Fact Checked
Closing Costs in Delaware: Your 2026 Breakdown of Fees, Taxes, and Who Pays What
Delaware's closing cost structure is built around a realty transfer tax with three distinct county rates, a statutory first-time home buyer reduction, and a Wilmington municipal layer on top. Add a mandatory closing attorney and a filed title insurance rate schedule, and the generic "2% to 5%" estimate tells almost none of the story. What follows is the Delaware-specific breakdown.
Key Takeaways
- Delaware's realty transfer tax is 4% combined in New Castle County and 3.5% in Kent and Sussex Counties, split equally between buyer and seller.
- First-time buyers may claim a 0.5% reduction on the state transfer tax, capped at $2,000, at closing via Form RTT-TAX with no separate application.
- DSHA's Delaware Mortgage Program provides 3%–5% deferred, zero-interest closing cost assistance for income-qualifying buyers.
- Delaware is an attorney-state: a licensed attorney must be present at closing, adding $750–$1,250 for standard residential transactions.
- FHA loan limits differ by county: $630,200 in New Castle and $541,287 in Kent and Sussex Counties, both well above Delaware's median sale price.
- All three Delaware counties carry the FHFA national baseline conforming loan limit of $832,750 for a one-unit property.
- USDA Guaranteed loans cover Dover, Milford, Georgetown, Seaford, and rural sections statewide, with income limits of $119,850 for up to four persons.
Delaware’s Transfer Tax: The Biggest Line Item
Most buyers focus on lender fees first and treat transfer taxes as an afterthought. In Delaware, that instinct costs real money. Delaware Code Title 30 § 5402 sets the state realty transfer tax rate at 3% of the purchase price, which adjusts to 2.5% in counties where the local government levies the full 1.5% local rate. The statute splits the obligation equally between grantor and grantee, meaning buyer and seller each carry half of whatever the combined rate turns out to be.
In New Castle County, the county levies the maximum local rate of 1.5%. That drops the state portion to 2.5%, and the two stack to a combined 4%. Buyer and seller each pay 2% of the purchase price. In Kent and Sussex Counties, the local rate is lower (0.5%), so the state retains its full 3%, producing a combined 3.5%. Each party pays 1.75% there. In Wilmington, a municipal rate may layer on top of the county and state rates; buyers purchasing within city limits should confirm the full stack with their attorney.
Worked Example 1: Transfer Tax by County on an Illustrative $400,000 Purchase
New Castle County (4% combined):
- Seller pays 2% = $8,000
- Buyer pays 2% = $8,000
- Total transfer tax = $16,000
Kent County (3.5% combined):
- Seller pays 1.75% = $7,000
- Buyer pays 1.75% = $7,000
- Total transfer tax = $14,000
These aren't estimates: they are statutory rates from Delaware Code Title 30 § 5402. The point is straightforward: a buyer choosing between New Castle and Kent County on the same $400,000 purchase saves $1,000 in transfer tax by crossing the county line. That's a number worth knowing before you sign a contract.
Delaware's median home sale price sat near $400,000 in April based on state market data, which means the transfer tax calculation above is roughly representative of a median transaction, not just a round-number exercise.
The First-Time Home Buyer Transfer Tax Reduction
Delaware offers a meaningful statutory break for buyers who haven’t owned a home within the past three years. The Delaware Division of Revenue confirms a 0.5% reduction on the buyer’s state portion of the transfer tax, applied to the first $400,000 of purchase price, capped at a maximum benefit of $2,000. The reduction is claimed at closing via Form RTT-TAX; there is no separate program application, no lottery, and no waiting list. Every qualifying buyer claims it on the same day they close.
To qualify, all grantees on the deed must meet the first-time buyer definition. If one buyer on a two-borrower purchase has owned a home within the past three years, the exemption is not available to either. This is an important pairing consideration for buyers purchasing with a partner.
