Office of Tax and Revenue to Charge New Collection Fee on Delinquent Taxes

(Washington, DC) The Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) announced today that it will begin assessing a collection fee on delinquent tax liabilities of individual and business taxpayers. In accordance with a new law passed by the Council of the District of Columbia, OTR will charge a collection fee of 10 percent on tax liabilities that range from $200 to $49,999, and a fee of $5,000 on tax liabilities of $50,000 and up. The effective date of this change is October 1, 2005.

It is estimated that the District of Columbia loses millions of dollars in potential revenue because many individuals and businesses fail to pay their District taxes. In an effort to address this situation, the District’s budget for fiscal year 2006 authorizes OTR to charge delinquent taxpayers a collection fee for the costs of compliance. This new collection fee will be added to tax liabilities that have remained unpaid for more than 90 days.

For questions concerning this new law, contact OTR’s Collection Division at (202) 724-5045 or Customer Service at (202) 727-4829. Delinquent taxpayers can pay their outstanding liabilities by credit card online or by calling Official Payments Corporation toll free at 1-800-272-9829 (available 24 hours a day/7 days a week).