Employment taxes - District of Columbia

Summary of differences between federal and state regulations

Income tax withholding
Under DC code, employer means employer as defined in § 3401(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Employee means an individual having a place of abode or residing or domiciled within the District at the time the tax is required to be withheld in respect to the individual's employment by another, and to every other individual who maintains a place of abode within the District for an aggregate of 183 days or more during the taxable year, whether domiciled in the District or not. The term "employee" includes an officer of a corporation. Unless the following officers or Justices are domiciled within the District of Columbia at any time during the taxable year, the term “employee” does not include:

•        any elective officer of the government of the United States or any officer or employee in the legislative branch of the Government of the United States whose compensation is paid by the Secretary of the Senate or Clerk of the House of Representatives, or
•        any officer of the executive branch of such government whose appointment to the office held by him was by the President of the United States and subject to confirmation by the Senate of the United States and whose tenure of office is at the pleasure of the President of the United States, or
•        any Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Unemployment taxes
All states finance UC primarily through contributions from subject employers on the wages of their covered workers. In addition, three states (Alaska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) collect contributions from employees. These taxes are deposited by the state to its account in the UTF in the Federal Treasury, and are withdrawn as needed to pay benefits.

Many states have adopted a higher tax base than what is provided in FUTA. Hawaii's wage base is usually higher and changes periodically. In all states, an employer pays a tax on wages paid to each worker within a calendar year up to the amount specified in state law. In addition, most of the states provide an automatic adjustment of the wage base if federal law is amended to apply to a higher wage base than that specified under state law. As a result of the many variables in states taxable wage bases and rates, benefit formulas, and economic conditions, actual tax rates vary greatly among the states and among individual employers within a state.

Wages subject to unemployment tax in this state equal $9,000.

Minimum and maximum rates in this state are 1.6 and 7.0 %. Rates apply to experience rated employers only and do not include applicable surtaxes or penalties.

State

Contacts

Income tax withholding
Office of the Chief Financial Officer

Unemployment taxes
Department of Employment Services

Regulations

Income tax withholding
DC Code Citation: Title 47, Chapter 18

Federal

Contacts

Internal Revenue Service

Regulations

Title 26 Code of Federal Regulations, Internal Revenue