In Sussex County Delaware, the First Time Home Buyer is someone that has never owned a home anywhere else. That qualifies the first time home buyer for a waiver of the Sussex County Transfer Tax which is one-half of the normal 3% of the purchase price of the house. This 3% is normally split between the seller and buyer in the real estate transaction. Half of the 3% (1.5%) goes to the State of Delaware and the other half (1.5%) goes to Sussex County. So, the Sussex County portion of 1.5% is waived for a first time homeowner and their seller. Therefore, the first time homebuyer pays only .75% to the State of Delaware and the seller gets an advantage to sell to a first time homebuyer and only pays .75% to the State of Delaware. Sussex County will collect nothing. Unfortunately, if the home is located in a town, this first time homebuyer transfer tax does not apply. The house must be in the unincorporated County or in the seven towns that have adopted this exemption. These towns are:
Ellendale
Georgetown
Greenwood
Laurel
Milford
Seaford
Delmar (NOTE) Delmar only gives 0.5% exemption.
It is important to contact a qualified Sussex County Real Estate Attorney to determine if you are eligible to receive the first time home buyers tax credit. At Tunnell & Raysor, P.A. we make sure to ask the right questions to ensure that you receive the tax credit you are entitled to for your real estate transaction.