Stay compliant in Washington, D.C.

The repeating company filing is a biennial report, every two years. Tax returns, the Basic Business License, and the employer accounts sit on their own dates.

What’s different in Washington, D.C.

• The company filing is a biennial report. Form BRA-25¹ costs $300 for a for-profit entity. A report filed after April 1 of the year the report is due³ incurs $100¹⁸ in late fees.
• Franchise tax can apply to an LLC that is not taxed as a corporation. The rate is 8.25%⁴. An S corporation files the corporation return. S corporations, including qualified subsidiaries, are C corporations for District tax and file Form D-20⁵.
• Employers pay unemployment tax, an administrative assessment, and a paid family leave tax. The paid family leave rate is 0.75%¹³ of each covered employee’s wages.
• Workers’ compensation starts at one employee, and the minimum wage is a District rate. It is $18.40 an hour as of July 1, 2026¹⁵.

Do this

1. File the biennial report by April 1 of each year in which a biennial report is due. The first BRA-25 is due April 1 of the year after the calendar year the filing became effective². After that, April 1 every two years after the first report. Section 29-102.11 is the rule. File it in BOSS. The fee is $300 for a for-profit entity and $80 for a nonprofit. A report filed after April 1 of the year the report is due adds a late fee of $100 or $50³. The report also updates the owners. It asks for each person who owns more than 10 percent, or a smaller share if that person controls financial or operational decisions or directs day-to-day operations¹. Skipping it can end in administrative dissolution. Reinstatement of an LLC is $300¹⁸.
2. Renew a trade name on its own two-year clock. A trade name lasts two years, renewed by April 1 of the expiration year¹. The late fee is $55, and a late renewal can be filed through August 31 of the renewal year. A name not renewed by then is canceled on September 1¹⁹.
3. File franchise tax. Corporations, including S corporations: April 15, 2026 for tax year 2025, or the 15th day of the fourth month for a fiscal year⁵, at 8.25%, with a minimum of $250 at District gross receipts of $1 million or less or $1,000 at District gross receipts of more than $1 million. Unincorporated businesses that are required to file: April 15, 2026 for a calendar year, or the 15th day of the fourth month for a fiscal year, with $250 or $1,000⁴. An unincorporated business pays estimated tax if it expects its District unincorporated business franchise tax to exceed $1,000 for the year, due April 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15 for a calendar year. The forms list puts a fiscal-year extension at the 15th day of the third month after a fiscal year ends⁷, while the 2025 instructions say no later than the return due date⁶.* File by the earlier date. Who files D-30, and the personal-services exemption, are on Get your tax IDs.
4. File the individual return if you are taxed as a District resident. It is due April 15, or the next business day if that date is a weekend or a legal holiday²⁰. The brackets run from 4% on taxable income not over $10,000 up to $91,525 plus 10.75% of the amount over $1,000,000²¹.
5. File sales tax through MyTax if you are registered. Returns are due the 20th day of the month after the monthly, quarterly, or annual period ends. An annual filer uses October 20⁸. Rates are on Get your tax IDs.
6. File personal property tax if you have a District location. The return is for a business with a location in the District. Form FP-31 is due July 31. The tax is 3.4% of the value over $225,000. There is no tax at $225,000 or less, and the return is still required²².
7. File the Sports Facilities Fee only if you are in the gross-receipts range. The 2025 corporation instructions rename the ballpark fee as the Sports Facilities Fee, a new name only, effective October 1, 2025⁵. The fee schedule still in use covers a person with at least $5 million of District gross receipts who was subject to corporation franchise tax, unincorporated business franchise tax, or unemployment tax. File form FR-1500 by June 15, or the next business day if that date is a weekend or a holiday. The schedule is $0 when receipts are less than $5,000,000, $5,500 from $5,000,000 to $8,000,000, $10,800 from $8,000,001 to $12,000,000, $14,000 from $12,000,001 to $16,000,000, and $16,500 at $16,000,001 and greater¹¹. A business below that first line does not pay it.
8. Keep the unemployment account current through ESSP if you have people on the payroll. File withholding through MyTax; form FR-900Q is due on or before the last day of the month after each quarter ends, so the third quarter is due October 31¹⁷. The withholding FAQ still lists October 30²² for that quarter. Unemployment reports are due April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31. The handbook was revised January 2022. Late unemployment tax is 1.5% of the tax due per month or part of a month, and the penalty is 10% of the tax due, or $100, whichever is higher. The wage base is $9,000 at 2.7%²³ for a new employer, plus 0.2%¹⁰. Report new hires separately through the District directory within 20 days of the hire date¹².
9. Pay the paid family leave tax with the wage report. The Office of Paid Family Leave lists the tax at 0.75%¹³ of each covered employee’s wages for every quarter of 2026. The older employer FAQ says there is no wage cap. The contribution is on total gross wages²⁴. For workers, the benefits page lists up to 2 weeks of prenatal, 12 weeks of parental, 10 weeks of medical, and 6 weeks of family leave, as of October 1, 2026, with a maximum weekly benefit of $1,100¹⁴.
10. Renew your Basic Business License through BOSS on the term you bought. A general business license renews at the same fee: $49, $99, or $198³. The late-renewal penalties are on Licenses and permits.
11. Keep a registered agent who can be handed papers at a District street address. You need a physical street address in Washington, D.C. It cannot be a P.O. box, a third-party mailbox such as FedEx or UPS, or an address outside the District¹. Changing the agent is $50¹⁸.

Employer rules

Minimum wage: $18.40 an hour as of July 1, 2026. It generally increases every July 1. The tipped wage on the same table is $10.30. The rule covers every employer except the United States federal government¹⁵. Tips still have to bring a tipped worker up to the full minimum. The wage page lists the conditions.

Workers’ compensation: coverage is required with one or more employees. Self-insurance is allowed only if the office approves it. Domestic work is covered for one or more domestic workers employed 240 hours or more in a calendar quarter of the same or previous year. File Form 8 within 10 days of knowing about a job injury. Not filing it can bring a civil penalty of up to $1,000¹⁶.

Unemployment: you are liable with one or more people performing services in the District, including part-time or temporary work. Household employers are liable at $500 of household wages in a calendar quarter²⁵. Employers with five or more employees file through ESSP. Fewer than five may use paper Form UC-30¹².

What you get back

A filed biennial report in the year it is due, franchise and sales tax returns for the periods you owe, and current employer accounts if you pay wages. A business under the Sports Facilities Fee line has nothing to file for that fee.