Taxes in Wilmington
Delaware is one of only five U.S. 'NOMAD' states with no state or local general sales tax at all -- a real, current, substantial advantage -- but applies a real, graduated individual income tax running 2.2% to 6.6% (top rate above $60,000 taxable income), a genuinely different picture from a true no-income-tax state.
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Learn moreNo Sales Tax -- A Real, Structural Advantage
Delaware levies NO state or local general sales tax anywhere in the state, including Wilmington -- one of only five U.S. "NOMAD" states (Oregon, New Hampshire, Montana, Alaska, and Delaware) with this feature. This is a real, immediate, and permanent cost advantage on every taxable purchase, not a temporary promotion or a narrow exemption.
Delaware's Graduated Income Tax
Delaware applies a real, current 7-bracket graduated individual income tax running from 2.2% (with a 0% rate on the first $2,000 of taxable income) up to a top marginal rate of 6.6% on taxable income above $60,000, applied uniformly across filing statuses per the source cited. Standard deductions are cited at $3,250 (single) and $6,500 (married filing jointly). This is a real, non-zero income tax -- movers relocating from a true no-income-tax state should factor this in directly.
Property Tax: See the Dedicated Topic Page
Wilmington's property tax picture is genuinely low on a blended-effective-rate basis (0.78%, versus a ~1.02% national median) but structurally layered across city, county, and school-district levies -- see the property-taxes topic page for the full breakdown this summary intentionally doesn't repeat.
Delaware's Gross Receipts Tax: A Business-Side Detail Worth Knowing
Delaware levies a gross receipts tax on businesses operating in the state, generally passed through indirectly rather than itemized on consumer receipts -- worth understanding as a real structural detail behind the "no sales tax" headline, even though it does not appear as a line-item tax on a typical consumer purchase.
Key takeaways
- Delaware has no state or local sales tax anywhere -- one of only five U.S. "NOMAD" states -- a real, permanent cost advantage on every taxable purchase.
- Delaware's real, graduated individual income tax runs 2.2%-6.6% (top rate above $60,000 taxable income, all filing statuses) -- a genuinely different picture from a true no-income-tax state.
- Wilmington's blended effective property tax rate (0.78%) runs below the ~1.02% national median -- see the property-taxes topic page for the full three-layer breakdown.
- Delaware's gross receipts tax on businesses is a real structural detail behind the 'no sales tax' headline, generally not itemized on consumer receipts.
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