What is the real estate transfer tax in Delaware?

In Delaware, a deed is subject to a state realty transfer tax of 2.5% of the value of the property where the county or municipality has enacted the full 1.5% local realty transfer tax, or 3% where it has not, apportioned equally between grantor and grantee. Value is the actual consideration including liens and other encumbrances on the property, and no tax applies when the value is less than $100. A first-time home buyer’s share of the tax is reduced by 0.5% of the lesser of the value or $400,000, without reducing the seller’s share. Conveyances between spouses and between a parent and a child are not taxable documents. Counties and cities can add their own tax where state law lets them, so check the county where the deed is recorded. This is 30 Del. C. §§ 5401, 5402.

WhatDelaware
State transfer tax2.5% state (3% if no local tax), split equally

What the statute says

“… a realty transfer tax at the rate of 3 percent of the value of the property represented by such document, unless the municipality or county where the property is located has enacted the full 1½ percent realty transfer tax …”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

30 Del. C. §§ 5401, 5402

Read the statute in the Delaware Code (Delaware General Assembly): delcode.delaware.gov.

Checked against the statute on November 15, 2026.

This is a summary of a published statute, not legal advice. Rules change, local ordinances can add to them, and the terms of a specific lease may differ. Check the citation and speak to a lawyer before acting.

How Seayora uses this rule

This page states the state’s rule so the costs and paperwork of a sale can be checked against it before a contract is signed. An owner on Seayora keeps each property’s owners of record and its documents in one place.

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