Delaware — Tax Residency Rule

Summary

Day threshold

More than 183 days

Window

Taxable year (usually the calendar year)

Also requires

A place of abode in DE

Effect

Taxed on income from all sources

Basis

30 Del. C. § 1103

Delaware treats you as a resident for income tax if you maintain a place of abode in the state and spend more than 183 days of the taxable year there — whatever your domicile. Meet both and Delaware taxes your income from all sources for that year; day 184 is the trigger. Separately, anyone domiciled in Delaware is a resident for the period of that domicile, regardless of the count.

Who it applies to

This matters most if you are:

• A remote worker or frequent traveler spending long stretches in Delaware across the year.
• Someone who keeps a house or apartment in Delaware while living or working elsewhere.
• A part-year mover into or out of Delaware whose presence and housing overlap.
• A Delaware domiciliary working abroad, who may qualify for the foreign-presence exception.

It applies to individuals regardless of citizenship or visa status — this is a state income-tax residency test about presence and housing, not immigration.

The rule — and why it exists

30 Del. C. § 1103 defines a resident individual in two limbs:

• Domicile (§ 1103(1)). An individual “who is domiciled in this State to the extent of the period of such domicile”. The Division of Revenue's instructions describe this as being domiciled in Delaware for any part of the taxable year. The day count is irrelevant here.
• Statutory residency (§ 1103(2)). An individual “who maintains a place of abode in this State and spends in the aggregate more than 183 days of the taxable year in this State”. Both conditions must be met in the same year.

What the wording means: unlike New York or Connecticut, Delaware's statute does not say the abode must be "permanent" or kept for substantially all of the year. Any place of abode you maintain in Delaware, combined with more than 183 days of presence, is enough on the face of the statute — so a second home or a rented apartment deserves the same attention as a primary residence.

Counting the days

1. 1Count each day you are in Delaware during the taxable year (for most people, 1 January to 31 December). Days are aggregated, so separate visits add up.
2. 2The count resets at the start of each new taxable year — it is a fresh annual tally, not a rolling window.
3. 3Delaware does not define a partial day, so count arrival and departure days as Delaware days to be safe.
4. 4You become a statutory resident once you exceed 183 days while also maintaining a place of abode in the state.

Because the window is the taxable year, a stay split across a year-end can leave you under the threshold in each individual year even if the trip itself is longer.

Examples

Example 1 — statutory resident by days plus a home

You rent a Wilmington apartment year-round and are in Delaware for about 200 days during the calendar year. You exceed 183 days and maintain a place of abode, so you are a statutory resident and Delaware taxes your income from all sources for that year.

Example 2 — over 183 days but no abode

You work a long contract in Delaware for roughly 190 days but move between short-term hotels and keep no dwelling of your own there. You exceed the day threshold, but without a place of abode that you maintain the statutory-resident rule is not met on these facts — though Delaware-source wages remain taxable.

Example 3 — resident despite few days (domicile)

Delaware is your true permanent home, but this year you travelled and spent only 90 days there. The 183-day test is not met, yet you are still a resident under the domicile limb because your fixed home remains in Delaware.

Exceptions & edge cases

• Domicile overrides the day count. If you are domiciled in Delaware you are a resident below 183 days, for the period of that domicile.
• The foreign-presence exception. A Delaware domiciliary present in a foreign country for at least 495 full days in any 18 consecutive months, who is in Delaware no more than 45 days in that period and keeps no permanent place of abode in Delaware where a spouse, children or parents are present for more than 45 days, is not a resident during that period. It does not apply to US government employees, including the armed forces.
• "Place of abode", not "permanent". The statutory-residency limb uses the broader term, so do not assume that a second home or a long rental falls outside it.
• Part-year residents. Moving into or out of Delaware mid-year can create part-year resident status, with income split between resident and non-resident periods.
• Non-residents still file on DE-source income. Falling outside residency does not exempt Delaware-source income — wages earned or property held in the state can still be taxable.

Common misconceptions

• "Under 183 days means I'm safe." False — Delaware domicile makes you a resident with any number of days.
• "Over 183 days automatically makes me a resident." Not alone — the statutory rule also requires a place of abode in Delaware in the same year.
• "Only a permanent home counts." Delaware's statute says "place of abode" — a rented apartment or second home you maintain can qualify.
• "The 183 days must be one continuous stay." No — it is a total of days present across the whole taxable year, however scattered.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Delaware Code — Title 30, § 1103, Resident individual defined
• Delaware Division of Revenue — 2025 Resident Individual Income Tax Instructions (PIT-RES)