2020 District of Columbia Code
Title 47 - Taxation, Licensing, Permits, Assessments, and Fees. [Enacted title]
Chapter 10 - Property Exempt from Taxation
§ 47–1005.01. Interests in real property belonging to government and international organizations

(a) For purposes of this section, the term “exempt purpose”, as applied to a lessee or user, shall mean an exempt purpose with specified use, operation, and other restrictions as set forth in § 47-1002(4) through (20) and § 47-1002(31).

(b) If real property (or a portion thereof), which is exempt or immune from real property taxation under § 47-1002(1) through (3) or the law of the United States or the District of Columbia, is leased, loaned, or otherwise made available to any person in connection with a business or as a residence, or both, and the use is not for an exempt or immune purpose , the leasehold interest, possessory interest, beneficial interest, or beneficial use of the lessee or user of the real property shall be assessed and taxed. The Mayor shall determine the assessed value of the interest or use in accordance with § 47-820(a)(3) as if the lessee or user of the real property were the owner of the real property and the real property were not exempt or immune from taxation; provided, that the taxable value may be adjusted by the Mayor to reflect the duration of the interest or use remaining; provided further, that the Mayor may impute a duration of the interest or use based upon the intent, actions, and policies of the parties to the conveyance, the history of the real property, the perception of third parties, and written documents.

(c) This section shall not apply if:

(1) A payment is made in lieu of taxes in an amount equivalent to the tax which would be lawfully assessed if the real property were not exempt or immune from real property taxation;

(2) The application of this section would cause the District of Columbia to breach a pre-existing agreement or other legal obligation;

(3) The person liable for the tax under this section is subject to taxation under § 47-2002.04 and has paid the tax; or

(4) The real property is subject to taxation under § 47-1005.

(c-1)(1) Effective June 9, 2001, an existing or future lease entered into under the provisions of the Land Acquisition for Housing Development Opportunities Program, set forth in Chapter 45 of Title 10 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (10 DCMR § 45) (“LAHDO”), shall be exempt from all taxes, assessments, and public charges related to the leased land, including any possessory interest tax, for periods for which the Department of Housing and Community Development (“DHCD”) certifies in writing to the lessee and the Chief Financial Officer that the lessee is in compliance with its LAHDO lease and the lessee is in good standing with DHCD.

(2) As to any property for which a written certification of compliance is issued, DHCD shall notify the lessee and the Chief Financial Officer if the lessee no longer is in compliance with its lease or is not in good standing with DHCD.

(3) The exemption provided in this subsection shall end at the beginning of the first month following the date that the lessee did not comply with its lease or was not in good standing with DHCD, whichever occurs first.

(d) The provisions of § 47-831 shall apply in the case where a leasehold interest, possessory interest, beneficial interest, or beneficial use has escaped or been omitted from assessment and taxation, or the assessment has been made void.

(e) The lessee or user shall be subject to the same application process, filing requirements for reports and income and expense statements, taxes, and penalties as an institution, organization, corporation, or association under § 47-1007.

(f)(1) A notice of proposed assessed value shall be mailed to the lessee or user in the same manner and as required under Chapter 8 for a notice of proposed assessed value to an owner of real property.

(2) A lessee or user may appeal from a notice of proposed assessed value and real property classification in the same manner and under the same conditions as an owner under § 47-825.01 [repealed].

(3) Tax assessed under this section shall be a personal liability of a lessee or user of real property and billed to the lessee or user. Payments of tax shall be applied in the same manner as payments of real property tax. The tax due under this section shall not give rise to a lien against the real property. If the tax is not paid within the time prescribed for payment of real property tax, there shall be added to the tax a penalty of 10% of the unpaid amount, plus interest on the unpaid amount at the rate of 1.5% per month (or portion of a month) until the tax is paid. The amount of the unpaid tax, plus penalty and interest due, shall constitute a delinquent tax to be collected in accordance with Chapter 44 of this title and subject to the statute of limitations of collections in Chapter 43 of this title.

(g)(1) The Mayor may assign assessment and taxation squares and lots, or implement such other designation system, to identify a parcel or (portion thereof) for which the corresponding leasehold interest, possessory interest, beneficial interest, or beneficial use of the lessee or user of the real property may be subject to taxation and assessed to the lessee or user in accordance with this section.

(2) A person subject to tax under this section shall provide to the Mayor a District of Columbia Business Tax Identification Number and other tax identification number which the Mayor may require.

(h) The rate of tax under § 47-812, for the applicable classification under § 47-813 determined according to the use of the leased or loaned real property, shall be applied to the assessed value for purposes of the tax levy.

(i) The estimated assessment roll, description of the real property to which the interest or use relates, mailing address of the person with the interest or use, property use information, valuation history, other information in the public record, and information (excluding a confidential lease) not made confidential as a valuation record as defined under § 47-821(d)(2) may be published by the Mayor by any form of electronic media, including the Internet.

(j) The provisions of § 47-811.02 shall apply to any payment of possessory interest tax.

