Delaware Explained: Post-reassessment tax bills

The nature of the reassessment process means that some people will see increases in their tax bills, some will see decreases and some will see little or no change. 

Here, we will break down how to either find or compute your new tax bills for each county.

New Castle County

New Castle County has made transparency on new tax bills fairly simple. 

Residents can search their address on the county’s Parcel Search website, using the street number and name. Do not include any street suffixes like “Road,” “Lane, “Avenue,” etc. in the street name box. Example: 123 Orchard instead of 123 Orchard Road.

Once you identify your home, click on the blue “Details” link on the left side to bring up your home’s profile. Halfway down the page under the “Tax Bills” header, find your 2025A bills. Add the “principal due” from your county and school bills together to determine how much you will be charged on this year’s bill.

You can determine your change over last year by comparing your 2024A and 2025A bill totals.

After the reassessment, New Castle County set adjusted tax rates of 15.75 cents per $100 of assessed value for residential properties and 23.80 cents per hundred for non-residential properties.

It’s notable that on top of property taxes and local school district taxes, all residents also pay smaller taxes for the New Castle County Vocational Technical School District and crossing guards – although Smyrna is treated differently due to its unique bi-county status.

Sussex County

Residents of Sussex County can compute their tax burdens, but the county’s website has not yet been updated to reflect the new values like New Castle County.

First, residents should determine the new assessed value of their home. You can do this through the county’s property search website, using either your name or address. If using the address, do not include any street suffixes like “Road,” “Lane, “Avenue,” etc. in the street name box. Example: 123 Orchard instead of 123 Orchard Road.

On your property information page, locate your “100% total value,” which reflects the reassessed value of your home.

Now we need to do some math. 

Divide your total assessed value by 100 to determine your “hundreds” value, and multiply by the total county and school tax rate for which district your home lies in. 

Indian River School District: 0.2136

Laurel School District: 0.3422

Seaford School District: 0.3537

Milford School District: 0.3067

Woodbridge School District: 0.3824

Cape Henlopen School District: 0.2112

Delmar School District: 0.3705

If you live in the Indian River, Laurel, Woodbridge or Delmar school districts, you are also subject to capitation taxes, also known as head or poll taxes that are flat per person fees for single or multiple-person households.

Indian River School District: $12 / $24

Laurel School District: $24.30 / $48.60

Woodbridge School District: $8.82 / $17.64

Delmar School District: $13 / $26

Example: My home in the Indian River School District has a new assessed value of $550,000. I divide $550,000 by 100 for a hundreds value of $5,500. 

I multiply $5,500 by the total tax rate of 0.2136 for a bill of $1,174.80. Because I am married, I must also add a $24 capitation tax for the two of us. 

The total tax bill is $1,198.80.

Kent County

Kent County actually adjusted its tax rates for last year’s 2024-25 tax bill, moving its tax rate down to 5.72 cents per hundred. Residents will see no difference in county tax rates this year, compared to last year, as a result.

School tax rates may be adjusted slightly in the coming year due to some factors, which would impact your overall tax bill, but there would not be drastic changes.

New Castle County School District Tax Rates (per hundred)

Sussex County School District Tax Rates (per hundred)

Source

Kent County School District Tax Rates (per hundred)

Source

Are we done with reassessments?

No. Under a 2023 Delaware law, properties will now be reassessed every five years, meaning assessed property values will change again around 2030.

Why did my school district’s tax rate increase without a referendum?

When the terms of the legal settlement that precipitated the reassessment process were ironed out, state legislators gave school districts the right to raise revenues up to 10% to account for delinquencies, tax appeals and other issues.

Districts could do this through adjusting its tax rate in conjunction with their new assessed base value to create a new revenue result. 

The reality is that some districts have seen this option as a way to increase funding without having to go through Delaware’s referendum process, which is among the most onerous in the country. District residents must approve increases to both operating funding and bond funding for school construction at the polls in referendums. 

In recent years, a growing number of districts are losing those votes with the public.

It’s also important to note that school districts have this 10% option after every reassessment, meaning they could raise rates without voter approval again in the early 2030s.

Which school districts increased their tax rates under the referendum?

• Brandywine School District (1.7%)
  • The district said the increase was needed because of the Trump administration’s decision to withhold pre-approved funds that would have been sent to Delaware on July 1.
• Red Clay Consolidated School District (1%)
  • Red Clay chose to add only 1%, taking into consideration the scheduled increase that was previously approved by voters through the 2024 referendum.
• Christina School District (10%)
  • Christina canceled a planned referendum set for March and announced months ago that it would instead take advantage of the full 10% allowance. 

• Colonial School District (7%)
  • Like Brandywine, Colonial also cited the federal government’s withholding of federal education dollars and decided to utilize a 7% increase.
• Appoquinimink School District (10%)
  • After months of saying it would hold its rate flat, Appoquinimink voted to increase its tax rate by 10% after finding significant accounting errors that put the district at great risk.

• Capital School District (10%)
  • The Dover-area district was the first to take advantage of the full 10% option, passing it in September 2024 in time for last year’s billing cycle.
• Indian River School District (10%)
  • Indian River also chose to utilize the 10% increase after it failed to pass two operational referendums this spring, which district officials have said would be used to pay “increased operating costs and to maintain a competitive salary package.” 

Can I appeal my New Castle County property assessment?

If you didn’t file an appeal with the New Castle County Board of Assessment Review by March 31, you cannot challenge your property’s assessment for this tax year. However, you may file an appeal of the property’s assessment in future years by submitting the appropriate appeal form to the county by March 14 of each year.  

The county received over 5,200 appeals and reviews are currently underway with formal hearings set to begin being scheduled this month. Completion of this process is expected to take several months.

What if my appeal is unresolved by the Sept. 30 tax bill payment deadline? 

You may pay the tax due on your property’s entire assessment, and if your assessment appeal reduces the assessed value of your property, your tax overpayment will be credited to your account and will offset any subsequent tax or sewer service obligation billed on your property. You will be credited with interest on the overpayment at the rate of 1% per year (beginning on the date which New Castle County received your tax payment). 

If you choose not to pay any of the tax due, you will be assessed a penalty of 6% of the charge, plus an additional 1% penalty on the first of every month thereafter. If your appeal is successful, the penalty associated with the amount of the reduction will be removed. However, you will have to pay the accrued penalty amount based on your property’s revised assessed value.

You may pay the tax due on the portion of your property’s assessment that you do not dispute. If your appeal reduces the assessed value to that value, there will be no penalties and no credit. If you need assistance in determining the amount to pay associated with the undisputed value, contact the county’s Treasury Division at 302-395-5340 or Treasury@newcastlede.gov.