Delaware Passes Slate of Property Tax Bills as Reassessments Hit

Delaware legislators passed a series of bills Tuesday offering homeowners property tax relief.

The Delaware General Assembly passed seven items during the special session, the last of which received Gov. Matt Meyer’s (D) signature Wednesday morning. Delaware residents are facing higher property taxes after officials completeda multi-year reassessment of property values, the state’s first in more than 40 years.

• Three of the new laws originated in the state House. HB 242 allows school districts within New Castle County, the state’s most populous, to issue different tax rates for residential and non-residential properties. HB 240 requires counties to refund taxpayers on overpayments of property tax bills after successfully appealing their assessments. And HB 241allows taxpayers whose property taxes jump by at least $300 to make payments in equal installments across the next three years.
• Two other bills originating in the Senate (SB 203 and SB 204), codify jurisdictions’ ability to set separate tax rates for different classes of real property. Lawmakers also passed a resolutioncalling for a review of the property reassessments. The final bill (SB 202) requires only New Castle County to submit quarterly reports that include data about payment delinquencies and appeals filed.