Delaware Code Title 30 Sec. 5402 – Rate of tax; when payable; exception
(a) Every person who makes, executes, delivers, accepts or presents for recording any document, except as defined or described in § 5401(5) of this title, or in whose behalf any document is made, executed, delivered, accepted or presented for recording shall be subject to pay for and in respect to the transaction, or any part thereof, 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 authorized by § 1601 of Title 22 or § 8102 of Title 9, in which case 2½ percent, which tax shall be payable at the time of making, execution, delivery, acceptance or presenting of such document for recording. Said tax is to be apportioned equally between grantor and grantee.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 30 Sec. 5402
- Division of Revenue: means the Division of Revenue of the Department of Finance of the State. See Delaware Code Title 30 Sec. 502
- Document: means any deed, instrument or writing whereby any real estate within this State, or any interest therein, shall be quitclaimed, granted, bargained, sold, or otherwise conveyed to the grantee, but shall not include the following:
- First-time home buyer: means any 1 of the following:
- Grantee: includes every person to whom a freehold estate or interest is conveyed. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
- Grantor: includes every person by whom a freehold estate or interest is conveyed. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
- Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
- Person: means and includes an individual, a trust, estate, partnership, association, company or corporation. See Delaware Code Title 30 Sec. 502
- Tax: shall be deemed also to refer to license fees imposed under Part III of this title. See Delaware Code Title 30 Sec. 502
- Transaction: means the making, executing, delivering, accepting or presenting for recording of a document. See Delaware Code Title 30 Sec. 5401
- Value: means , in the case of any document granting, bargaining, selling or otherwise conveying any real estate or interest or leasehold interest therein, the amount of the actual consideration thereof, including liens or other encumbrances thereon and ground rents, or a commensurate part of the liens or other encumbrances and ground rents which encumber the interest in real estate and any other interest in real estate conveyed; provided, that in the case of a transfer for an amount less than the highest appraised full value of said property for local real property tax purposes, "value" shall mean the highest such appraised value unless the parties or one of them can demonstrate that fair market value is less than the highest appraised value, in which case "value" shall mean fair market value, or actual consideration, whichever is greater. See Delaware Code Title 30 Sec. 5401
- Year: means a calendar year, and is equivalent to the words "year of our Lord. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
(b) No tax shall be imposed on conveyances when the actual value of the property being transferred is less than $100.
(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, for any first-time home buyer who enters into a transaction, on or after August 1, 2017, who would otherwise be subject to the rate of tax set forth in subsection (a) of this section, that portion of the realty transfer tax payable by the first-time home buyer shall be reduced by an amount equal to ½ percent multiplied by the lesser of the value of the property or $400,000. The first-time home buyer reduction set forth in this subsection shall apply to the grantee’s portion of the realty transfer tax as defined in subsection (a) and shall not relieve the grantor from payment of the grantor’s portion of the realty transfer tax as defined in subsection (a).
(d) Every person who makes, executes, delivers, accepts or presents for recording any document defined or described in § 5401(5) of this title, or in whose behalf any such document is made, executed, delivered, accepted or presented for recording shall be subject to pay for and in respect to the transaction, or in any part thereof, 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 authorized by § 1601 of Title 22 or § 8102 of Title 9, in which case 2½ percent, which tax shall be payable as follows:
(1) The tax on the consideration attributed to the first year of the term shall be payable at the time of making, execution, delivery, acceptance or presenting of such document for recording;
(2) The tax on the consideration attributed to each successive year of the term thereafter shall be paid annually to the Division of Revenue.
(e) There shall be no tax imposed on any document described in § 5401(5) of this title entered into prior to July 7, 1973.
(f) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the rate of tax on documents described in § 5401(9) of this title shall be 2 percent on amounts exceeding $10,000, which shall be borne by the owner of the building whose construction is made subject to tax under § 5401(9) of this title.
30 Del. C. 1953, § ?5402; 55 Del. Laws, c. 109, § ?1; 58 Del. Laws, c. 297; 59 Del. Laws, c. 153, §§ ?5, 7; 67 Del. Laws, c. 262, § ?2; 71 Del. Laws, c. 349, §§ ?1, 2; 81 Del. Laws, c. 56, § 1; 81 Del. Laws, c. 384, § 1;