Sheet DE · 2026–27 rules
Delaware Property Tax Calculator
Delaware has no state property tax and no statewide homestead exemption: county, school-district and town rates per $100 apply to the value from the 2025 reassessments, and owners 65 or older get half their school tax back up to $500.
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Rules verified 4 primary sources Editorial policy
Estimate your 2026–27 Delaware bill
- Tax — School district —
- Tax — County and municipal —
- Credits subtracted —
- Fixed charges added —
Different allowances for different levies need separately approved taxable bases in the prepared levy worksheet. The extra exemption above subtracts the same assessed-dollar amount from every modeled levy.
How Delaware turns value into a tax bill
| Step | Delaware rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Value | All property is assessed at fair market value as of the county’s latest reassessment base year; each county now reassesses at least every five years. | [1] |
| Assessment | 100% of reassessed market value | [1] |
| Annual limit | No statewide cap on an individual assessment; school-district revenue limits after reassessment restrain levies, not individual values. | |
| Exemptions | No statewide homestead exemption; counties and towns run their own senior and disability exemptions. | [2] |
| Rate | School district: local rate — you enter it.Current expense, debt service, tuition and other school levies for your district. | [2] |
| Rate | County and municipal: local rate — you enter it.County rate plus, inside a city or town, the municipal rate. | [1] |
| Credit | Senior school property tax credit: 50% of regular school tax on the principal residence, up to $500, for owners 65 or older who meet the domicile test. | [2][3] |
| Credit | Disabled veteran school tax credit: the full school tax on the principal residence of a veteran rated 100% permanently and totally disabled (service-connected or individual unemployability), where the school board authorizes it. | [2] |
Delaware property tax rules in brief
Delaware has no state-level property tax; bills combine county, school-district and (inside towns) municipal rates, each stated per $100 of assessed value1.
By statute all property is assessed at fair market value as of the county's latest reassessment base year, and each county must reassess at least every 5 years1.
There is no statewide homestead exemption or assessment-increase cap; the main statewide relief is a state-funded credit on school taxes23.
Home owners 65 or older get a credit of 50% of regular school property taxes on their primary residence, capped at $500 a year, applied for by April 3023.
Newer residents face a domicile requirement: 10 consecutive years for those domiciled on or after January 1, 2018 (3 years for 2013-2017 arrivals)23.
Veterans with a 100% service-connected permanent and total disability rating (or individual unemployability) can receive a credit for the full school tax on their principal residence where the school board has authorized it2.
After the 2025 reassessment, HB 242 let New Castle County school districts reset 2025-26 school taxes using separate residential and non-residential rates, with the non-residential rate capped at twice the residential rate4.
Worked example
Illustrative rates (not a real district): school $1.60, county and municipal $0.40 per $100. School tax 3,500 × 1.60 = 5,600.00; senior credit is the lesser of 2,800 and $500 = 500; county and municipal 3,500 × 0.40 = 1,400.00. Total 7,000.00 − 500 = 6,500.00.
| Line | Taxable value | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| School district at $1.60 per $100 | $350,000.00 | $5,600.00 |
| County and municipal at $0.40 per $100 | $350,000.00 | $1,400.00 |
| Credits | −$500.00 | |
| Annual total | $6,500.00 |
Left to your local bill
- County senior/disabled exemptions and municipal exemptions (local options with county income limits)
- Residential vs non-residential split school rates (HB 242 allowed New Castle County districts to reset 2025-26 rates; rate differences are captured by the user's school rate input)
- School-district revenue limits after reassessment (14 Del. C. § 1916) - these limit levies, not individual bills
- Farmland (agricultural/horticultural/forest) use valuation
- Senior credit domicile tests (3 or 10 consecutive years depending on when domicile was established) - modeled only as eligibility text
- Sewer, trash, library and other fees billed with taxes
Census context, not a rate
American Community Survey 2020–2024: median owner-occupied value $352,000 (±$2,842), median real-estate taxes $1,768 (±$20). Dividing one by the other gives 0.50% for Delaware. Tables B25077 and B25103; why it is only context.
Sources
- delcode.delaware.gov9 Del. C. § 8306, read .
“All property subject to assessment shall be assessed at its fair market value as of the date of the most recent reassessment base year in the county. (b) (1) All real property must be reassessed by the county in which the real property is located at least once every 5 years.”
- delcode.delaware.gov14 Del. C. § 1917(c)(1), (d)(1), read .
“The maximum such credit authorized by vote of local school boards shall be the lesser of: 1. Fifty percent of such tax remaining after taking into account any exemption pursuant to Title 9 and Title 22 and any tax reduction pursuant to § 6102 of Title 29; or 2. Five hundred dollars.”
- finance.delaware.govDelaware Department of Finance, Senior School Property Tax Relief, read .
“Homeowners age 65 or over are eligible for a tax credit against regular school property taxes of 50 percent (up to $500). This credit may only be used against property taxes on a primary residence.”
- legis.delaware.govDel. HB 242 (153 rd G.A., 2025), read .
“The school board of a school district located entirely in New Castle County may, for the 2025-2026 school tax year, reset the local school tax rate using a residential and a non-residential tax rate. The non-residential tax rate must be at least equal to the residential tax rate and may not be more than 2 times the residential tax rate.”
Bordering jurisdictions
Rules verified by the Property Tax Calculator Editorial Team. Report a correction