interest, and real estate tax. But generally, the DC transfer and recordation tax is the highest of all closing cost line items.

In DC, deed transfer tax is generally paid by the seller, while the buyer covers deed recordation tax.  These tax amounts are calculated based on the purchase price of the home. If the sale is $399,999 or less, then the DC transfer and recordation tax rate is 1.1%. Sales of $400,000 and above are taxed at the rate of 1.45%. For example, if you bought a…

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Vacant property in DC must be registered. DC’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) has a Vacant Building Enforcement Unit (VBE) whose task is to investigate and classify vacant and blighted buildings in the District.

The goal of the VBE is to bring buildings back to productive use. In order to achieve that mission, they classify buildings as vacant property, which raises property taxes for the owner. Class 3, vacant property, is taxed at a rate of $5 per $100 of assessed value, and Class 4, blighted property, is taxed at $10 per $100 of accessed value. On the other hand, Class 1, residential real property, is taxed at the much lower rate of $0.85 per $100, and Class 2 property, which includes commercial property such as hotels, is taxed…

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DC Business Improvement District (BID) tax revenues provide services and programs within a specific commercial area. The District has eight BIDs -- Adams Morgan Partnership, Capitol Hill Business Improvement District, Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District, Downtown DC Business Improvement District, Georgetown Business Improvement District, Golden Triangle Business Improvement District, Mount Vernon Triangle Community Improvement District, and NoMA Business Improvement District. 

BID expenditures supplement city services to support cleanliness, safety, economic development, and other business issues. This can include maintaining commercial corridors with litter and graffiti removal, as well as landscaping. Some BIDs also opt to increase…

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The tax abatement program in DC helps lower income residents purchase a home by eliminating transfer, recordation, and property taxes. Homeownership is part of the American Dream for many, and these tax incentives help more people achieve it for themselves.

In order to qualify for tax abatement in DC, the value of the property purchased must be less than $367,200, and the owner must occupy the property as his principle residence. In addition, there are income limits depending on the number of people in your household. For a person living alone, the maximum allowable gross income (including all jobs, Social Security income, public assistance, retirement pay, unemployment compensation, military housing allowance, etc.) is $56,100. For a family of four,…

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