The math is straightforward. In New Castle County on a $400,000 purchase, the buyer's standard obligation is 2% = $8,000. With the 0.5% first-time home buyer reduction, the buyer pays 1.5% = $6,000. The savings: $2,000. In Kent County at the same price, the buyer ordinarily pays 1.75% = $7,000. The reduction drops that to 1.25% = $5,000. The savings there is also $2,000 because the cap applies in both cases at that price.
The provision has been in effect since August 1, 2017 and applies to the state portion only, leaving the county’s local levy unaffected by the reduction. In unincorporated county areas, county-level exemptions may further reduce the buyer’s obligation; the closing attorney in a Delaware transaction should confirm whether any additional county or municipal exemptions apply before the closing statement is finalized.
DSHA Programs That Pay Your Closing Costs
The Delaware State Housing Authority rebranded its single-family mortgage lending products in April of the current program cycle under the name Delaware Mortgage Program. The rebranding consolidated what had been a more scattered set of offerings into four named DPA options, all structured as zero-interest, deferred second mortgages: no monthly payment, no accruing interest, and the obligation repaid only when the home is sold, refinanced, or the first mortgage is retired.
The four options:
First State Home Loan: 3% of the purchase price as a second mortgage. Available to qualifying buyers statewide.
Keys4You: 4% of the purchase price. Same structure; higher assistance amount.
Take5: 5% of the purchase price. Available to first-time buyers only under the Welcome Home first-time home buyer product umbrella.
Diamond in the Rough: 5% of the purchase price, combined with FHA 203(k) financing for properties requiring rehabilitation. Also Welcome Home only.
Income limits vary by county and household size. In New Castle County, the limit is $126,480 for a one- to two-person household and $158,100 for a household of three or more. In Kent and Sussex Counties, the limits are $116,280 (one to two persons) and $145,350 (three or more). These figures come from DSHA's April announcement of the rebrand. The minimum credit score to participate is 620.
Purchase price limits also differ by county. In New Castle County, the eligible purchase price ceiling is $617,241. In Kent and Sussex Counties, it's $544,232. A buyer purchasing at Delaware’s current median price (near $400,000) is comfortably inside both limits.
Here is why the program structure matters beyond the headline number: on a $400,000 purchase using Take5, the buyer receives $20,000 in second-mortgage DPA. If transfer tax is $8,000 (New Castle County, non-first-time buyer), attorney fee is $1,000, title insurance totals $1,710 (see the title insurance section below), and prepaid items run $4,000, the buyer’s out-of-pocket closing obligation near $14,710 is covered by the DPA with money to spare toward the down payment. The process depends on the loan type and the first mortgage product. DSHA’s Delaware Mortgage Program is a lender-originated program, and AmeriSave participates in state housing authority programs across its lending footprint. A lender familiar with DSHA’s process will know how the layers interact.
Recording Fees, Attorney Costs, and Other Delaware Charges
Delaware recording fees are parcel-specific and county-administered. Sussex County posts its current fee schedule effective July 1 of the prior year: a deed or mortgage filing costs $30 as a document surcharge, plus $1 for records maintenance, plus $9 per page of the instrument. A satisfaction or release carries a flat $46. A UCC filing is $50.
A standard mortgage and deed package in Sussex County might be four to six pages of deed plus four to six pages of mortgage. At $9 per page, that adds $72–$108 to the document surcharge and maintenance fee already collected. Total recording costs for a typical two-document closing package in Sussex County run approximately $110–$150. Kent County and New Castle County each publish their own schedules, and buyers should confirm the current rate with their closing attorney before finalizing estimates.
The attorney requirement is separate from recording fees but is equally certain. Delaware law requires a licensed attorney at every residential closing (not optional, not replaceable by an online notary process). The attorney reviews the title commitment, manages the disbursement of funds, and prepares or supervises the closing documents. Standard flat fees for a residential transaction run $750 to $1,250.
This is the part of the Delaware process that surprises buyers who have previously purchased in non-attorney states. The fee is real, it lands in the buyer’s column by convention, and it's worth including in the initial cash-to-close estimate. In exchange for that cost, the buyer gets a licensed professional reviewing the title chain and flagging any issues (such as a title from a prior refinance that never properly removed a co-borrower from the vesting) before they become the buyer’s problem. The fee is a service, not a formality.
