Sussex County Taxes
While there are many great reasons to live and work – or retire – in SussexCounty, there’s no secret that one of the major advantages to living in southern Delaware is the taxes. More specifically, it’s the near lack thereof.
SussexCounty officials have been very prudent in their financial decisions over the past 30-plus years, boasting a surplus nearly every May when the budget for the new fiscal year is released.
Good news for the county, and even better news for its residents. The tax rate for SussexCounty is 44.5 cents per $100 of assessed value, a rate that has not been increased since George Herbert Walker Bush was president in 1990.
But wait, it gets better: Taxes in Sussex County are determined based on property values assessed to taxpayers in 1974, meaning county property owners are paying on only a mere portion of what their home and/or property is actually worth.
That’s reason enough to relocate to SussexCounty, but looking at this on a broader scale and it’s easy to see why SussexCounty has become a haven for retirees since the early 1990s. Simply put, their money will go much, much farther and allow them to draw more enjoyment out of their “golden years.”
Staying in their home state may not allow them the same luxuries, particularly if that state is in the mid-Atlantic region.
According to the 2005 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau, Delaware ranks as one of the top 11 states in the country in terms of property tax liability, with state residents paying an average of just $806 annually. And SussexCounty, where values have not been assessed in 35 years, is a far better value. The county government’s portion of the property tax for a single-family home averages only about $100 a year.
But looking at the states in closest proximity to the First State and it becomes clear why southern Delaware has been growing in popularity in recent years.
Neighboring Maryland has the 13th highest property taxes in the country, according to the survey, with residents paying an average of $2,159 annually. Pennsylvania is directly behind, in 14th position, with residents paying an average annual property tax of $1,937.
Then there’s New Jersey – look at the numbers and it’s no wonder more and more residents of the Garden State are choosing to head south, particularly after their lifetime of work has come to a close.
New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the nation – in fact, it’s not even all that close. As of 2005, New Jersey residents paid an average of $5,352 annually in property taxes, more than $1,400 more than New Hampshire, which was ranked second.
In addition to the low property taxes, Delaware is also one of only five states that charges no sales tax: Alaska, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon are the others. As expected, shopping is a major draw in SussexCounty. The Tanger Outlet Mall in RehobothBeach, for example, averages more than 6 million visitors a year.
There is also no personal property tax in Delaware, as with several states in the region.
Relocating to SussexCounty is often a financial choice, and a very sound one at that. Hard-earned dollars can be stretched farther and life can be enjoyed to its fullest in southern Delaware.
The county’s tax structure allows resident to mark more of their money as discretionary, used for what they want to do. More money equates to more freedom and a better chance to enjoy all of what SussexCounty has to offer.
