DOVER – On Friday, the House Administration Committee advanced two bills: one to protect Delaware’s budget from a major shortfall and another to extend property tax deadlines in New Castle County. Both measures will be considered by the full House of Representatives on Thursday, November 13.
House Bill 255, sponsored by Rep. Kerri Evelyn Harris and Sen. Bryan Townsend, would immediately address a projected $400 million budget shortfall caused by recent federal tax code changes under the federal “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA).
Delaware is a rolling conformity state, meaning its tax code automatically incorporates most changes to the federal Internal Revenue Code (IRC) unless the General Assembly specifically acts to “decouple” from them. Without legislative action, the state automatically adopts several new and costly corporate tax provisions included in the OBBBA, which would drain hundreds of millions from Delaware’s budget over the next three years.
HB 255 would decouple Delaware’s tax code from these provisions to preserve the state’s fiscal stability and protect funding for schools, healthcare, infrastructure, and public safety. The legislation does not eliminate depreciation of property or expensing, but instead adjusts the timing of deductions affected by the OBBBA, maintaining the former requirement that these deductions be spread out over multiple years rather than claimed as a single, massive upfront tax break.
“Every day, Delawareans are struggling to pay for housing, fill their gas tanks, afford a doctor’s visit, or buy their prescriptions. Instead of working to address these problems, Washington Republicans passed a tax plan that gives even more to the wealthy and big corporations while working people are left footing the bill,” said Rep. Kerri Evelyn Harris
“Every Delaware tax dollar that goes to these corporate giveaways is a dollar that could have helped a child learn, kept a neighborhood safe, or supported a family in crisis.
Decoupling is how we make sure Delawareans get their fair share. It is time, and it is the right thing to do, to lift our people and build an economy that works for everyone.”
Also released from committee was Senate Bill 206, sponsored by Rep. Kim Williams and Sen. Jack Walsh, which would extend the deadline for payment of property tax bills in New Castle County for the 2025-2026 tax year to December 31, 2025.
The bill is part of the General Assembly’s ongoing effort to ease the burden on residents following Delaware’s first-in-a-generation property reassessment.
On October 30, the Court of Chancery upheld the terms of House Bill 242, legislation passed in August that allowed school districts to set different tax rates for residential and non-residential properties, a change that resulted in lower bills for many homeowners. HB 242 also originally extended the tax payment deadline to November 30.
“Although the Court of Chancery ruled in the County’s favor and upheld House Bill 242, instructions from the Chancellor issued in her opinion means that the County now has to include some additional information in its tax bills,” explained Sen. Jack Walsh, Senate Prime Sponsor of SB 206.
“That combination of factors prompted New Castle County to ask the General Assembly to extend the deadline for property tax collections to the end of the year — and that’s exclusively what Senate Bill 206 does.”
“Over the last several months, we’ve been working closely with stakeholders to ease the burden for residents following the recent property reassessment,” said Rep. Kim Williams, House Prime Sponsor of SB 206.
“At the county’s request, this bill extends the property tax payment deadline to the end of the year, giving homeowners more time and flexibility to review their bills. This would provide residents the opportunity to seek further information and assistance regarding revised amounts, refunds and payment plans.”
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