Delaware Paycheck Calculator
Earning $75,000 in Delaware? Your estimated 2026 take-home is about $57,574 after federal tax and FICA, and Delaware state income tax and DE paid family leave contributions.
Delaware take-home pay calculator
Take-home now: $2,214.37 per 2 weeks
Use this free Delaware (DE) paycheck, payroll and income tax calculator to estimate your 2026 take-home pay after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and Delaware's graduated state income tax (seven brackets, 0% to 6.6%).
Adjust the calculator inputs to see the breakdown for your own Delaware paycheck.
Delaware's seven-bracket ladder (0%–6.6%): what comes out of each 2026 check
Delaware uses graduated 2026 state income-tax brackets, so higher pay is taxed at higher marginal rates after the state deduction. This calculator applies that on top of federal withholding and Social Security / Medicare to estimate your Delaware take-home pay.
Delaware uses a graduated income tax with 7 brackets for 2026, with marginal rates ranging from 0% to a top rate of 6.6% (which applies to single-filer taxable income above $60,000). For 2026, Delaware's state standard deduction is $3,250 for single filers and $6,500 for married couples filing jointly. As a worked example, a single filer earning $60,000 pays about $2,763 in Delaware income tax (roughly 4.6% of gross) before federal tax and FICA.
What this estimate doesn't include: Local income taxes are not included. The Wilmington local earned-income/wage tax (~1.25%) is NOT included. Delaware's personal-credit ($110 single / $220 MFJ) and itemized deductions are not modeled — estimates run slightly high. Delaware Paid Leave is now included. It is 0.4% of your wages, the most your employer may take out of your pay, and it stops at the $184,500 wage base, so on $75,000 it is $300 a year. City, county or school-district income taxes where they apply, court-ordered deductions, union dues, and anything else your specific employer withholds are not in this figure; your pay stub is the authority on those.
Estimates only, not tax advice. The section "What this estimate doesn't include" above lists what's left out; see also our terms and the corrections log.
Delaware's seven 2026 brackets, from 0% to 6.6% (single filers)
Delaware's graduated single-filer schedule for 2026, applied after the state deduction:
| Taxable income | Marginal rate |
|---|---|
| $0 – $2,000 | 0% |
| $2,000 – $5,000 | 2.2% |
| $5,000 – $10,000 | 3.9% |
| $10,000 – $20,000 | 4.8% |
| $20,000 – $25,000 | 5.2% |
| $25,000 – $60,000 | 5.55% |
| $60,000 and above | 6.6% |
Delaware Paid Leave: what else Delaware takes from your check
On a Delaware paycheck, these state programs are deducted in addition to income tax and Social Security / Medicare:
| Program | Employee rate (2026) | Wage base / cap |
|---|---|---|
| Delaware Paid Leave (PFML) — employee share | Up to 0.4% of wages at employers with 25 or more Delaware employees, being the employee's half of the 0.8% full-coverage premium and the most an employer may pass on; up to 0.16% at employers with 10 to 24 employees, where coverage is parental leave only on a 0.32% premium; and 0% at employers with fewer than 10 employees, at the federal government, and at seasonal operations that shut down for a month or more, all of which are exempt | charged on wages up to $184,500 (the 2026 Social Security wage cap), counting only FICA wages earned in Delaware; max employee cost ~$738/yr at full coverage, ~$295/yr at parental-leave-only coverage |
Included in your take-home: the DE Paid Leave contribution is subtracted from the take-home estimate at the top of this page. These are withheld after tax and do not lower your taxable income.
Two Delaware payroll quirks worth knowing
- Delaware charges NO state or local sales tax (one of only five such states), so paycheck dollars stretch further at the register — but it funds this partly via a gross-receipts tax on businesses.
- Delaware's Paid Leave (PFML) payroll deduction began Jan 1, 2025, not 2026; Jan 1, 2026 is when the program took full effect and workers could first file claims. The deduction is up to 0.4% of wages, half of the 0.8% premium, and only at employers with 25 or more Delaware employees.
Your paycheck vs the $87,500 Delaware median
| Median household income (2024) | $87,500 |
| Take-home (single filer) | ≈$65,492 |
Delaware's own $15.00 minimum wage — above the federal floor (2026)
$15.00/hour (≈$31,200/year full-time). Reached $15.00 on Jan 1, 2025 and held for 2026; tipped cash wage $2.23. Enforced by Delaware Dept. of Labor.
Is overtime and tips tax-free in Delaware? Federally yes, but Delaware still taxes both
Qualified overtime premium pay and tips are federally deductible for 2025–2028 (OBBBA caps & rules); FICA still applies.
Delaware state income tax: Delaware has not adopted the federal tips/overtime deductions for state income tax as of mid-2026, so they reduce your federal tax only. (source: tax.thomsonreuters.com)
- Overtime: 2025 — not deductible on your Delaware return (still state-taxed); 2026–2028 — not deductible on your Delaware return (still state-taxed).
- Tips: 2025 — not deductible on your Delaware return (still state-taxed); 2026–2028 — not deductible on your Delaware return (still state-taxed).
Related: overtime by state · tips calculator · overtime calculator · tips by state.
Local income taxes in Delaware
Only the City of Wilmington levies a local earned-income (wage) tax: a flat 1.25% on all wages, applied to BOTH Wilmington residents and non-residents who work inside city limits. No other Delaware city or county has a local income tax.
Beyond the paycheck: Delaware's 0% sales tax and property tax
| Sales tax | 0% (≈0% with local) |
| Property tax | ≈0.47% — Among the lowest effective property-tax rates in the U.S. (bottom tier). County rates: New Castle 0.68%, Kent 0.42%, Sussex 0.32%. |
Delaware paycheck FAQ
Do cities or counties in Delaware take a local income tax out of paychecks?
Only the City of Wilmington levies a local earned-income (wage) tax: a flat 1.25% on all wages, applied to BOTH Wilmington residents and non-residents who work inside city limits. No other Delaware city or county has a local income tax.
Does Delaware have a state income tax in 2026?
Yes — seven graduated brackets from 0% to 6.6% in 2026, on top of federal tax and FICA.
Compare a paycheck next door: Maryland, Pennsylvania & New Jersey
| State | State income tax (2026) | Take-home on $75,000 (single) |
|---|---|---|
| Delaware | seven brackets, 0%–6.6% | $57,574 |
| Maryland | ten brackets, 2%–6.5% | $58,242 |
| Pennsylvania | flat 3.07% | $59,238 |
| New Jersey | seven brackets, 1.4%–10.75% | $58,491 |
Those are the states next door. To see where Delaware lands against all of them at once, our take-home pay by state study runs an identical salary at two levels, $75,000 and $100,000, through the 2026 rules of every state and DC, except Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Idaho, Maryland and Vermont, still on their 2025 tables, ranked from the most take-home pay to the least.
All state paycheck calculators →
Data compiled and maintained by Edmond Daher · Updated 2026-08-02