Updated October 4, 2026. Quick answer: Partly. For a taxpayer under 60 on December 31, 2025, the PIT-RES instructions say “exclusion equals $12,500 or the amount of your pension”, whichever is less, for a pension from the United States military.
State retirement-income forms, line by line: Delaware PIT-RES pension exclusion.
How Delaware treats military retired pay
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| Treatment | Pension exclusion on Line 6, with the box checked for a United States military pension |
| Under age 60 on December 31, 2025 | The exclusion is $12,500 or the amount of the pension, whichever is less |
| Age 60 or over | Pension plus eligible retirement income, capped at $12,500 on Line 6 |
| Non-military pension under 60 | The exclusion is limited to $2,000 |
| Rate on the rest | The booklet tells a filer to use the tax table below $60,000 on Line 23 and the tax schedule from $60,000; the rate percentages are not in the text read |
A $30,000 example
A retiree under 60 with $30,000 of military retired pay excludes the lesser of $12,500 and $30,000, which is $12,500, leaving $30,000 minus $12,500 = $17,500 of it in Delaware income. At 60 or over, the same pay plus any other eligible retirement income shares one $12,500 cap.
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What changes in 2026
No 2026 change is printed in the documents read.
Federal rules
The state’s treatment sits on top of the federal one. The IRS explains the federal side in Publication 3, Armed Forces’ Tax Guide.
Related: whether Delaware taxes pensions, how Delaware taxes retirement income, military retirement pay by state, and the military retirement calculator.
Sources
- Delaware Individual Income Tax Return Resident Instructions 2025 (PIT-RES): https://revenuefiles.delaware.gov/2025/PITForms_Instructions/Instructions/PIT-RES_Instructions_2025-01.pdf
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 4, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the plan administrator or the agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.