Hiring a remote employee in Delaware
Your company is in another state and one employee lives and works from home in Delaware. Which state's taxes apply, unemployment, paid leave and Delaware's employer rules, each with its official source.
Delaware at a glance
- Income tax
- Delaware withholding
- Reciprocity
- None
- Unemployment
- $14,500 wage base, 1% new employer
- Paid leave
- Delaware Paid Leave
- New hire report
- Within 20 days
Which state's taxes apply
- Work state
- Delaware taxes wages for work done in Delaware. Withhold Delaware income tax on the employee's wages.Source: Delaware Division of Revenue, Withholding Tax FAQs (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- Withholding form
- Form DE-W4 (Delaware W-4); federal Form W-4 also acceptedSource: Delaware Division of Revenue, Business Tax Forms (DE-W4); Withholding Tax FAQs (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- Reciprocity
- No state exempts Delaware residents from its withholding by reciprocity.Source: Delaware Division of Revenue, Withholding Tax FAQs (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- Convenience rules
- If your company is in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York or Pennsylvania, the employee is assigned to an office there and works there on some days, that state taxes the days worked from home in Delaware for the employee's convenience.Source: Connecticut DRS, IP 2026(1), Connecticut Employer's Tax Guide, Circular CT (PDF) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026; NJ Division of Taxation, Convenience of the Employer Sourcing Rule Enacted for Gross Income Tax (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026; NYS DTF, TSB-M-06(5)I, New York Tax Treatment of Nonresidents and Part-Year Residents: Application of the Convenience of the Employer Test to Telecommuters and Others (May 15, 2006, PDF) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026; PA Department of Revenue, PA Personal Income Tax Guide, Gross Compensation (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- Office days in your company's state
- That state's day limit, if it has one, decides whether it withholds on those days: see its page, or the helper below.
- An employee from another state working in Delaware
- Delaware sets no day count before a nonresident's wages for work there are withheld.Source: Delaware Division of Revenue, Employer's Guide, Withholding Regulations and Employer's Duties (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
Where to withhold: two states
Pick your company's state, the state where the employee lives and works from home, and the days a year the employee works at your office. The answer reads each state's rules from the data on these pages.
Income tax withholding
- Delaware: all wages.
No New York withholding: the employee does no work in New York.
Unemployment
Delaware: the employee works from home there, so the work is localized in Delaware.
Simplified: resident credits, dollar tests, local taxes and a move during the year are not worked out here. Each state's rule and its source are on its page.
Unemployment
The employee works from home in Delaware, so the work is localized in Delaware: pay Delaware unemployment tax, not your company state's.
- Agency
- Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Unemployment InsuranceSource: Delaware DOL, Division of Unemployment Insurance, Employer Services (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- Wage base
- $14,500 Fixed by law $16,500 from January 1, 2027Source: Delaware DOL, Employer Services: Delaware Merit Rate Table (2026); 19 Del. C. § 3302 ("wages") (viii) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- New employer rate
- 1% 1.0% for every new employer, construction included Surcharges not includedSource: Delaware DOL, Employer Services: Delaware Merit Rate Table (2026); 19 Del. C. § 3348(n) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
Open the account: Delaware payroll tax registration
Paid leave
Delaware Paid Leave (opens in a new tab)
- Status
- ContributingSource: 19 Del. C. § 3705(b): medical 0.4%, family caregiving 0.08%, parental 0.32% for 2025 and 2026 (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- Total rate
- 0.8%Source: 19 Del. C. § 3705(b): medical 0.4%, family caregiving 0.08%, parental 0.32% for 2025 and 2026 (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- Employee share
- Up to 0.4%Source: 19 Del. C. § 3705(d)-(f) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- Employer share
- 0.4%Source: 19 Del. C. § 3705(d)-(f) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- Small employers
- 10 to 24 employees: parental leave only, 0.32% in total, employer share at least 0.16% Fewer than 10 employees: exempt, may opt in Counted over the previous 12 months, only employees with (or expected to reach) 12 months' service and 1,250 hours; counted each quarter from employees doing 60% or more of their work in DelawareSource: 19 Del. C. §§ 3701(3), 3701(7), 3705(b)(3); Delaware DOL, Employer and TPA Guide to Delaware Paid Leave (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
Register before the first payroll: the steps are on Delaware payroll tax registration.
Delaware employer rules
Employment law applies where the employee works, so these follow the employee into Delaware.
- Final pay
- Fired: The later of the next regular payday covering the last day worked, or 3 business days after the last day worked Quit: Same as firedSource: Delaware Code Title 19, §1103, Employees separated from the payroll before regular payday (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- Pay frequency
- At least once a month on regular paydays set in advance; wages due within 7 days after the pay period ends.Source: Delaware Code Title 19, §1102, Payment of wages on regular paydays (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- Pay notice
- Employers of more than 3 employees: written notice at hire of the rate of pay and the day, hour and place of payment; written or posted notice before any pay cut or change to payday.Source: 19 Del. C. § 1108(1)-(2) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- New hire reporting
- Within 20 days of the date of hire.Source: Delaware Division of Revenue, Employer's Guide, Section 3(d): Reporting of New Hires (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- E-Verify
- No state E-Verify requirement for private employers or public contractorsSource: Delaware General Assembly, Delaware Code full-text search: "E-Verify" (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- Sick leave
- No state sick leave law.Source: 19 Del. C. § 1108(3) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
When the employee moves
Re-check the work state and the registrations before the next payroll: a move changes which state's withholding, unemployment, paid leave and employer rules apply.
Registering your business in Delaware, and whether one remote employee creates tax nexus for your company, are separate questions this page does not cover.
More on Delaware
WORKLIO HCM
Payroll for employees who work from home in another state
Worklio HCM withholds by home and work state, reciprocity included, and handles city and county taxes. We help open state withholding and unemployment accounts when you hire somewhere new, and our registration service can register your employer tax accounts for you. Taxes are calculated, deposited and filed in every state and locality, and when an agency notice arrives, you upload it and our tax team resolves it. State paid leave contributions are withheld, too.
Remote employees in other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Sources
The agency page or document behind each fact, as checked.
- Delaware Division of Revenue, Withholding Tax FAQs (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- Delaware Division of Revenue, Business Tax Forms (DE-W4); Withholding Tax FAQs (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- Connecticut DRS, IP 2026(1), Connecticut Employer's Tax Guide, Circular CT (PDF) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- NJ Division of Taxation, Convenience of the Employer Sourcing Rule Enacted for Gross Income Tax (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- NYS DTF, TSB-M-06(5)I, New York Tax Treatment of Nonresidents and Part-Year Residents: Application of the Convenience of the Employer Test to Telecommuters and Others (May 15, 2006, PDF) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- PA Department of Revenue, PA Personal Income Tax Guide, Gross Compensation (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- Delaware Division of Revenue, Employer's Guide, Withholding Regulations and Employer's Duties (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- Delaware DOL, Division of Unemployment Insurance, Employer Services (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- 19 Del. C. § 3705(b): medical 0.4%, family caregiving 0.08%, parental 0.32% for 2025 and 2026 (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- Delaware Code Title 19, §1103, Employees separated from the payroll before regular payday (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- Delaware General Assembly, Delaware Code full-text search: "E-Verify" (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the relevant agency or your advisor. You remain responsible for your employment taxes and for each state's rules.