Does Delaware charge sales tax at checkout?

No. The Division of Revenue says there are no state or local sales taxes in Delaware, so a Delaware shopper pays the listed price. This is why the Division's exemption and reseller certificates do not apply there. A Delaware seller still has a gross receipts tax of its own, which the shopper does not see.

What does a Delaware-based store owe on gross receipts?

For a retailer, 30 Del. C. 2905 sets the rate at 0.7468 percent of the aggregate gross receipts from goods sold within the State, with a deduction of 100,000 dollars each month. The Division's range of .0945 to 1.9914 percent covers all business activities, and quarterly filers use a different deduction. The Division's Tax Tip for your business type has the final numbers. This is not tax advice.

Do goods I ship outside Delaware count?

The Division's gross receipts tax FAQ says you do not have to pay it on goods you ship directly to your customer outside Delaware, and that you must keep documentation of the shipment. Keep carrier tracking and the shipping address with each order.

Do other states' tax rules still apply to a Delaware store?

Yes. Delaware having no sales tax says nothing about the states your customers live in, which set their own thresholds for sellers outside the state. See the post on sales tax holidays and online sellers for how those thresholds work, and check each state you sell into.

How current are the Port of Wilmington figures?

The State's port page says the port handles more than 400 vessels and 6 million tons of cargo annually and gives no year, so we cannot date them. Operator Enstructure Wilmington Holdings LLC works under a long-term concession from the Diamond State Port Corporation; ask the operator for current volumes and schedules.

Delaware has no sales tax, and the seller pays a gross receipts tax instead

A Delaware shopper checks out at the shelf price, because the Division of Revenue says there are no state or local sales taxes in Delaware. The tax Delaware does collect falls on the seller. It is a gross receipts tax, and for a retailer the Delaware Code sets it at 0.7468 percent of the gross receipts from goods sold in the state, after a deduction of 100,000 dollars a month. That is a small number for a store that sells mostly outside Delaware, because the Division's own FAQ says a Delaware retail business does not owe gross receipts tax on goods it ships directly to a customer outside the state, as long as it keeps proof of the shipment. For a Shopify merchant, the practical questions are different from those in a sales tax state: what the checkout charges a Delaware address, what a Delaware-based store owes on local sales, and how the Port of Wilmington, which the State describes as handling containers, perishables, bulk, roll-on roll-off and project cargo, fits into a shipping plan. This page answers those from the Code and the Division's pages, and ends with a cart discount plan that treats the gross receipts tax as a cost line. This is not tax advice; confirm with the Delaware Division of Revenue.

Updated October 10, 2026 · 11 sourced facts

Container cranes and warehouses along the Port of Wilmington waterfront on the Delaware River, with piles of mulch and debris in the foreground under a hazy blue sky — Photo: Diiscool, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons

Shipping into the state

Delaware has 1,949 square miles of land and about 1.06 million residents, and the State describes the Port of Wilmington as a full-service deepwater port handling containers, perishables, bulk, roll-on roll-off and project cargo. For a Delaware-based store the tax rule matters more than the distance: goods shipped directly to a customer outside Delaware are not subject to gross receipts tax if the shipment is documented, and local sales are subject to the 0.7468 percent retailer rate above the monthly deduction. A Delaware shopper pays no sales tax at checkout.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau: State Area Measurements (2010), rank is our sort

Source: U.S. Census Bureau: Vintage 2025 state population estimates

Source: State of Delaware: Port of Delaware (undated figures)

Source: Delaware Division of Revenue: Gross Receipts Tax FAQs

Source: Delaware Code Online: 30 Del. C. 2905 (retailer license requirements and fees)

Source: Delaware Division of Revenue: Exemption Certificates

A cart discount plan that treats the gross receipts tax as a cost

Before you set a tier
Split last year's orders into Delaware deliveries and shipments to other states. The Division's FAQ exempts goods shipped directly to a customer outside Delaware, with documentation, so only the Delaware part counts toward the retailer rate. Keep the carrier tracking record for the rest.
Source: Delaware Division of Revenue: Gross Receipts Tax FAQs
When you size the cost of a tier
Treat the gross receipts tax as a line in your margin, not as something shoppers see. The Code's rate is 0.7468 percent, which is 0.75 dollars on a 100 dollar Delaware order, and it applies only to receipts above the monthly deduction of 100,000 dollars. A monthly filer with 150,000 dollars of Delaware receipts owes 0.7468 percent of 50,000 dollars, which is 373.40 dollars for that month.
Source: Delaware Code Online: 30 Del. C. 2905 (retailer license requirements and fees)
When you write the tier copy
A Delaware address sees no sales tax at checkout, so a banner that says a tier saves a given amount is a statement about the shelf price. For shoppers in other states, say that tax is added at checkout, because the other states' rules apply to them. The Division's page lists discounts paid among items that are not deductions and does not say how a coupon affects the amount counted, so ask the Division before you build your reporting around a promo price.
Source: Delaware Division of Revenue: Step 4, Gross Receipts Taxes
When your Delaware receipts grow
Check your filing frequency. New businesses are set up as quarterly filers, and the Code allows quarterly filing only while lookback receipts are within the applicable threshold, which it states as 1,500,000 dollars and subject to annual adjustment. A store that passes it moves to monthly returns.
Source: Delaware Code Online: 30 Del. C. 2905(b)(2)
When you plan freight
If you import from overseas, ask your forwarder whether the Port of Wilmington fits your cargo type. The State's page lists containers, perishables, bulk, roll-on roll-off and project cargo, with no year on its volume figures, so treat them as a description of capability and request current schedules from the operator.
Source: State of Delaware: Port of Delaware

