Updated August 18, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Moving from the District of Columbia to Delaware in retirement changes four separate taxes, not one. The District taxes retirement withdrawals on a seven-bracket schedule topping out at 10.75% and levies an estate tax; Delaware taxes them too, on a six-bracket ladder topping out at 6.6% above $60,000, with a $12,500 exclusion at 60+, and repealed both of its death taxes. Most comparisons price the income tax and stop there, which is the smaller half of the answer for anyone with an estate near the District’s threshold.
The District of Columbia vs Delaware: every tax that changes
| What changes | the District of Columbia (leaving) | Delaware (arriving) |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax | graduated, 7 brackets from 4% to 10.75%; the top rate bites above $1,000,000 of taxable income (D.C. Code §47-1806.03(a)(11)) | graduated, 6 brackets from 2.2% to 6.6%; the top rate bites above $60,000 of taxable income (30 Del. C. §1102(a)(14)) |
| Social Security | not taxed — Social Security and tier 1 railroad retirement are excluded from District gross income (D.C. Code §47-1803.02(a)(2)(L)) | not taxed — Social Security and Railroad Retirement Act payments are subtracted from Delaware adjusted gross income (30 Del. C. §1106(b)(4)) |
| Pension / 401(k) / IRA | fully taxable, no retirement-income exclusion. The old $3,000 exclusion for District and federal pensions at 62+ applies only to tax years beginning before 1 January 2015 (D.C. Code §47-1803.02(a)(2)(N)(i)) | $12,500 per person at 60+ of pension or eligible retirement income — which the statute itself defines to include 401(k) and 457 distributions, qualified-plan distributions, dividends, interest, capital gains and net rental income. Under 60 it is the greater of $2,000 of pension or $12,500 of a US military pension (30 Del. C. §1106(b)(3)b) |
| Estate tax | yes. The 2026 zero-bracket amount is $4,988,400 (Office of Tax and Revenue, Notice of 1 October 2025 tax changes). The statutory ladder tops out at 16%, and because the 2026 zero bracket sits just under $5 million the first taxed dollar lands in the 11.2% band (D.C. Code §47-3702(a-1)) | none. Delaware’s estate tax chapter was repealed by 81 Del. Laws c. 52, effective 1 January 2018 (30 Del. C. ch. 15, “Estate Tax [Repealed]”) |
| Inheritance tax | none — an inheritance-tax return is required only for deaths before 1 April 1987 (Office of Tax and Revenue) | none — 30 Del. C. ch. 13 is titled “Inheritance [Repealed]” |
| Probate fee model | a personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for services, with no percentage schedule (D.C. Code §20-751) | commissions and attorneys’ fees are allowed as provided by rule of the Court of Chancery, with no statutory percentage schedule (12 Del. C. §2305(a)) |
| Probate filing fee | not published here. The District has a single Superior Court probate division rather than county courts, so the “varies by county” answer that fits 50 states does not apply. (we could not read a current District filing-fee schedule at source this session.) | set by each county Register of Wills. (we did not read a current county fee schedule at source this session.) |
| Small-estate limit | $80,000 — small-estate administration, D.C. Code §20-351, as amended by D.C. Law 25-302 effective 21 March 2025 (previously $40,000) | $50,000 — distribution without a grant of letters, 12 Del. C. §2306: personal estate only, no solely owned Delaware real estate, 30-day wait, affidavit to the Register of Wills. The threshold was raised to $50,000 by 85 Del. Laws c. 281 |
1. What changes on your annual tax bill
The District taxes retirement withdrawals as ordinary income: graduated, 7 brackets from 4% to 10.75%; the top rate bites above $1,000,000 of taxable income (D.C. Code §47-1806.03(a)(11)). Delaware also runs a graduated ladder, so this is a rate change rather than an exemption; the top rate arrives early, at $60,000 of taxable income, but it is roughly four points below the District’s.
fully taxable, no retirement-income exclusion. The old $3,000 exclusion for District and federal pensions at 62+ applies only to tax years beginning before 1 January 2015 (D.C. Code §47-1803.02(a)(2)(N)(i)) In Delaware, by contrast: $12,500 per person at 60+ of pension or eligible retirement income — which the statute itself defines to include 401(k) and 457 distributions, qualified-plan distributions, dividends, interest, capital gains and net rental income. Under 60 it is the greater of $2,000 of pension or $12,500 of a US military pension (30 Del. C. §1106(b)(3)b).
2. What changes at death: state estate tax
This is usually the larger number. The District levies an estate tax — yes. The 2026 zero-bracket amount is $4,988,400 (Office of Tax and Revenue, Notice of 1 October 2025 tax changes). The statutory ladder tops out at 16%, and because the 2026 zero bracket sits just under $5 million the first taxed dollar lands in the 11.2% band (D.C. Code §47-3702(a-1)) — and Delaware levies none. Delaware’s estate tax chapter was repealed by 81 Del. Laws c. 52, effective 1 January 2018 (30 Del. C. ch. 15, “Estate Tax [Repealed]”). Establishing domicile in Delaware removes that exposure for everything except assets that remain District property, which is the subject of the last section on this page.
3. What changes at death: state inheritance tax
Neither jurisdiction levies an inheritance tax, so this line does not move. The District: none — an inheritance-tax return is required only for deaths before 1 April 1987 (Office of Tax and Revenue). Delaware: none — 30 Del. C. ch. 13 is titled “Inheritance [Repealed]”.
