D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 9, r. 9-117
The design of the unincorporated business tax under the law is to impose a tax upon all business income which would be subject to the corporation franchise tax (as though the business were incorporated), without regard to whether the business is carried on by an individual, a partnership, or some other unincorporated entity.
The term "unincorporated entity" includes, but is not limited to, concurrent ownership in property.
In the great majority of cases there shall be no question whether an entity is conducting or engaging in a trade, business, or occupation which is subject to the tax.
The terms of the statute are extremely broad and include all kinds of businesses, trades, and occupations.
For purposes of the exclusion for ministers of religion, only authorized ministers of recognized religious sects and Christian Science practitioners shall not be engaging in an unincorporated business.
If an individual or other entity shall carry on two (2) or more distinct businesses, all of the businesses shall be consolidated in one (1) return. The taxpayer shall not treat each distinct business separately.
The net income of all non-exempt business carried on by an individual or other entity shall determine its unincorporated business franchise tax liability. An individual or other entity shall be entitled to only one (1) exemption of five thousand dollars ($5,000), rather than an exemption of that amount on each distinct business; provided, that if an individual conducts one (1) business as its sole owner and is a member of a partnership which conducts a distinct business, those businesses shall be considered different entities, and each shall be entitled to a five thousand dollar ($5,000) exemption.
The operation of one (1) or more apartment house, hotel, dwelling, boarding house, or other building or part of a building shall be classed as an unincorporated business if conducted by an individual, partnership, or other unincorporated entity.
Often the continuity, frequency, and regularity of activities, as distinguished from transactions of an isolated or incidental nature, shall be the factors which shall determine whether activities constitute the carrying on of an unincorporated business. For example, an individual shall not be deemed to be engaged in an unincorporated business solely by reason of the purchase and sale of real estate for his or her own account, but if he or she shall make a business of buying and selling real estate, such activities shall be subject to the unincorporated business tax. Similarly, if an individual devotes part of his or her time, energy, and thought to stock and commodity markets and trades in securities and commodities, he or she is not carrying on an unincorporated business, if those activities are of an isolated or incidental nature and are not conducted as a business.
A person(s) conducting or operating a trade or business which such person(s) believes is exempt from the tax on unincorporated businesses may, in order to obtain the exemption, file with the Chief Financial Officer a request for ruling thereon if:
The request for ruling provided for under § 117.10 shall be in writing and shall include the following information:
"Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this request for a private letter ruling, including accompanying documents, and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, this request for a private letter ruling contains all the relevant facts relating to the request, and such facts are true, correct, and complete."
The burden of establishing the exemption to the satisfaction of the Chief Financial Officer shall be upon the person(s) conducting or operating the trade or business.
Depreciation required to be recaptured in accordance with the Act (D.C. Official Code § 47-1801.01, et seq. (2015 Repl.)) and corresponding federal provisions shall be recognized and reported by the unincorporated business entity in the same manner and to the same extent as a corporation is required to recapture depreciation under the Act and the Federal provisions.
D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 9, r. 9-117