Military Retirement — Fully Taxable, But Survivor Annuities Are Not at 62
The District taxes military retirement pay in full. The $3,000 exclusion at age 62 that many guides still list expired by its own terms — it applied only to taxable years beginning before 1 January 2015. Survivor annuities are a different matter: D.C. Code §47-1803.02(a)(2)(N) excludes survivor benefits from District gross income for a person aged 62 or over at the end of the tax year, with no cap.
Verified August 25, 2026
What this benefit is
The District taxes military retirement pay in full. The $3,000 exclusion at age 62 that many guides still list expired by its own terms — it applied only to taxable years beginning before 1 January 2015. Survivor annuities are a different matter: D.C. Code §47-1803.02(a)(2)(N) excludes survivor benefits from District gross income for a person aged 62 or over at the end of the tax year, with no cap.
What it's worth: No exclusion for the retiree — but a survivor annuity is fully excluded at 62
- Military retired pay received by the veteran is taxed in full. There is no subtraction line for it.
- A survivor annuity — SBP, RCSBP or RSFPP — is excluded from District gross income where the recipient is 62 or over by the end of the taxable year, under §47-1803.02(a)(2)(N). There is no dollar cap on that exclusion.
- The exclusion turns on the recipient's age at the end of the tax year, not on the veteran's age or rank.
Who is entitled to it
- You receive military retired pay.
- Your home is in the District.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
How to claim it
Deadline: With your return- 1If you are the veteran, include your full military retired pay in District gross income — there is no subtraction line for it.
- 2If you receive a survivor annuity and are 62 or over by the end of the tax year, it is excluded from District gross income under §47-1803.02(a)(2)(N), with no cap.
- 3The code section still prints the old $3,000 exclusion, which is why it keeps getting cited: read to the end of the sub-subparagraph and it applies only "for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2015."
- 4VA disability compensation is a different animal — it is excluded from federal gross income and so never reaches the District return.
- File with
- Nothing to claim — include the full amount on the resident return
- Annual
- Claimed once a year.
Sources
- authority · statuteD.C. Code §47-1803.02 — gross income, items included and excluded
Why only one source type: The code itself carries the sunset clause verbatim; no agency page is needed to establish an absence the statute states.
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.