How Delaware taxes income
Delaware uses a graduated income tax with 6 brackets, running from 2.2% up to 6.6%. A filer on $85,000 pays an effective 5.02%. The top rate is the last slice, not the whole bill (how graduated rates work).
The top bracket starts at $60,000 of taxable income, so it applies only to higher earners.
Delaware income tax brackets for 2026
Single filer rates. Married couples filing jointly use the same rates and the same thresholds, which still does not make filing jointly cheaper here: on $120,000 a joint return owes $6,300 against $5,300 for two single filers on $60,000 each, so the couple pays $1,000 more.
| Rate | Taxable income over |
|---|---|
| 2.2% | $2,000 |
| 3.9% | $5,000 |
| 4.8% | $10,000 |
| 5.2% | $20,000 |
| 5.55% | $25,000 |
| 6.6% | $60,000 |
Worked examples for Delaware
Using Delaware's 2026 rates, standard deduction and exemptions:
| Situation | Delaware tax | Effective state rate |
|---|---|---|
| Single, $60,000 | $2,653 | 4.42% |
| Single, $120,000 | $6,579 | 5.48% |
| Married filing jointly, $120,000 | $6,255 | 5.21% |
The joint figure is lower than the single figure on the same $120,000 only because the joint return covers two people's exemptions or credits; the rates themselves are the same.
Deductions and exemptions
Delaware allows a state standard deduction of $3,250 for a single filer and $6,500 for a married couple filing jointly.
Rather than a personal exemption, Delaware delivers the equivalent relief as a tax credit ($110 per person and $110 per dependent). A credit reduces the tax itself rather than the income it is charged on, which is generally worth more to lower earners than an equivalent deduction.
All told, an $85,000 salary is taxed on $81,750.
Rules specific to Delaware
The provisions published for Delaware:
- In addition to the individual income tax rates, Delaware imposes a tax on lump-sum distributions.
Provision notes quoted from the Tax Foundation's State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets, which is also the source of the rate and bracket data on this page.
Delaware charges no sales tax at all
Delaware is one of a handful of states with no general sales tax. The 0% above is the absence of one, not a low rate. For a household near the Pennsylvania, Maryland or New Jersey line that is an immediate saving on every purchase, and it is why retail clusters on the Delaware side of those borders.
The revenue comes from business instead. Delaware levies a gross receipts tax on sellers, charged on total revenue rather than profit and with no deduction for the cost of goods sold, so a low-margin business can owe it in a year it made nothing. Combined with the franchise fees paid by the very large number of companies incorporated there, business taxation carries a share of the budget that most states raise from consumers.
The practical effect for a wage earner is that Delaware's income tax rate of 6.6% looks higher than its neighbors' while the total cost of living there often does not.
Part-year residents and out-of-state income
Delaware has no reciprocity agreements, so if you live here and work in another state, or move mid-year, you will generally file in both, and claim a credit rather than an exemption. How the credit works, and why moving to a higher-tax state still costs you.
Retirement income in Delaware
Delaware does not tax Social Security benefits, which puts it with the large majority of states. Pensions and IRA or 401(k) withdrawals are treated separately. See how states treat retirement income.
As an upper bound, $60,000 of retirement income taxed as ordinary wage income would cost about $2,700 here, an effective 4.42%. Any exclusion Delaware grants for pension or retirement-account income comes off that figure, so a retiree's real rate is usually lower than the brackets above suggest.
How Delaware compares
Delaware's top marginal rate of 6.6% ranks 13 of the 42 jurisdictions that tax income (41 states and D.C.). Pennsylvania tops out at 3.07%. Maryland tops out at 6.5%. New Jersey tops out at 10.75%.
Filing and deadlines
Delaware's return is due April 30, later than the federal mid-April deadline, a difference that is easy to miss if you file both at once.
What this estimate covers
The figure applies Delaware's published 2026 rates and deductions to wage income, alongside federal tax and FICA (a well-sourced estimate, not a return). See what these calculators do and do not model.