EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT (EITC)

Rate:

• Refundable: 4.5 percent of the federal credit
• Nonrefundable: 20 percent of the federal credit.¹

Eligibility Requirements: All Delaware taxpayers who qualify for the federal credit are automatically eligible.

Latest Legislative Action: In 2023, lawmakers proposed HB89, which would have increased the refundable state EITC from 4.5 percent to 7.5 percent of the federal rate. The bill failed to pass within the chamber.

Notes:

• In 2020, SB80 created a refundable state EITC valued at 4.5 percent of the federal credit, alongside the existing nonrefundable 20 percent state EITC.
• During the 2016 legislative session, lawmakers considered a bill to make the Delaware EITC fully refundable, but decrease the rate to 6 percent of the federal credit for 2017. The rate would have then increased 1 percent per year until it reached 15 percent in 2026.
• The Delaware EITC was enacted in 2005 and took effect starting in the 2006 tax year.²

CHILD TAX CREDIT (CTC)

Delaware does not currently offer a state-level CTC.

CHILD AND DEPENDENT CARE TAX CREDIT (CDCTC)

Rate (Non-Refundable): 50 percent of federal credit¹

Eligibility Requirements: All Delaware taxpayers who qualify for the federal credit are automatically eligible.

Notes: Filers who file joint federal returns but separate Delaware returns may only apply the credit against the taxes of the spouse with the lower taxable income.³