Delaware income tax is a progressive tax on personal income, with 2026 rates running from 2.175% on the lowest bracket up to 6.95% on income over $500,000. Returns are due April 30, not April 15. There is no state sales tax, so income tax is the main way Delaware funds its services, and the state is unusually generous to retirees: Social Security benefits are fully excluded, and residents 60 and older can shelter up to $12,500 of pension and other retirement income per person.
What You’ll Pay in 2026
Delaware uses marginal rates, which means each rate applies only to income within that bracket, not to your whole income. The first $2,000 of taxable income is not taxed. After that:
- $2,001 to $5,000: 2.175%
- $5,001 to $10,000: 3.875%
- $10,001 to $20,000: 4.775%
- $20,001 to $25,000: 5.175%
- $25,001 to $60,000: 5.525%
- $60,001 to $125,000: 6.6%
- $125,001 to $250,000: 6.75%
- $250,001 to $500,000: 6.85%
- Over $500,000: 6.95%
Someone with $70,000 in taxable income pays 6.6% only on the $10,000 above $60,000, not on the full $70,000.1Delaware General Assembly. HS 1 for HB 13 The brackets changed for 2026: the old schedule capped at 6.6% on everything above $60,000, and the new one added three brackets above that level while trimming the lowest rates slightly.2Justia. Delaware Code 30 – 1102 – Imposition and Rate of Tax
Standard Deduction and the $110 Personal Credit
Delaware starts from your federal adjusted gross income. The standard deduction is $3,250 for single filers and those married filing separately, and $6,500 for a joint return. These figures are not indexed for inflation and have held for more than two decades.3Justia. Delaware Code 30 – 1108 – Standard Deduction
You can itemize instead, and many people should. Delaware’s itemized deduction tracks your federal itemized deductions, minus any Delaware income tax you deducted federally and minus any other-state income taxes you claimed as a credit on your Delaware return.4Justia. Delaware Code 30 – 1109 – Itemized Deductions Because the state standard deduction is so low compared with the federal one, taxpayers who take the federal standard deduction often still come out ahead itemizing on their Delaware return. Self-employed filers can add health insurance premiums that were not fully deductible on the federal side.
Delaware does not use personal exemptions to shrink taxable income. It gives you a flat $110 credit for each personal exemption claimed on your federal return, applied directly against the tax you owe: $110 for you, $110 for a spouse on a joint return, and $110 for each dependent. The credit cannot push your tax below zero.5Justia. Delaware Code 30 – 1110 – Personal Exemptions and Credits
Breaks for Retirees
Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits are fully excluded from Delaware taxable income. On top of that, each resident age 60 or older can exclude up to $12,500 of eligible retirement income. Eligible income is broad: traditional pensions, IRA distributions, 401(k) withdrawals, interest, dividends, capital gains, and net rental income from real property all count toward the cap. The exclusion is per person, so a couple both 60 or older filing jointly can shelter up to $25,000.6State of Delaware Division of Revenue. Personal Income Tax FAQs
Residents 60 and older also get an additional $110 personal credit per qualifying person on top of the standard one. For a joint return where both spouses qualify, that’s an extra $220 off the tax bill.5Justia. Delaware Code 30 – 1110 – Personal Exemptions and Credits
Earned Income and Child Care Credits
Delaware’s earned income tax credit equals 20% of the federal EITC and is nonrefundable, meaning it can reduce your Delaware tax to zero but will not produce a refund by itself.7Internal Revenue Service. States and Local Governments With Earned Income Tax Credit If your federal EITC is $3,000, your Delaware credit is $600, applied against whatever state tax you owe.
There is also a child and dependent care credit equal to 50% of the federal credit for the same year, also nonrefundable. If spouses file jointly for federal purposes but separately for Delaware, only the spouse with the lower taxable income can claim it.8Justia. Delaware Code 30 – 1114 – Child Care and Dependent Care Expense Credit
Who Has to File
You’re a Delaware resident if you’re domiciled in the state, or if you keep a place to live there and spend more than 183 days in Delaware during the year. Those are two separate tests; either one makes you a resident.9Justia. Delaware Code 30 – 1103 – Resident Individual Defined
Residents must file once gross income exceeds roughly $9,400 for a single filer under 60, or about $15,450 for a married couple filing jointly under 60. Thresholds rise for taxpayers 60 and older because of the extra deductions and credits they qualify for. If someone else claims you as a dependent, you must file once your gross income tops about $5,250.
Non-residents owe Delaware tax on income from Delaware sources — wages for work performed in the state, rent from Delaware property, and profits from Delaware business operations. Any amount of Delaware-source income triggers a filing requirement; there is no minimum. The one exception is a spouse with no Delaware-source income whose partner files married-filing-separate.10Delaware Division of Revenue. Instructions for Form PIT-NON Part-year residents, those who moved in or out mid-year, can file either as a resident on Form 200-01 or as a non-resident on Form 200-02, whichever produces a better result.11Delaware Division of Revenue. Delaware Resident Individual Income Tax Return General Instructions
Which Form and How to File
Full-year residents file Form 200-01. Non-residents, and part-year residents who elect to be treated as non-residents, file Form 200-02.12Delaware Division of Revenue. Delaware Non-Resident Individual Income Tax Return Instructions Both forms begin with your federal AGI and then apply state-specific additions (such as interest from out-of-state municipal bonds) and subtractions (such as the Social Security and pension exclusions).
Have your federal return, all W-2s, any 1099s for interest, dividends, or retirement distributions, and Social Security numbers for everyone on the return. Electronic filing goes through the Delaware Taxpayer Portal at tax.delaware.gov and processes faster than paper. If you mail your return, the correct PO Box depends on whether you owe or expect a refund, so check the form instructions. You can pay a balance due by ACH debit, credit card, or a check sent with a paper return.13State of Delaware Division of Revenue. Payment
Deadline, Extensions, and What Late Costs
The Delaware filing deadline is April 30. For tax year 2025, that means Thursday, April 30, 2026.14State of Delaware. Delaware’s Tax Season Starts January 26, 2026 You can request an automatic extension to October 15 by filing Form PIT-EXT by April 30, either through the Taxpayer Portal or by mail.15Delaware Division of Revenue. PIT-EXT The extension buys time to file, not time to pay. Estimate what you owe and pay it by April 30 or interest starts running.
Interest accrues at 0.5% per month, or 6% a year, from the original due date until the balance is paid.6State of Delaware Division of Revenue. Personal Income Tax FAQs A separate late-filing penalty can apply on top of that. If you cannot pay in full, file on time anyway: that stops the late-filing penalty, even while interest keeps running on the unpaid balance.
Fixing a Return After You File
Residents use Form 200-01-X to amend. Attach a detailed explanation of what changed along with any new or corrected W-2s and supporting documents. You generally have three years from the original due date, or two years from when the tax was paid, whichever is later.16Delaware Division of Revenue. Delaware Form 200-01-X Resident Amended Personal Income Tax Return Instructions
One deadline is easy to miss: if the IRS adjusts your federal return, either through an audit or because you amended it, you have 90 days to report the change to the Delaware Division of Revenue and attach a copy of the federal adjustments to your state amended return. Blowing that window can bring extra penalties.