Loan Program Sizing: FHA, Conforming, and USDA
The loan limit that applies to a Delaware purchase determines which financing options are on the table. For FHA, the limit differs by county, which is unusual in smaller states (most states use the national floor throughout). Delaware’s real estate market in New Castle County qualifies for a higher limit.
HUD set the current FHA one-unit limit at $630,200 for New Castle County and $541,287 for both Kent and Sussex Counties. These limits are effective for FHA case numbers assigned on or after January 1 of the current program year. A buyer financing a $550,000 purchase in New Castle County can still use FHA financing; the same purchase in Sussex County would require conventional financing, as $550,000 exceeds the Sussex FHA limit.
The FHFA baseline conforming loan limit for a one-unit property is $832,750. All three Delaware counties carry the national baseline, and none qualifies as a high-cost area that would push the limit to the $1,249,125 ceiling. Buyers financing anywhere near the state’s median price have full access to conventional conforming products with no need for jumbo pricing.
USDA Guaranteed loan eligibility is parcel-specific but covers significant portions of the state. The USDA Rural Development Delaware program confirms eligible areas include Dover, Milford, Georgetown, Seaford, Laurel, Millsboro, Harrington, Felton, and rural sections of all three counties, including rural fringe areas of New Castle County. Household income limits are $119,850 for one to four persons and $158,250 for five to eight persons. USDA loans carry no down payment requirement, which makes closing costs the primary cash-to-close concern: the transfer tax, attorney fee, and recording charges are real obligations regardless of loan type.
One note on USDA loan type and Delaware’s transfer tax: USDA doesn't classify as an FHA or VA government-backed loan for purpose of Delaware’s transfer tax split. The standard statutory split applies, and buyer and seller each owe their half at the combined county rate. Buyers pairing USDA financing with DSHA DPA should confirm with their lender that the assistance program allows USDA first mortgages, since program rules evolve with DSHA’s annual announcements.
Title Insurance in Delaware: The Rate Table
Delaware uses a state-filed title insurance rate schedule. The rates are published by licensed underwriters and apply statewide; there is no county variation in premium. The rate table from the filed schedule covers three tiers:
Basic owner's policy (purchase): $350 base premium for policies covering property values up to $100,000. For properties above $100,000, add $3.00 per $1,000 of value above that threshold.
Loan policy: $250 base premium up to $100,000 of loan amount. Above $100,000, add $2.00 per $1,000 of loan amount above the threshold.
Refinance loan policy: $150 base up to $100,000, then $1.20 per $1,000 above. The minimum premium for any policy is $100.
Worked Example 2: Title Insurance on an Illustrative $350,000 Purchase with a $280,000 Loan
Owner's policy: $350 base + (250 additional thousands × $3.00) = $350 + $750 = $1,100
Loan policy: $250 base + (180 additional thousands × $2.00) = $250 + $360 = $610
Combined title insurance cost: $1,710
This is one line item in the closing cost stack where buyers can reasonably estimate before they receive a Loan Estimate. The filed rate is not a negotiating variable in Delaware; the rate is the rate. What buyers can shop is the title company handling the search and the attorney doing the closing, but the insurance premium itself is set.
The owner's policy insures the buyer's equity interest in the property. The loan policy insures the lender's security interest. Both are typically required on a purchase transaction. On a refinance, only the loan policy is required, and the refinance tier reflects that reduced scope.
Who Pays What: Full Buyer and Seller Breakdown
Delaware doesn't have a single statewide custom that governs every line item. The standard allocation reflects a combination of statute, lender requirements, and negotiated convention. Here is the practical breakdown at the state’s current median price.
Transfer tax: Delaware Code Title 30 § 5402 governs this explicitly: grantor and grantee split equally. There is no county custom or negotiated tradition that overrides the statute, though parties may agree in the purchase contract to a different allocation.
Owner's title insurance: by Delaware custom, the seller pays the owner’s title policy premium. The buyer carries the lender’s title policy as a lender requirement.
