Short answer
Delaware charges 5.25% document fee, no local add-ons instead of an ordinary sales tax. Delaware taxes the price after the trade-in is deducted. Delaware has no state sales tax on vehicle purchases. Delaware credits sales tax legally paid to another state, so the same dollars are not taxed twice. That summary is for a retail purchase from a dealer, and most states apply different rules to leases and private-party sales.
Delaware car sales tax quick facts
Last verified August 30, 2026| Sales tax rate on vehicles | 5.25% document fee, no local add-ons[1] |
| Trade-in credit | Delaware taxes the price after the trade-in is deducted. The credit vehicle must be Delaware titled and the name on that title must match at least one applicant on the new title, and credit is allowed for only one motor vehicle or trailer per application.[2] |
| Selling to an out-of-state buyer | Delaware has no state sales tax on vehicle purchases.[3] |
| Credit for tax paid to another state | Delaware credits sales tax legally paid to another state, so the same dollars are not taxed twice. Relief is an outright exemption from the document fee, not a dollar-for-dollar credit, and it only applies if the other state's tax falls inside the 90-day window. Outside that window Delaware charges the full 5.25% on the vehicle's current NADA average trade-in value.[4] |
| Dealer doc fee | No statutory cap[5] · Taxability: being verified |
| Temp tag for the drive home | When a Delaware-titled vehicle is sold to an out-of-state buyer, the Delaware plate comes off and goes back to DMV, and DMV issues a 5-day temporary tag for $20 at any office so the buyer can drive the car to the state where it will be titled.[6] |
| Out-of-state buyer registration | Every Delaware title application requires proof of Delaware liability insurance plus either a Delaware driver's license or two accepted proofs of Delaware residency, so a buyer who lives in another state titles and registers at home rather than in Delaware.[7] |
From the desk
Delaware's no-sales-tax reputation hides the document fee collected at titling, a percentage that behaves like tax even if nobody calls it one. Out-of-state buyers hear tax-free and the desk gets to explain the difference.
Selling to an out-of-state buyer in Delaware
Delaware has no state sales tax on vehicle purchases.[3]
The tax answer is only half the job. The desk still has to move the title, issue the temp tag, and keep the deal from stalling while paperwork crosses state lines, and that chain is what Voltra's title tracking holds in one view.
Buying in Delaware from out of state
If you live in another state and buy in Delaware, the deciding rule is where the vehicle gets registered: your home state's tax applies at registration, and what happens at the Delaware sale depends on the rule above. Delaware credits sales tax legally paid to another state, so the same dollars are not taxed twice. Relief is an outright exemption from the document fee, not a dollar-for-dollar credit, and it only applies if the other state's tax falls inside the 90-day window. Outside that window Delaware charges the full 5.25% on the vehicle's current NADA average trade-in value.[4]
Registration and temp tags
When a Delaware-titled vehicle is sold to an out-of-state buyer, the Delaware plate comes off and goes back to DMV, and DMV issues a 5-day temporary tag for $20 at any office so the buyer can drive the car to the state where it will be titled.[6] Every Delaware title application requires proof of Delaware liability insurance plus either a Delaware driver's license or two accepted proofs of Delaware residency, so a buyer who lives in another state titles and registers at home rather than in Delaware.[7]
Bordering states
Cross-border deals from Delaware most often involve Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Treat each pairing as its own problem and put it through the out-of-state checker.
Vehicle-type exceptions
Mobile homes pay the document fee at $3.75 per $100 (3.75%) instead of the 5.25% rate that applies to cars, trucks, trailers and motorcycles. Trailers are exempt from the document fee when the vendor delivers the trailer outside Delaware to a nonresident, a sales tax is imposed on the retail price, and the vendor proves both to DMV.[1]
How Delaware actually levies this
Delaware's levy on a vehicle purchase is not a sales tax. It is the motor vehicle document fee under 30 Del. C. § 3002, charged by the Division of Motor Vehicles when the vehicle is titled, at 5.25% of the purchase price.[8]
Sources
- delcode.delaware.gov/title30/c030/index.html · verified 2026-08-29
- dmv.de.gov/VehicleServices/titles/index.shtml?dc=ve_title_credit · verified 2026-08-29
- revenue.delaware.gov/services/business-tax/step-4/ · verified 2026-08-29
- www.dmv.de.gov/forms/veh_serv_forms/pdfs/ve_frm_newresid.pdf · verified 2026-08-29
- www.dmv.de.gov/forms/veh_serv_forms/pdfs/ve_frm_dlrmanual.pdf · verified 2026-08-29
- dmv.de.gov/…/index.shtml · verified 2026-08-29
- dmv.de.gov/…/index.shtml · verified 2026-08-29
- dealers.dmv.de.gov/Dealer/FAQ/DealerFAQ · verified 2026-08-29
“Delaware Car Sales Tax & Out-of-State Rules.” Voltra. Last verified August 30, 2026. https://voltra.ai/car-sales-tax/delaware/
More state-by-state guides: trade-in tax credit by state · recent rule changes · all states + the out-of-state checker