Property Tax Exemptions You're Probably Not Claiming in Delaware

Delaware doesn't have one statewide homestead exemption. Relief comes through two separate state school-tax credits, plus a third, entirely different layer of county-level exemptions that vary from county to county. And if you've seen a guide claiming Delaware's senior credit is worth $1,000, that's describing a bill that didn't pass.

The senior credit, and a number worth correcting

Homeowners 65 or older can claim the Senior School Property Tax Credit: 50% off the regular, non-vocational portion of school property tax, capped at $500 a year, with no income limit. How long you need to have lived in Delaware depends on when you arrived: three years if you moved between 2013 and 2017, ten years if you moved in 2018 or later. File by April 30; this one isn't retroactive, so missing the deadline means waiting a full year. A bill to raise this credit to $1,000 was proposed for 2026 but was defeated in the Delaware House in August 2025. Some guides written before that vote still describe the $1,000 figure as if it's current. It isn't. The Delaware Department of Finance's own page confirms $500 remains the cap.

The one for disabled veterans, worth far more

Veterans who receive 100% VA disability compensation, or who qualify through Individual Unemployability even with a lower combined rating, can claim the Disabled Veterans School Property Tax Credit: 100% of the non-vocational school property tax, with no dollar cap the way the senior credit has. For most Delaware homeowners, this credit ends up worth roughly ten times what the senior credit provides. You'll need three years of Delaware residency, and the deadline is the same April 30 as the senior credit. Here's the catch: you can't claim both. If you might qualify for either, the veterans credit is almost always the better choice, but it's worth confirming with your county which one actually saves you more before you file.

The separate county layer, and it isn't the same everywhere

On top of the state credits above, each county runs its own Over-65 and Disability exemptions against the county (and in some cases school) portion of your bill, filed separately by June 1, and these aren't structured the same way from county to county. New Castle County's version is a substantial value exemption, up to $173,000, rising to as much as $227,000 for more severe disabilities like the loss of both lower or both upper extremities, with a 10-year residency requirement that's waived for veterans whose disability is service-incurred. Sussex County's version works differently: a smaller subsidy against the first $16,000 of taxable assessment, county portion only, with its own unusual annual filing window. Check with your specific county rather than assuming another county's structure applies to yours.

What to actually check

File either the Senior or the Disabled Veterans school tax credit by April 30, not both, and ask your county which one nets you more if you might qualify for either. Separately, check your county's Over-65 or Disability exemption by June 1, since it's a genuinely different program from the state credits, not a duplicate. And if you've seen the $1,000 senior credit figure anywhere, disregard it; the actual cap is $500.