There is no sales tax in Delaware. The state charges no sales tax and allows no local sales taxes, so the price on the shelf is the price you pay at the register, whether you are shopping in Wilmington, Dover, Rehoboth Beach, or anywhere else in the state.1State of Delaware. Doing Business in Delaware That zero rate covers clothing, electronics, groceries, and general retail across the board.
No Local Sales Tax, No Use Tax
Delaware does not let cities, towns, or counties add their own sales taxes on top of the state rate, so the 0% applies everywhere in the state.1State of Delaware. Doing Business in Delaware
Delaware also has no use tax. In most states, a use tax is what you owe when you buy something online or out of state and bring it home untaxed. Because Delaware imposes neither a sales tax nor a use tax, residents owe nothing extra on purchases made from out-of-state or online retailers.2Streamlined Sales Tax. Delaware – Streamlined Sales Tax Some municipalities do charge narrow taxes on lodging or utilities, but those never reach general retail.
Transactions That Still Carry a Tax
A handful of specific purchases are taxed separately from the general retail system. If you are buying one of these, the zero sales tax rate will not save you.
Vehicles
Buying, transferring, or registering a vehicle triggers a document fee that works much like a sales tax on the transaction. As of October 1, 2025, the rate is 5.25% of the purchase price or the vehicle’s book value, whichever the Division of Motor Vehicles applies.3State of Delaware News. DMV Fees Increase in October 2025 It applies to new and used cars, trucks, motorcycles, and trailers, and the money goes to the Transportation Trust Fund rather than the general budget.4Delaware Code Online. Title 30, Chapter 30 – Motor Vehicle Document Fee On a private-party sale, the buyer pays the 5.25% to the Division of Motor Vehicles when applying for a title.
Several transfers are exempt, including gifts between immediate family, inheritances, name changes due to marriage or adoption, and renewals in the same owner’s name. If you already paid a sales or transfer tax in another state within 90 days before registering in Delaware, the document fee is also waived.5Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. 2 Delaware Administrative Code 2266-2.0 – Exceptions4Delaware Code Online. Title 30, Chapter 30 – Motor Vehicle Document Fee
Real Estate
Property changing hands carries a state realty transfer tax of 3% of fair market value, split evenly between buyer and seller so each side typically pays 1.5%. Local governments may add up to 1.5% more, and when the local portion exceeds 1%, the state rate drops to 2.5%.6State of Delaware. FY2026 Governor’s Recommended Operating Budget – Introduction Plan for a combined transfer tax of roughly 3% to 4%.
Hotels and Lodging
Delaware charges an 8% excise tax on the rent for any room in a hotel, motel, or tourist home.7Justia. Delaware Code Title 30 – 6102 Levy of Tax and Disposition of Proceeds The statute defines a hotel as having at least six permanent guest bedrooms and a tourist home as having at least five, with carve-outs for charitable, educational, and religious institutions, children’s summer camps, hospitals, and nursing homes.8Delaware Code Online. Public Accommodation Taxes – Subchapter I A short-term rental that doesn’t meet these definitions may not be covered.
Taxes Built Into the Sticker Price
A few categories carry excise taxes that are baked into the price before the product reaches you, so you don’t see them at the register but you do pay them.
Alcohol is taxed by volume: $8.15 per barrel of beer (31 gallons), $1.63 per gallon of wine, $3.00 per gallon on spirits at or below 25% alcohol, and $4.50 per gallon on stronger spirits. Wholesalers and distributors remit these, not retailers.9State of Delaware. Alcoholic Beverage Tax
Cigarettes are taxed at $2.10 per pack of 20. Gasoline and gasohol are taxed at $0.23 per gallon, diesel and other special motor fuels at $0.22 per gallon, and jet fuel at $0.05 per gallon.10Division of Motor Vehicles. Motor Fuel Special Fuel Aviation Jet Fuel
How Delaware Pays for Things Without a Sales Tax
Instead of taxing shoppers, Delaware taxes businesses on their total revenue through a gross receipts tax. The tax falls on the seller and is treated as a cost of doing business. Rates run from 0.0945% to 1.9914%, with a variable petroleum rate reaching as high as 2.4218%, and most businesses get a monthly exclusion starting at $100,000 that reduces or eliminates the tax on smaller revenue.11State of Delaware. Gross Receipts Tax FAQs
You will never see this tax listed on a receipt. It may be reflected in prices, but Delaware does not require it to be itemized or passed through to the customer, and nothing is added when you check out.