Washington, DC pay stubs: income tax and what is not withheld
DC paychecks include graduated District income tax for DC residents plus federal withholding. Paid Family Leave is employer-funded and never deducted.
Last reviewed
Rates on this page are for the 2026 tax year and are reviewed every January.
District income tax
The District of Columbia has a graduated income tax with several brackets, from a low starting rate up to a top rate for the highest incomes. Employees who live in DC fill out Form D-4 so the employer can withhold the right amount.
The biggest thing to know about DC payroll is who is taxed. The District does not tax the wages of people who live elsewhere, and many DC workers commute from Maryland or Virginia. A nonresident files Form D-4A with the employer to certify they are not a DC resident, and then no DC tax is withheld. Instead, the employer may need to withhold for the employee's home state. Check the home state's rules before the first payroll.
Other payroll deductions
DC runs a Paid Family Leave program, but the tax that funds it is paid 100% by employers. It may not be deducted from a worker's paycheck, so it should never appear as an employee deduction on a DC pay stub. If it appears as information on the stub, label it clearly as an employer tax. DC unemployment insurance is also an employer-only tax.
Local taxes
Because DC is a single jurisdiction, there are no separate city or county income taxes on top of the District income tax.
Federal withholding still applies
The federal side of a District of Columbia pay stub has three standard lines:
- Federal income tax, calculated from the answers on Form W-4.
- Social Security at 6.2%, which stops once year-to-date wages reach the annual Social Security wage base.
- Medicare at 1.45% with no cap, plus 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages over $200,000 for the year.
Creating a District of Columbia pay stub with PayStubNest
Start a new pay stub, pick District of Columbia, and enter either hours and a rate or a salary. The exact amounts on the stub depend on pay, pay frequency, W-4 choices, deductions and year-to-date totals. PayStubNest calculates all of it automatically: it works out the federal and state withholding, then keeps the year-to-date columns running across pay periods so each stub picks up where the last one left off. Previewing is free; you pay only for downloads.
Record-keeping tip
Keep each employee's D-4 or D-4A on file, and review it when someone moves. A move into or out of the District changes which jurisdiction's tax should be withheld. See the Office of Tax and Revenue for forms and the Department of Employment Services for Paid Family Leave.