(Washington, DC) The Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) announced today that assessment notices are being mailed to all real property owners in the District of Columbia. A total of 183,000 taxable and exempt real properties have been reassessed to reflect current market value. Property owners receiving new assessment notices will not be taxed on the new assessed value until March 2007.
“These assessments reflect the strong real estate market the District has experienced during the past several years,” said Sherryl Hobbs Newman, deputy chief financial officer for tax and revenue. “The District and the surrounding region continue to remain one of the strongest markets in the country, and we rank as one of the top investment cities in the world.”
Proposed assessments of residential properties in the District, on average, will increase 21.8 percent above the previous year’s assessment. Current legislation provides for an owner-occupied residential tax cap. It is a credit applied against the tax due on the portion of the reassessment exceeding 10 percent from the prior year. The credit does not reduce the assessed value of the property on the tax rolls or the assessment notice, but will appear as an automatic credit on the tax bill.
“Not all properties will change in value by the same rate,” said Thomas Branham, chief assessor in OTR’s Real Property Tax Administration. “We are conducting more property-specific appraisals than in the past, making values more equitable and reflective of the market. Low interest rates along with continued improvement in employment have increased the demand for the limited supply of housing in the District.”