NAVIGATING THE CHANGES
You have probably been hearing about the ongoing property assessment process in Delaware and wondering how this might impact your primary residence, vacation home, or rental property. To help you navigate this, we’ve distilled some of the most important points of this process below to help provide clarity on the issues that may affect you the most:
The reassessment process will not increase the annual, aggregate tax receipts to Sussex County (pursuant to state law, the county can increase its tax base by up to 15% through the reassessment process, however Sussex County has confirmed that the reassessment will be net neutral).
Current assessed values for property tax purposes are retroactively assessed to 1974 values, and the reassessment will bring assessed values for tax purposes to 2023 amounts. This is a one-time adjustment, and it certainly could be another fifty years until it happens again. Do not be afraid – this is not the start of a parade of annual tax increases.
The most an individual tax bill can increase or decrease as a result of the reassessment is forty percent (40%), and from what we have seen in other counties thus far, the maximum increase/decrease (40%) is very rare. The increases and decreases we are commonly seeing is +/- 10-15%. Again, this is a net neutral process so for every ten percent increase in tax bills there is a corresponding ten percent decrease in tax bills.
Property owners will receive a ‘Notice of Tentative Property Reassessment Values’ from Tyler Technologies with your new proposed assessed value. If you disagree with this assessed value, contact Tyler Technologies immediately upon receipt to schedule a discussion/appeal. Do not wait for your annual tax bill to file a tax appeal with Sussex County. Tyler Technologies will sit down with you and go over every detail of the reassessment.
The reassessment is now on track to be reflected in this upcoming tax assessment from Sussex County (period July 1, 2025 -June 30, 2026), which is billed late Summer 2025.
For residents seeking to add or remove an owner from title to a property that does not otherwise qualify for a transfer tax exemption (i.e. conveyance from husband to wife or from parent to child), you will want to have this completed before the upcoming tax bills are issued so that you pay transfer taxes on the 1974 assessed value as opposed to the 2023 value.
Noteworthy
Given the quite low property taxes in the State of Delaware, even a 40% increase on a $1,500 tax bill translates to an additional $600 annually — still rather nominal in comparison to other surrounding state taxes.
Action Item #1:
Should you feel that your recent assessment does not reflect your home’s true market value, contact me for a Comparative Market Analysis as soon as possible. I welcome the opportunity to discuss your property’s position in today’s quickly evolving local real estate market.
Frank & Audrey Serio
frank.serio@msir.net / 302.541.4000
Action Item #2:
In the event you find discrepancies in your personal property tax assessment, immediately call Tyler Technologies to discuss any issues or potential reporting errors. They are quite reasonable in taking homeowners’ views and information into account quickly. The contact at Tyler Technologies is:
Mary M. Noldy
Tyler Project Supervisor
(302) 854-5274
sussexcountyDE@tylertech.com
Action Item #3:
We have been working closely with Tom Carney of Sussex Law Offices to interpret and better understand the assessment process. Tom has proven to be exceptionally knowledgeable on this topic and has provided valuable insights throughout our collaboration.
If you feel that additional information or professional services are necessary, I would highly recommend reaching out to Tom for consultation. His expertise in this area could be a great resource to ensure all aspects of the process are thoroughly addressed.