Attorney fee: falls in the buyer’s closing costs by convention, since the attorney primarily serves the buyer’s need for clear title and the lender’s need for a properly executed security instrument. Sellers may contribute through negotiated concessions.
Recording fees: typically charged to the buyer for the mortgage recording and to the seller for the deed (which conveys the property). Confirm the specific split with the closing attorney.
Prepaid property taxes: both parties owe a prorated share based on the closing date. Delaware’s effective property tax burden ranks among the lowest in the country, with Census-derived data placing the statewide rate well under 1% of market value; Sussex County is the state’s lowest-rate county. New Castle County residential tax rates for fiscal year run from $0.0432 per $100 of assessed value in Newark and Wilmington to $0.1575 per $100 in unincorporated areas. At closing, the closing attorney calculates the proration between buyer and seller based on the day of closing and the annual tax bill.
On a $400,000 purchase in New Castle County, applying the county’s published residential millage to assessed value, the annual property tax estimate might run roughly $2,100 to $2,200 depending on the specific municipality, with a daily prorated rate near $6. If the buyer closes with 60 days remaining in the tax year, the buyer’s prorated prepay at closing is in the range of $360. These figures shift based on the actual millage applied to the parcel.
AmeriSave connection: programs, customer service, and speed are what distinguish a lender in a market where the statutory costs are fixed. The transfer tax is what it is; the attorney fee is what it is. What changes with lender choice is the origination fee, the rate-lock structure, and how efficiently the loan moves from application to closing day. AmeriSave’s Certified Approval process is designed to resolve income, credit, and assets early, so that the third-party items like the appraisal and the title search happen on a clear foundation rather than a conditional one.
The Bottom Line
Delaware’s closing costs carry more statutory structure than most buyers expect. The realty transfer tax alone (4% combined in New Castle County, 3.5% in Kent and Sussex) is the line item that separates a Delaware purchase from a generic national estimate. Add the mandatory attorney, the filed title insurance premiums, and the county-specific recording fees, and you have a closing cost stack that's worth modeling before you make an offer, not after.
The good news is that Delaware also offers more relief than most states for buyers who qualify. The first-time home buyer transfer tax reduction puts up to $2,000 back in the buyer's column at closing with no extra application. DSHA's Delaware Mortgage Program provides zero-interest, deferred DPA of 3% to 5% of the purchase price for buyers inside the income and purchase-price limits. USDA financing eliminates the down payment requirement entirely for rural and eligible suburban properties.
Do the hard things first: know your total closing cost picture before you make the offer. A lender who can walk you through Delaware’s specific tax rates, identify which DPA programs you qualify for, and confirm your USDA or FHA eligibility by county is worth more than a quick online rate quote. AmeriSave’s Certified Approval gives you that clarity early, before you're under contract and the clock is running.
Delaware State Housing Authority. (2026). DSHA Enhances and Rebrands Single Family Mortgage Lending Products.
Federal Housing Finance Agency. (2026). Conforming Loan Limit Values Map.
Freddie Mac. (2026). Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
Alpha Advantage. (2024). Delaware Title Insurance Rate Table.
New Castle County. (2025). Residential Tax Rates FY2026.
Sussex County Recorder of Deeds. (2024). Fee Schedule.
tax-rates.org. (2026). Delaware Property Tax.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development. (2026). Delaware Programs and Services.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2026). FHA Mortgage Limits.
Mike brings over a decade of mortgage operations experience to AmeriSave, starting in Applied American Politics before transitioning to mortgages in 2008. He holds a Bachelor's in Finance from Florida State University and Google certifications in Digital Sales and Ads. Based in Louisville, KY with his wife and three children, he specializes in operational excellence and making the mortgage process accessible and efficient for everyday borrowers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Delaware’s realty transfer tax rate depends on which county you're buying in. In New Castle County, the combined rate is 4% of the purchase price (2.5% state plus 1.5% county), split equally between buyer and seller, so each pays 2%. In Kent and Sussex Counties, the combined rate is 3.5% (the full 3% state rate plus a 0.5% county levy), split equally at 1.75% each. In Wilmington, a municipal rate may apply on top of the county and state portions. The statutory authority is Delaware Code Title 30 § 5402. First-time buyers may reduce their share by 0.5%, up to a $2,000 savings, by filing Form RTT-TAX at closing.
