Delaware’s Division of Revenue will begin processing 2025 individual income tax returns on January 26, 2026. As a result of fraud prevention measures that protect Delaware taxpayers, refunds will not begin to be issued until February 16, 2026.

Taxpayers are encouraged to file their taxes electronically as paper returns take longer to process. Taxpayers who file online may file for free at tax.delaware.gov or through other electronic filing programs. Requesting refunds by direct deposit will also expedite refund delivery. This year’s filing deadline for Delaware Personal Income Tax is Thursday, April 30, 2026.

Taxpayers should be aware that Delaware does not maintain reciprocity agreements with other states. It is important that anyone who worked in Delaware, but was not a Delaware resident, files a Delaware tax return. Delaware residents who work out-of-state are required to file returns with Delaware in addition to the state where they worked. By law, Delaware employees should receive their 2025 W-2 employment forms by January 31, 2026. Those who haven’t received a W-2 by January 31 should contact their employer.

The Division of Revenue would like to remind taxpayers that refund processing could take 10-12 weeks, particularly for those returns requiring manual review. Unlike the Internal Revenue Service where most returns are reviewed after the filing season, the Division of Revenue will review most returns for errors or anomalies before releasing refunds. Returns containing errors, requiring missing documentation, or needing validation of other listed or claimed amounts might require manual review by Division of Revenue audit staff. Individuals receiving requests from the Division of Revenue for additional documentation are encouraged to supply that information as quickly as possible. This will improve processing times and expedite refunds.

For filing information and more, please visit revenue.delaware.gov.

Revenue Announces New HSCA Rate Effective January 2026

Statewide, DE (November 4, 2025) – Division of Revenue Director Kathy Revel today announced that businesses subject to the Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act (HSCA) will see an increase in last year’s rate from 1.120% to 1.1902%. The new tax rate will go into effect on January 1, 2026, and it applies to taxable gross receipts from the sale of petroleum or petroleum products.

Legislation was passed in 2018 calling for future rate increases to be based on a lookback period. The adjustable rates cannot be lower than 0.675% or greater than 1.675% and are calculated by multiplying 0.9% (the original rate) by a fraction – the numerator of which is $15,000,000 and the denominator of which is the total collections in the fund during the lookback period (July 1 to June 30 of the prior year).

The HSCA was passed by the Delaware General Assembly in July of 1990 to ensure funding for the cleanup of facilities with a release or imminent threat of release of hazardous substances. The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has identified over 1,100 sites in Delaware as potential hazardous substances release sites.

If you have questions about the new adjustable tax rate, please contact Leo Regalado with the Delaware Division of Revenue at (302) 577-8254.

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Statewide, DE — The Delaware Department of Finance and the Division of Revenue are warning residents about a recent surge in fraudulent text messages impersonating the Division of Revenue. These scam messages claim that a taxpayer’s refund “has been processed and approved” and demand that recipients provide “valid payment information” by a specific deadline. The message also falsely states that the refund will be forfeited if no response is received.

Do not click on any links or respond to these messages. The Delaware Division of Revenue does not send text messages requesting personal or financial information, and there is no such thing as automatic forfeiture of a tax refund due to lack of response.

If you are unsure about the status of your refund or tax account, please contact Public Service directly at 302-577-8200.

Scammers often use fear and urgency to manipulate victims into taking immediate action. They may also use publicly available information such as your name or phone number to make the messages appear more legitimate. 

To protect yourself from these scams, the Division of Revenue offers the following tips:

• Don’t Rush: Scammers create a false sense of urgency. Take your time to review any unexpected communications carefully.
• Verify the Source: Never trust contact information provided in a suspicious message. Instead, visit delaware.gov and log into your portal account or call the official hotline to verify if a legitimate notice was issued.
• Watch for Red Flags: Be cautious of messages lacking details about your specific tax account or those that don’t include a return mailing address. Official notices will always contain verifiable contact and account information.
• Protect Your Information: Never share personal or financial details in response to unsolicited messages. Only provide information through verified and secure channels.

Important Notice:

Please note that the Division of Revenue’s online portal is currently experiencing downtime due to a system upgrade. We appreciate your patience as we work to restore full service on October 6, 2025. 

For updates and more information, visit tax.delaware.gov.

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Kylie Taylor-Roberts
Public Information Officer
Delaware Department of Finance
(302) 577- 8952

Delaware’s Division of Revenue will begin processing 2024 individual income tax returns on January 29, 2025. As a result of fraud prevention measures that protect Delaware taxpayers, refunds will not begin to be issued until February 15, 2025.

Taxpayers are encouraged to file their taxes electronically as paper returns take longer to process. Taxpayers who file online may file for free at tax.delaware.gov or through other electronic filing programs. Requesting refunds by direct deposit will also expedite refund delivery. This year’s filing deadline for Delaware Personal Income Tax is Wednesday, April 30, 2025.

Taxpayers should be aware that Delaware does not maintain reciprocity agreements with other states. It is important that anyone who worked in Delaware, but was not a Delaware resident, files a Delaware tax return. Delaware residents who work out-of-state are required to file returns with Delaware in addition to the state where they worked. By law, Delaware employees should receive their 2023 W-2 employment forms by January 31, 2025. Those who haven’t received a W-2 by January 31 should contact their employer.

The Division of Revenue would like to remind taxpayers that refund processing could take 10-12 weeks, particularly for those returns requiring manual review. Unlike the Internal Revenue Service where most returns are reviewed after the filing season, the Division of Revenue will review most returns for errors or anomalies before releasing refunds. Returns containing errors, requiring missing documentation, or needing validation of other listed or claimed amounts might require manual review by Division of Revenue audit staff. Individuals receiving requests from the Division of Revenue for additional documentation are encouraged to supply that information as quickly as possible. This will improve processing times and expedite refunds.

For filing information and more, please visit revenue.delaware.gov.

Revenue Releases Technical Information Memorandum (TIM) on New Short-term Rental Lodging Tax

Statewide, DE (November 20, 2024) – Division of Revenue released technical guidance on the new short-term rental lodging tax on November 15, 2024. The Technical Information Memorandum (TIM) provides uniform definitions, describes the responsibilities of the accommodations intermediaries, and lays out the interest and penalties related to the failure to file tax returns, failure to provide a complete return with all required information, or to remit payment of the tax.

Pursuant to House Substitute 2 for House Bill 168 as amended by House Amendment No. 1 that was signed into law on September 30, 2024, Delaware has imposed a short-term rental lodging tax at the rate of 4.5% of the rent upon every occupancy of a short-term rental within this State. This new tax goes into effect for short-term rental agreements entered into on or after January 1, 2025. Effective immediately, accommodations intermediaries are required to obtain an annual Delaware accommodations intermediary business license via onestop.delaware.gov prior to conducting accommodations intermediary services. If a property owner uses a third-party rental listing company (e.g., Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Expedia, Tripadvisor, etc., or a local or similar a rental listing company) to book the short-term rental, only the third-party rental listing company is required to obtain the accommodations intermediary business license and collect and remit the tax.

For more information, please see the Division of Revenue’s Frequently Asked Questions. If you have questions about the new short-term rental lodging tax, please contact John McKinny at (302) 577-8267 or john.mckinny@delaware.gov.

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