What actually sets Delaware apart
Delaware charges no sales tax and no transfer of that burden onto property owners, which is a large part of why its effective property tax rate is one of the lowest on the east coast. The reassessment programme has, however, redistributed who pays what within each county even where total revenue was held roughly level.
Property taxes in Delaware at a glance
- Average effective tax rate: 0.53% of home value per year
- Median home value: $326,800
- Estimated tax on a median-value home: $1,731 per year (about $144 per month)
- Rank by tax rate: 42nd of 50, highest first
- Rank by amount actually paid: 38th of 50, highest first
- Where these figures come from: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, for the Delaware statewide averages shown above — ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates, last reviewed September 2026.
What the Delaware rate leaves out
Delaware is 42nd of the fifty by rate and 38th by the bill a median-value owner receives — a shift of 4 places, and the $326,800 median home value is what causes it. The rate is a reasonable shorthand here, but it is not the whole answer, and both numbers are worth checking before comparing Delaware with anywhere else.
How Delaware works out what you owe
Delaware's counties spent decades billing from base year values fixed in the 1970s and 1980s. Court-ordered reassessments have now brought all three counties onto current values, with rates adjusted to compensate.
Delaware sets no statutory limit on how fast a home's taxable value can rise, so a Delaware assessment tracks the market more closely than it would in a capped state.
Exemptions Delaware homeowners should claim
Each of these reduces a Delaware bill every year you hold the property, and almost none are granted without a claim:
- Senior school property tax credit: Owners aged 65 or older who meet the residency requirement receive a credit against the school portion of the bill, which is the largest part of it.
- County senior and disability exemptions: Each county offers its own additional exemption for older or disabled owners, subject to income limits set locally.
Where you buy inside Delaware changes the bill
A statewide average hides its extremes. Where they show up in Delaware:
- New Castle County: Wilmington and its suburbs, the most expensive part of the state and the one with the largest school levies
- Kent County: Dover and central Delaware, where both values and rates sit below the state's northern end
- Sussex County: the beach towns, where second homes and rental properties dominate the coastal roll
Delaware and its neighbours
The same $326,800 — the Delaware median — taxed at each neighbouring state's average rate:
- Pennsylvania at 1.35%: about $4,412 a year, roughly $2,681 more than the $1,731 a Delaware owner would pay on the same value.
- Maryland at 1%: about $3,268 a year, roughly $1,537 more than the $1,731 a Delaware owner would pay on the same value.
- New Jersey at 2.23%: about $7,288 a year, roughly $5,557 more than the $1,731 a Delaware owner would pay on the same value.
Appealing a Delaware assessment
If the assessed value on your Delaware home overstates what it is worth, the route is an appeal to the county Board of Assessment Review. The window is a short window following the assessment notice, set by each county, and it is strict — missing it means waiting a full cycle.
Frequently asked questions
When are Delaware property taxes due, and when must exemption claims be filed?
County bills are issued in the summer and are generally due at the end of September, with school taxes collected on the same bill. Applications go to the county, commonly by 30 April for the tax year beginning that summer.
Does this calculator use my exact Delaware county tax rate?
No — it applies the Delaware statewide average of 0.53%. Rates are set locally, and the spread inside Delaware is wide enough to matter: on a $326,800 home, $1,489 a year separates Delaware from an averagely taxed state before any county variation is counted. Check the parcel's own rate with its Delaware county before relying on this figure.
Reference sources
Related calculators
How this estimate is built
Principal and interest come from the standard amortization formula, worked through in full on the formula reference page. Property tax, insurance, PMI and loan-program figures layer on top from published assumptions — each one sourced, dated and listed on the methodology page. Every result here is an estimate built from public data, not a quote: confirm the specifics with a lender before relying on it.
For developers
This calculation is also available as a REST API and through an MCP server, both running the same engine as this page — so the figures match by construction rather than by convention. No key required.