Delaware Senior Property Tax Relief: School Tax Credit Guide

Delaware homeowners who are 65 or older can cut their regular school property taxes in half, up to $500 a year, with no income test required.1 That credit is the centerpiece of Delaware senior property tax relief. You apply through your county tax office by April 30, and each year you must pay your property tax bill in full by the end of the tax year to stay eligible for the following year.1 This guide covers the credit, who qualifies, the residency tiers that trip up some applicants, and how to get it on file.

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• Delaware Senior Property Tax Relief at a Glance
• Who Qualifies
• The Residency Tiers
• What the Credit Covers
• How to Apply
• Keeping the Credit: The Full-Payment Rule
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Next Steps

Delaware Senior Property Tax Relief: The School Tax Credit Explained

Delaware's main senior property tax break is the Senior School Property Tax Credit, published by the Delaware Department of Finance and applied for through your county tax office.1 It reduces your regular school property taxes by half, with a statutory cap of $500 per year.1 Where the district has authorized the full credit, a school tax of $800 comes down to $400, and a school tax of $1,200 is reduced by $500 (the cap), leaving $700 to pay.

This is a straightforward program. There is no income test.1 You need to be 65 or older, own and live in your Delaware home as your primary residence, meet the residency requirement, and pay your tax bill on time.

The credit applies to regular school property taxes only.1 County and municipal property taxes are not reduced by this program, so the total dollar savings depends on how much of your tax bill goes to school purposes.

One condition sits behind the program itself rather than behind you: the credit is a local option, and so is its size. Under 14 Del. C. § 1917(c), the credit is allowed "if authorized by majority vote of the whole school board of the local school district," and the statute describes the maximum as the credit "authorized by vote of local school boards." The authorizing provision, 29 Del. C. § 6102(q)(3), sets the same lesser-of-50-percent-or-$500 maximum and then adds the limb that decides what your household actually gets: a board may authorize less than that maximum, and if it does it has to develop a plan for the money, take public comment on it, and approve it by majority vote.1 So $500 is a ceiling on what a district may allow, not a figure every district allows. Ask your county tax office to confirm both that the credit is authorized in your school district and what amount the board authorized, before you plan around the savings.

Delaware Senior Property Tax Relief at a Glance

Who Qualifies

Three conditions must be met:

1. Age, measured at a fixed date. You must be of the age of 65 or more as of the June 30 immediately prior to the beginning of the county fiscal year.1 Delaware's county fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30, so the June 30 that governs your application falls two months after the April 30 filing deadline, not before it.1 A homeowner who is still 64 at the counter on April 30 but turns 65 on or before that June 30 is a qualified person for that tax year, so file rather than wait a year.
2. Primary residence. The home must be your primary residence in Delaware.1 A vacation home or rental property does not qualify.
3. Residency tier. You must meet the residency requirement that corresponds to when you established Delaware domicile.1 The tiers are explained in the next section.

A home held in a trust or by a conservator can still qualify. This is where families often assume the answer is no. Under 14 Del. C. Sec. 1917(c)(4)c., the right to claim the credit extends to property whose title is held by a partnership, to the extent of the claimant's interest as a partner, or by a guardian, trustee, committee, conservator or other fiduciary for any person who would otherwise be entitled to claim it. The one exclusion the statute names is property whose title is held by a corporation.1 Whether a particular trust meets that test is a question for your county tax office, and the test to put to them is the statute's own: is the title held by a fiduciary for a person who would otherwise be entitled to the credit?

A 100% disabled veteran claims the veterans' credit instead. A senior who also qualifies for Delaware's separate school property tax credit for 100% disabled veterans under 14 Del. C. Sec. 1917(d) is entitled to that credit and has no right to claim the senior credit as well.1

Applications go to your county tax office rather than to the state.1

The Residency Tiers

This is the part that catches people off guard. Newer Delaware residents have to wait before the credit becomes available to them, and how long depends on the date they established domicile.

The tier you fall into depends entirely on when you established Delaware domicile:

• Before January 1, 2013. No waiting period beyond the ordinary one: you are eligible to receive the credit in the ensuing tax year, provided you meet the age and primary residence requirements.1
• January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2017. You must have at least three consecutive years of legal domicile in Delaware before you can claim the credit.1
• January 1, 2018 or later. You must have at least ten consecutive years of legal domicile in Delaware before you can claim the credit.1

The tiers meet exactly, so nobody falls between them. Domicile established on January 1, 2013 sits in the three-year tier; domicile established on December 31, 2017 is still the three-year tier; domicile established on January 1, 2018 is the ten-year tier.

If you established Delaware domicile in 2018 or later, plan to wait a full decade before you can claim the credit. That applies even if you are already 65 or older when you arrive. The clock runs from the date you establish Delaware domicile, not from your 65th birthday.