Both parties pay closing costs in Delaware, but the largest single line item, the realty transfer tax, is split equally by statute. Beyond the tax, the buyer typically carries the attorney fee, the lender’s title insurance policy, recording fees for the mortgage, and prepaid items like property tax deposits and homeowners insurance. The seller typically carries the owner’s title insurance premium and the deed recording fee. Seller concessions toward buyer closing costs are negotiable and common, subject to loan-type limits set by HUD for FHA, FHFA for conventional, and other agencies for government programs.
Yes. Delaware is an attorney-state for residential real estate transactions. A licensed Delaware attorney must be present to prepare or supervise the legal instruments: the deed, the mortgage, and the closing documents. This is a legal requirement, not a local custom that varies by county. Standard attorney fees for a residential closing run $750 to $1,250, and the fee typically appears in the buyer’s closing costs. Buyers who have previously closed in non-attorney states should include this line item in their initial cash-to-close estimate.
The Delaware State Housing Authority’s Delaware Mortgage Program provides down payment and closing cost assistance as a zero-interest, deferred second mortgage: no monthly payment and no interest accrual. The assistance amount depends on which option you qualify for: 3% under First State Home Loan, 4% under Keys4You, or 5% under Take5 and Diamond in the Rough (both first-time home buyers only under the Welcome Home umbrella). Income limits are $126,480 (one to two persons) or $158,100 (three or more) in New Castle County; $116,280 or $145,350 in Kent and Sussex Counties. Purchase price limits are $617,241 in New Castle and $544,232 in Kent and Sussex. Minimum credit score is 620.
HUD's current FHA one-unit loan limits place New Castle County at $630,200 and both Kent County and Sussex County at $541,287. The New Castle County limit is higher because median prices in that county cross the threshold that triggers an elevated ceiling. A buyer financing a purchase above $541,287 in Sussex or Kent County would need to look at conventional or jumbo financing rather than FHA. All three counties are below the FHFA national conforming baseline of $832,750, so conventional conforming options are available statewide for purchases up to that amount.
USDA Guaranteed loan eligibility in Delaware covers Dover, Milford, Georgetown, Seaford, Laurel, Millsboro, Harrington, Felton, and rural portions of all three counties, including rural fringe areas of New Castle County. Eligibility is parcel-specific; a property’s address on the USDA eligibility map determines access, not the general town name. Income limits are $119,850 for one- to four-person households and $158,250 for five- to eight-person households. USDA loans carry no down payment requirement, making closing costs the primary cash-to-close obligation for USDA borrowers in Delaware.
Delaware uses a state-filed title insurance rate schedule that applies uniformly across the state. For a purchase transaction, the owner’s policy is priced at $350 for the first $100,000 of property value plus $3.00 per additional $1,000 above that threshold. The loan policy is $250 for the first $100,000 of loan amount plus $2.00 per additional $1,000. On an illustrative $350,000 purchase with a $280,000 loan, the owner’s policy is $1,100 and the loan policy is $610, for a combined title insurance cost of $1,710. The minimum premium for any policy is $100. These are filed rates, not estimates, so buyers can calculate their expected title insurance cost before receiving a Loan Estimate.
Yes, a seller can agree to contribute toward a buyer's closing costs through seller concessions, and this is a common negotiating point in Delaware's market. The amount a seller can contribute is capped by loan type: FHA caps seller concessions at 6% of the purchase price; conventional loans cap them at 3% of the purchase price when the buyer's down payment is under 10%, rising to 6% with a 10% or higher down payment. USDA and VA programs have their own rules. Seller concessions appear on the Closing Disclosure as a credit to the buyer and can cover attorney fees, origination costs, prepaid items, and other buyer-side charges, subject to loan program restrictions.