(June 9, 2001, D.C. Law 13-305, § 502(w), 48 DCR 334; Apr. 4, 2003, D.C. Law 14-282, § 11(u), 50 DCR 896; Dec. 3, 2010, D.C. Law 18-260, § 2, 57 DCR 9632; Dec. 24, 2013, D.C. Law 20-61, § 7302(b), 60 DCR 12472; Feb. 26, 2015, D.C. Law 20-155, § 7162, 61 DCR 9990; Dec. 13, 2017, D.C. Law 22-33, § 7232(b)(1), 64 DCR 7652; Oct. 30, 2018, D.C. Law 22-168, § 7093(b)(2), 65 DCR 9388.)

This section is referenced in § 2-1215.58, § 2-1217.34a, § 47-802, § 47-893, § 47-895.01, § 47-895.04, § 47-895.21, § 47-895.23, § 47-895.33, § 47-1087, § 47-4613, and § 47-4616.

D.C. Law 14-282 rewrote subsec. (b) and (d); and added subsec. (h).

D.C. Law 18-260 added subsec. (c-1).

The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 20-61 added “and § 47-1002(31)” in (a).

The 2015 amendment by D.C. Law 20-155 rewrote (c-1).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7093(b)(1) of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-458, Oct. 3, 2018, 65 DCR 11212).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7093(b)(1) of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-434, July 30, 2018, 65 DCR 8200).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7232(b)(1) of Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2017 (D.C. Act 22-167, Oct. 24, 2017, 64 DCR 10802).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7232(b)(1) of Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2017 (D.C. Act 22-104, July 20, 2017, 64 DCR 7032).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see §§ 2 and 12(w) of Tax Clarity and Recorder of Deeds Emergency Act of 2002 (D.C. Act 14-381, June 6, 2002, 49 DCR 5674).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see §§ 2 and 12(w) of Tax Clarity and Related Amendments Emergency Act of 2002 (D.C. Act 14-456, July 23, 2002, 49 DCR 8107).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see §§ 2 and 12(w) of Tax Clarity and Related Amendments Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2002 (D.C. Act 14-510, October 23, 2002, 49 DCR 10247).

For temporary (90 days) repeal of D.C. Law 18-260, § 3, see § 7002 of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-130, July 30, 2013, 60 DCR 11384, 20 DCSTAT 1827).

For temporary (90 days) repeal of D.C. Law 18-260, § 3, see § 7002 of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-204, October 17, 2013, 60 DCR 15341, 20 DCSTAT 2311).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7302(b) of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-130, July 30, 2013, 60 DCR 11384, 20 DCSTAT 1827).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7302(b) of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-204, October 17, 2013, 60 DCR 15341, 20 DCSTAT 2311).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7172 of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-377, July 14, 2014, 61 DCR 7598, 20 STAT 3696).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7162 of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-449, October 10, 2014, 61 DCR 10915, 20 STAT 4188).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7162 of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Second Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-566, January 9, 2015, 62 DCR 884, 21 STAT 541).

For temporary (225 day) addition of section, see § 2(u) of Real Property Tax Clarity and Litter Control Administration Temporary Amendment Act of 2001 (D.C. Law 14-8, June 13, 2001, law notification 48 DCR 5916).

For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 12(w) of Tax Clarity and Recorder of Deeds Temporary Act of 2002 (D.C. Law 14-191, October 5, 2002, law notification 49 DCR 9549).

For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 12(w) of Tax Clarity and Related Amendments Temporary Act of 2003 (D.C. Law 14-228, March 23, 2003, law notification 50 DCR 2741).

Section 7301 of D.C. Law 20-61 provided that Subtitle DD of Title VII of the act may be cited as the “Title-Holding Entity Real Property Tax Exemption Act of 2013”.

Section 509 of D.C. Law 13-305 requires that section 502(w) of D.C. Law 13-305, amending this section, shall apply for tax years beginning after September 30, 2001. Section 2 of D.C. Law 14-282 requires that section 502(w) of D.C. Law 13-305, amending this section, shall apply for tax years beginning after September 30, 2003.

Section 3 of D.C. Law 18-260 provided: “Sec. 3. Applicability. This act shall apply upon the inclusion of its fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan.”

Section 7002 of D.C. Law 20-61 repealed D.C. Law 18-260, § 3.

Applicability of D.C. Law 20-61: Section 11001 of D.C. Law 20-61 provided that, except as otherwise provided, the act shall apply as of October 1, 2013.

Section 4 of D.C. Law , applicable October 1, 2013, and projected to become law in June, 2014, provided that the Council orders that all possessory interest taxes as imposed by section 47-1005.01, as well as penalties, interest, and other charges associated with such possessory interest taxes, that have been imposed with respect to leases entered into under the provisions of the Land Acquisition for Housing Development Opportunities Program (10 DCMR § B4500 et seq.), shall be forgiven for the period beginning June 9, 2001, through September 30, 2013, and that any payments made for this period be refunded to the persons who made the payments.