If you are unsure when your Delaware domicile was established, check your earliest Delaware property deed or tax records. Your county tax office can help confirm your eligibility date.

What the Credit Covers

School property taxes fund Delaware's public school system and are one component of a Delaware property tax bill. The credit cuts your regular school property taxes in half, capped at $500 per year.1

The credit does not apply to:

• County property taxes
• Any municipal or town property taxes

State law is specific about the order of the math. Under 14 Del. C. Sec. 1917, the credit is "the lesser of" 50 percent of the school tax remaining after any exemption under Title 9 or Title 22 and any reduction under Section 6102 of Title 29, or five hundred dollars.1 In plain terms: other exemptions come off your school tax first, and the 50 percent is calculated on what is left.

If you want to know exactly how much of your total bill is school tax, your annual property tax statement breaks it out by category. The county tax office can also pull that figure for you and tell you which lines count as regular school property taxes.

The statutory cap is $500 per year.1 At exactly $1,000 of school tax, half your bill and the cap are the same number, $500. Above $1,000 the credit stays at $500 no matter how large the bill is; below $1,000 it is half of whatever you owe. All of that assumes your school board authorized the full maximum, which it is allowed not to do, so treat these figures as the most the credit can be worth to you rather than the amount you will see.1

How to Apply

The application is filed with your county tax office.1 Delaware has three counties (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex), each with its own tax office.

Application deadline: April 30. The statute is specific about both the office and the timing: the application "shall be filed with and received by the receiver of taxes or county treasurer no later than April 30 immediately prior to the beginning of that tax year."1 The test is the date it is received, not the date you mail it, so leave time for the mail or hand it in at the counter.

There is one narrow route past that date. Under Sec. 1917(c)(3), the Secretary of Finance has authority to waive the date of application for an individual who is financially disabled, meaning unable to manage their own financial affairs because of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that is expected to result in death or has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 continuous months. The waiver is discretionary, not an automatic extension, and it does not cover anyone whose spouse, guardian or other person is authorized to act for them in financial matters, so a senior whose adult child holds financial power of attorney cannot rely on it.1 If that describes what caused a missed April 30, say so to your county tax office and ask how a waiver is requested, rather than writing the year off.

Delaware's guidance does not spell out an annual reapplication step, but the credit is not unconditional: each year you must pay your property tax bill in full by the end of the tax year to remain eligible for the following year.1 When you apply, ask your county tax office to confirm whether you need to reapply in future years or whether the credit carries forward on your account.

The credit is tied to a home you own and occupy as your primary residence.1 If you sell the home, move out, or your circumstances change, tell the county tax office so your account reflects it.

Keeping the Credit: The Full-Payment Rule

One condition must be met every year to keep the credit active. In the Delaware Department of Finance's words: "Taxpayers must pay their property tax bill in full by the end of each tax year in order to qualify for this credit for the subsequent property tax year."1

Two things to note about that sentence. It says in full, not "mostly paid." And it sets the deadline at the end of the tax year, which is not the same thing as December 31. Ask your county tax office when its tax year ends, and work backwards from that date.

For seniors who pay their property taxes through an escrow account managed by a mortgage servicer, this is usually handled for you. If you pay your own taxes, or your servicer has been slow before, confirm the payment clears before your county's tax year closes.

If you have paid a bill late in a prior year and are not sure whether your credit was affected, call your county tax office and ask them to check your account. The county holds the record of what you paid and when, and it is the office that can tell you where your credit stands.

Next Steps

If you are 65 or older, or will be by the June 30 after this year's deadline, and you have met Delaware's residency requirement, the Senior School Property Tax Credit is worth claiming. There is no income hurdle; you apply through your county tax office by April 30, and each year's credit depends on paying your bill in full by the end of the tax year.

• Determine your residency tier by looking up when you established Delaware domicile.
• Contact your county tax office (New Castle, Kent, or Sussex) and request the Senior School Property Tax Credit application. The Delaware Department of Finance senior relief page has program details and county contact links.
• Confirm your school district has authorized the credit, and at what amount, since state law makes both the credit and its size a local school board decision.
• Submit by April 30 with documentation of your age and primary residence, and make sure it is received by the receiver of taxes or county treasurer by that date rather than just mailed.
• Ask your county when its tax year ends, then confirm your property tax is paid in full by that date each year to keep the credit active.

If property taxes are part of a larger picture of paying for care at home, see our guide on how to pay for senior care for the full range of programs and funding options.

If you are weighing whether to stay in your Delaware home or sell, our guide on selling or renting your home to pay for care covers when each path makes sense.

For seniors interested in tapping home equity without selling, see our overview of reverse mortgages for senior care.

Learn More

Find more guidance on Delaware senior property tax relief at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.