Senior Citizen Tax Cap Transfer Amendment Act of 2025

Statement of Introduction Senior Citizen Tax Cap Transfer Amendment Act of 2025 December 8, 2025 Today, alongside Councilmembers Frumin, Pinto, and R.White, I am introducing the Senior Citizen Tax Cap Transfer Amendment Act of 2025, legislation that will help long-time District seniors avoid steep increases in property taxes when they move and make it more feasible for them to transition to housing that better meets their needs. Under current law, seniors who have lived in their homes for many years benefit from the District’s assessment cap credit, which limits how quickly their taxable property value can increase as neighborhood assessments rise. However, when a senior sells their home and purchases a new one, they lose the capped taxable value they have built over time and must start over at the full assessed value of the replacement property. This can increase their tax bill by thousands of dollars and creates a significant barrier for seniors who need to downsize, relocate for health or family reasons, or move to housing that is safer and more accessible. We regularly hear from seniors who face exactly this situation. Some cannot remain in homes that no longer meet their physical needs. Others need to move closer to support networks but are deterred because they cannot afford the higher tax burdens that come with losing their capped assessment. This problem is further complicated in multigenerational households where property is divided among several relatives. In these cases, no single senior may hold a fifty percent ownership share even though seniors collectively own and live in the home, leaving them unable to qualify for benefits they would otherwise receive. The Senior Citizen Tax Cap Transfer Amendment Act provides a simple fix. It allows eligible seniors to transfer the value of their existing owner occupant residential tax credit to a new Class 1 home purchased within twelve months. The bill also allows seniors to aggregate their ownership shares to meet the fifty percent requirement. These changes ensure that seniors do not lose important tax protections solely because they move to a different home, and they help make such moves more financially manageable. This legislation builds on an earlier bill of the same name originally introduced by Councilmember Vincent C. Gray, which was not marked up. This is a fiscally responsible reform that addresses a real and recurring challenge for senior homeowners. It aligns with the District’s goals of supporting aging with dignity, improving housing stability for older residents, and creating a fairer property tax system. I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance this legislation and support the ability of long-time District residents to make necessary housing transitions without facing punitive tax consequences.
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1 2 _____________________________ _____________________________ 3 Councilmember Matthew Frumin Councilmember Janeese Lewis George 4 5 6 _____________________________ _____________________________ 7 Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. Councilmember Brooke Pinto 8 9 10 A BILL 11 12 13 _______ 14 15 16 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 17 18 __________________ 19 20 21 To amend Title 47 of the District of Columbia Official Code to allow the owner occupant residential tax 22 credit available to senior homeowners to be transferred to a replacement residence and to permit 23 aggregation of senior ownership interests to meet eligibility requirements. 24 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 25 act may be cited as the “Senior Citizen Tax Cap Transfer Amendment Act of 2025”. 26 Sec. 2. Section § 47-864 of the District of Columbia Official Code is amended by adding 27 a new subsection (h) to read as follows: 28 “(h)(1) For a Class 1 property that is owned at least 50%, in whole or in part, by one or 29 more individuals 65 years of age or older, the owner-occupant residential tax credit may be 30 transferred, on a percentage basis, from the property being sold to a replacement Class 1 property 31 purchased within 12 months after the date of sale and owned at least 50% in the aggregate by the 32 same individuals 65 years of age or older. 33

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“(2) The transferable value of the benefits listed in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall 34 not exceed the dollar value of those benefits applied to the property being sold in the tax year 35 immediately preceding the transfer.”. 36 Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 37 The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 38 impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 39 approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 40 Sec. 4. Effective date. 41 This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or, in the event of veto by the 42 Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto) and a 30-day period of congressional review 43 as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 44 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)). 45