| SB 204 | Passed | Pettyjohn | This Act codifies the longstanding authority of Delaware counties and municipalities, under common law, to separately tax different classes of real property if the classification is reasonable and, as required under § 1 of Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution, the tax rates are uniform for all property in each classification. See Green v. Sussex County, 668 A.2d 770, 776 (Del. Super. Ct. 1995), aff’d 667 A.2d 1319 TABLE (Del. 1995); Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co. v. Smith, 131 A.2d 168, 177-78 (Del. 1957); Phila. B & W R. Co. v. Mayor & Council of Wilm., 57 A.2d 759, 765-66 (Del. Ch. 1948); Conrad v. State, 16 A.2d 121, 125-26 (Del. 1940).
The City of Wilmington has different tax rates for residential and non-residential properties and upon enactment on July 30, 2025, House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 144 amended the Charter of the City of New Castle to allow varying tax rates based on property classification. This Act clarifies that all municipalities have this authority, avoiding the need for separate legislation amending the municipal charter of each municipality to provide this clarity.
This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend a charter issued to a municipal corporation. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 22 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MUNICIPAL TAX RATES BASED ON PROPERTY CLASSIFICATION. |
| SCR 122 | Passed | Townsend | This Senate Concurrent Resolution calls for an immediate review of the recent statewide property reassessment by the members of the General Assembly, in collaboration with state, local, and school district officials, to develop legislative and operational measures that ensure future reassessments are conducted fairly, transparently, and equitably. | CALLING FOR A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF DELAWARE’S PROPERTY REASSESSMENT PROCESS AND DEVELOPMENT OF IMPROVEMENTS FOR FUTURE REASSESSMENTS. |
| SB 203 | Passed | Mantzavinos | This Act codifies Delaware’s longstanding common law recognition of the authority of Delaware counties and municipalities to separately tax different classes of real property if the classification is reasonable and, under § 1 of Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution, the tax rates are uniform for all real property in each classification. See Green v. Sussex County, 668 A.2d 770, 776 (Del. Super. Ct. 1995), aff’d 667 A.2d 1319 TABLE (Del. 1995); Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co. v. Smith, 131 A.2d 168, 177-78 (Del. 1957); Phila. B & W R. Co. v. Mayor & Council of Wilm., 57 A.2d 759, 765-66 (Del. Ch. 1948); Conrad v. State, 16 A.2d 121, 125-26 (Del. 1940).
As this Act is a codification of longstanding authority of taxing authorities to separately tax different classes of real property, Section 5 of this Act makes clear that this Act applies to county tax rates retroactively and prospectively. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO COUNTY TAX LEVY. |
| HA 1 to HB 242 | Passed | K. Williams | This Amendment to House Bill No. 242 changes the extended property tax payment deadline from October 30, 2025 to November 30, 2025. This Amendment also clarifies that State Division I funds requested by a school district in the event of a cash flow shortfall due to the extension of the deadline for tax payments for the 2025-2026 school tax year may be advanced by the State. | |
| HA 3 to HB 241 | Passed | Wilson-Anton | This Amendment includes county taxes, as well as school taxes, in the payment plans authorized by § 8604 of Title 9.
This Amendment also creates § 8701(d) of Title 9 to provide immediate relief for homeowners who have received substantially increased tax bills after the recent general reassessment in New Castle County. For county and school taxes assessed on residential property for the 2025-2026 tax year, New Castle County is prohibited from collecting unpaid county and school taxes from a taxpayer’s real or personal property, if the taxpayer has entered into a tax payment plan and complies with the payment plan. | |
| SS 1 for SB 202 | Passed | Hoffner | This Act is a substitute for and differs from Senate Bill No. 202 by requiring only New Castle County to prepare and submit reports on a quarterly basis. The substitute bill also replaces language of the original bill that referenced property parcels “sold” and their “purchased value” with more precise terms consistent with language used on the realty transfer tax return such as “consideration.” | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO COUNTY PROPERTY TAX DATA. |
| HA 7 to HB 241 | Passed | Wilson-Anton | This Amendment authorizes all 3 counties to accept tax payments on a quarterly or more frequent basis. | |
| HA 10 to HB 241 | Passed | Dukes | This amendment requires the real estate collecting authority (counties) to waive penalties for any residential taxpayer for county and school property taxes who enters into and complies with a payment plan until the act sunsets (3 years) instead of being limited to the year after reassessment.
Additionally, this amendment allows any school district that suffers a cash flow shortfall of local school funds due to taxpayers in a school district entering into payment plans, to request an advance of State Division I funds. | |