Price the move against the rest of your money
A state-to-state comparison shows you which taxes change, not what to do about the accounts, the house and the timing sitting behind them, and an adviser can look at those together before a move is set in motion.
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4. The one nobody prices: what probate costs your heirs
The District: a personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for services, with no percentage schedule (D.C. Code §20-751). Delaware: commissions and attorneys’ fees are allowed as provided by rule of the Court of Chancery, with no statutory percentage schedule (12 Del. C. §2305(a)). On filing fees, the District is not published here. The District has a single Superior Court probate division rather than county courts, so the “varies by county” answer that fits 50 states does not apply. (we could not read a current District filing-fee schedule at source this session.); Delaware charges set by each county Register of Wills. (we did not read a current county fee schedule at source this session.).
The small-estate route matters more than the fee schedule for most families, because clearing it avoids the proceeding altogether. The District: $80,000 — small-estate administration, D.C. Code §20-351, as amended by D.C. Law 25-302 effective 21 March 2025 (previously $40,000). Delaware: $50,000 — distribution without a grant of letters, 12 Del. C. §2306: personal estate only, no solely owned Delaware real estate, 30-day wait, affidavit to the Register of Wills. The threshold was raised to $50,000 by 85 Del. Laws c. 281.
Full detail: probate cost by state and small-estate limits by state.
How many people actually make this move
The Census Bureau’s 2024 one-year migration table counts 526 people making this move in a single year (±456), the 14th-largest destination out of the District. The IRS, which counts tax returns rather than survey responses, records 132 returns carrying $20,419 thousand of adjusted gross income moving from the District to Delaware across filing years 2022 and 2023 — the 23rd-largest destination on that measure.
Both counts are all ages. No official source publishes state-to-state migration crossed by age, so nothing here is a retiree count and we will not present it as one. Sources: US Census Bureau, ACS 1-year state-to-state migration flows, 2024; IRS Statistics of Income state-to-state outflow file, filing years 2022–2023.
Will the District still tax me after I move to Delaware?
Not on your retirement withdrawals, once you genuinely change domicile — but that is a harder test than a change of address, and what you leave behind stays in reach.
- Domicile is a test, not a mailing address. A departing jurisdiction can and does examine residency. Days present, voter registration, driver’s licence, where your doctors and advisers are, and where you keep what you value all count.
- Real property left behind stays taxable. Keeping a home in the District can keep part of the estate within reach of District rules even after Delaware becomes your legal home.
- A Roth conversion is taxed where you live in the year you convert. Sequencing a conversion after the new domicile is established is often worth more than the annual saving — see how all 51 jurisdictions tax Roth conversions.
If you keep a home in the District, what happens at death?
Changing domicile moves you. It does not move the house. a tax is imposed on the transfer of every nonresident’s taxable estate having its taxable situs in the District, computed by multiplying the resident tax by the District-situs fraction of the gross estate (D.C. Code §47-3703(a), (b-1)) The practical consequence is the part most summaries skip: the District applies a straight situs fraction rather than taxing the whole estate, and the house also stays within the District’s probate jurisdiction, so the estate faces a separate ancillary proceeding there on top of the probate where you live. The ancillary probate calculator prices that second proceeding.
Full state detail
Every figure above is summarised. The complete statute-cited breakdown for each: District of Columbia retirement taxes and Delaware retirement taxes. The other District corridors, and what each is worth: leaving the District of Columbia in retirement. To compare any other pair, start at the retirement tax relocation hub.
Talking this through
Relocation timing, Roth conversion sequencing and estate exposure interact, and the order you do them in changes the total. If you want a second opinion, understand what it should cost first — see our advisor cost guide, or what to look for in an advisor who knows both jurisdictions.
Cite or share this comparison
Suggested citation: Clear Money Guide, “District of Columbia to Delaware Retirement Taxes (2026),” statute-cited; clearmoneyguide.com/district-of-columbia-to-delaware-retirement-taxes/. Free to cite with attribution. Download the full dataset as CSV.
Primary sources read for this page
- D.C. Code §47-1806.03(a)(11) (seven-bracket rate schedule)
- D.C. Code §47-1803.02(a)(2)(L), (N) (Social Security exclusion; the repealed pension exclusion)
- D.C. Code §47-3702(a-1) and §47-3703 (estate tax; nonresident situs)
- District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue, Notice of 1 October 2025 tax changes (2026 zero-bracket amount)
- D.C. Code §20-351 and §20-751 (small estate; personal-representative compensation)
- 30 Del. C. §1102(a)(14) (rate schedule) and §1106(b)(3), (b)(4) (pension and eligible-retirement-income exclusion; Social Security subtraction)
- 30 Del. C. ch. 15 “Estate Tax [Repealed]” and ch. 13 “Inheritance [Repealed]”
- 12 Del. C. §2305(a) and §2306 (commissions and fees; distribution without letters)
Methodology: every figure on this page is quoted from the statute, session law or revenue-department publication named beside it, each of which was fetched and read on August 18, 2026. Where we could not read a current figure at source, the cell says so rather than estimating. Nothing here is personalised tax or legal advice. Confirm your own facts with a qualified adviser before you move.