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Questions merchants ask

Does Delaware charge sales tax at checkout?: No. The Division of Revenue says there are no state or local sales taxes in Delaware, so a Delaware shopper pays the listed price. This is why the Division's exemption and reseller certificates do not apply there. A Delaware seller still has a gross receipts tax of its own, which the shopper does not see.
What does a Delaware-based store owe on gross receipts?: For a retailer, 30 Del. C. 2905 sets the rate at 0.7468 percent of the aggregate gross receipts from goods sold within the State, with a deduction of 100,000 dollars each month. The Division's range of .0945 to 1.9914 percent covers all business activities, and quarterly filers use a different deduction. The Division's Tax Tip for your business type has the final numbers. This is not tax advice.
Do goods I ship outside Delaware count?: The Division's gross receipts tax FAQ says you do not have to pay it on goods you ship directly to your customer outside Delaware, and that you must keep documentation of the shipment. Keep carrier tracking and the shipping address with each order.
Do other states' tax rules still apply to a Delaware store?: Yes. Delaware having no sales tax says nothing about the states your customers live in, which set their own thresholds for sellers outside the state. See the post on sales tax holidays and online sellers for how those thresholds work, and check each state you sell into.
How current are the Port of Wilmington figures?: The State's port page says the port handles more than 400 vessels and 6 million tons of cargo annually and gives no year, so we cannot date them. Operator Enstructure Wilmington Holdings LLC works under a long-term concession from the Diamond State Port Corporation; ask the operator for current volumes and schedules.

Facts and sources

The Division of Revenue's exemption certificates page says there are no state or local sales taxes in Delaware, and that as such sales tax exemption certificates and reseller certificates are not applicable to Delaware.
Delaware Division of Revenue: Exemption Certificates (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Division's Step 4 page says Delaware imposes a gross receipts tax on the seller of goods or the provider of services in the state, and that business and occupational gross receipts tax rates range from .0945 percent to 1.9914 percent, with a variable rate for petroleum products that may reach 2.4218 percent.
Delaware Division of Revenue: Step 4, Gross Receipts Taxes (accessed October 10, 2026)
The same page says there are no deductions for the cost of goods or property sold, labor costs, interest expense, discount paid, delivery costs, state or federal taxes, or any other expenses allowed, and it does not say how a coupon or a sale price affects the amount counted as gross receipts.
Delaware Division of Revenue: Step 4, Gross Receipts Taxes (accessed October 10, 2026)
Title 30, section 2905(b)(1) of the Delaware Code imposes on every retailer a license fee at the rate of 0.7468 percent of the aggregate gross receipts attributable to all goods sold or services rendered by the retailer within the State, payable monthly by the twentieth day of the following month, with a deduction of 100,000 dollars allowed in computing each month's fee.
Delaware Code Online: 30 Del. C. 2905 (retailer license requirements and fees) (accessed October 10, 2026)
Section 2905(b)(2) lets a retailer whose taxable gross receipts in the lookback period do not exceed the applicable threshold of 1,500,000 dollars file quarterly, due by the last day of the first month after the quarter, with a quarterly deduction of 300,000 dollars, and says the threshold is subject to annual adjustment.
Delaware Code Online: 30 Del. C. 2905(b)(2) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Division's gross receipts tax FAQ answers that a Delaware retail or wholesale business does not have to pay gross receipts tax on goods shipped by it directly to its customer outside of Delaware, and that it must keep documentation of the interstate shipment.
Delaware Division of Revenue: Gross Receipts Tax FAQs (accessed October 10, 2026)
The same FAQ says all new businesses are automatically set up as quarterly gross receipts tax filers, and that most businesses qualify for an exclusion that depends on business activity, generally starting at 100,000 dollars per month and reaching as high as 1,250,000 dollars.
Delaware Division of Revenue: Gross Receipts Tax FAQs (accessed October 10, 2026)
The State's port page calls the Port of Wilmington a full-service deepwater port and marine terminal complex, handling more than 400 vessels and 6 million tons of import and export cargo annually, and lists containers, perishable, bulk, Ro-Ro and various project cargos; it gives no year for those figures.
State of Delaware: Port of Delaware (undated figures) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The same page says the port is operated by Enstructure Wilmington Holdings LLC under a long-term concession agreement with the Diamond State Port Corporation.
State of Delaware: Port of Delaware (accessed October 10, 2026)
Delaware has 1,949 square miles of land area; by our sort of the Census Bureau's 2010 state area table only Rhode Island, at 1,034 square miles, has less.
U.S. Census Bureau: State Area Measurements (2010), rank is our sort (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimate puts Delaware's resident population at 1,059,952 on July 1, 2025, up from the April 2020 estimates base of 989,950.
U.S. Census Bureau: Vintage 2025 state population estimates (accessed October 10, 2026)

Not tax advice. Confirm current rules with the state revenue department before you rely on a date or an exemption.

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