Delaware’s sales tax rate is 0%. The state charges no sales tax, and no county or city in Delaware is allowed to add one, so the price on the tag is the price you pay at the register for clothing, electronics, furniture, groceries, and almost everything else you’d buy in a store.1Delaware Division of Revenue. Doing Business in Delaware A few specific purchases do carry their own taxes or fees, though. Vehicles, real estate, hotel rooms, recreational marijuana, alcohol, tobacco, and fuel are each taxed under their own rules, and those are the ones worth knowing before you shop or move.
No Sales Tax, No Local Add-Ons, No Use Tax
Delaware is one of five states with no general sales tax. The zero applies statewide and across all three counties (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex) and every municipality within them. There is no “Wilmington rate” or “Rehoboth rate” layered on top; the sticker price stands.
There is also no companion use tax. In most states, a use tax catches purchases made out of state or online that escaped sales tax at checkout. Because Delaware never imposes a sales tax in the first place, there’s nothing to back-stop. If you have something shipped to a Delaware address, no state tax attaches to that order.
That’s why shoppers from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey routinely cross into Delaware for big-ticket items. Avoiding 6% to nearly 7% adds up quickly on appliances, jewelry, or electronics.
Why Delaware Prices Aren’t Always the Lowest Around
Delaware makes up some of the lost revenue through a gross receipts tax paid by businesses on their in-state sales and services. Rates run from 0.0945% to 1.9914% depending on business type, with petroleum sellers reaching as high as 2.4218%.2Delaware Division of Revenue. Step 4: Learn About Gross Receipts Taxes You won’t see it on your receipt, but retailers build the cost into their prices. From a shopper’s standpoint, the no-sales-tax promise still holds; the register total matches the shelf.
Vehicles: The Document Fee Instead of Sales Tax
Buying a car is the biggest exception to the no-tax-at-checkout experience. Delaware charges a motor vehicle document fee when you title or register a vehicle. The fee uses a graduated schedule, but for most car purchases it works out to about 5.25% of the purchase price.
- Under $400: flat $8
- $400 to $500: $13.75
- Above $500: $13.75 plus $5.25 for each additional $100 (or fraction thereof), rounded to the nearest dollar
- Mobile homes: same base, but $3.75 per additional $100
A trade-in reduces the amount the fee is calculated on. The statute defines the “purchase price” as the gross price minus any trade-in allowance from the seller, so on a $30,000 car with a $10,000 trade-in, the fee runs on $20,000.3State of Delaware. Dealer FAQ – Division of Motor Vehicles
Some transfers skip the fee entirely, including gifts between spouses, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, or siblings; vehicles inherited through a will or estate; and vehicles being re-registered by an owner returning to Delaware. Active-duty military members and their dependents stationed in Delaware can also register a home-state vehicle without the fee if they present change-of-station orders within 90 days.4Delaware Regulations. Vehicle Document Fees
Real Estate: The Realty Transfer Tax
Selling or buying property triggers a realty transfer tax that catches many people off guard. The combined state and local rate reaches 4% in most jurisdictions, which have adopted the full 1.5% local transfer tax they’re authorized to levy on top of the 2.5% state portion. Where no local tax has been enacted, the state rate is 3%.5Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 30 Chapter 54 – Realty Transfer Tax
The tax is split evenly between buyer and seller by default, so each party owes 2% in a full-rate jurisdiction. On a $350,000 home, that’s $7,000 per side. The parties can negotiate a different split in the contract. Properties worth under $100 aren’t taxed.
First-time homebuyers get a break. Your share of the state portion drops by 0.5% on the first $400,000 of value, capping the savings at $2,000. To qualify, every person on the deed must have never owned residential real property before, and you’ll need to occupy the home within 90 days of closing. The reduction applies only to the buyer’s half; the seller pays the standard rate.
Recreational Marijuana: 15% at the Register
Recreational marijuana is the one product where you’ll actually see a tax line added to your receipt at a Delaware retail store. The rate is 15% on the retail sale, collected by the store and remitted to the state.6Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 4 Chapter 13 – The Delaware Marijuana Control Act
Patients with a valid medical marijuana registry card are exempt from the 15% tax. Non-marijuana items sold at cannabis retailers, like accessories, are also exempt.7Division of Revenue – State of Delaware. Marijuana Establishments and Retail Tax FAQs
Lodging, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Fuel
A handful of other taxes hit visitors and residents at specific purchases.
Hotel Rooms and Short-Term Rentals
Hotels, motels, and tourist homes charge an 8% lodging tax on transient stays.8Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 30 Chapter 61 – Lodging Tax Short-term rentals booked through platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo carry a lower 4.5% tax that the platform collects and remits.9Division of Revenue – State of Delaware. Short-Term Rental FAQs If you’re comparing options at the Delaware beaches, a vacation rental will carry a lower tax rate than a hotel room.
Alcohol
Alcohol is taxed at the wholesale level and built into shelf prices. Distilled spirits above 25% alcohol by volume are taxed at $4.50 per gallon, and wine at $1.63 per gallon.10Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 4 Chapter 5 – Alcoholic Liquors and Marijuana
Cigarettes
Cigarettes carry a $2.10 tax per pack of 20. Wholesalers pay by affixing stamps, and the cost is passed through to consumers in the retail price.11State of Delaware. Cigarette and Tobacco Tax FAQs
Gasoline and Diesel
Gasoline is taxed at $0.23 per gallon, and diesel at $0.22 per gallon. Those rates have held steady for several years and remain among the lowest on the East Coast.12Delaware Department of Finance. Motor Fuel Tax