How to File Delaware Estate Taxes Without Hiring a CPA

Most Delaware executors managing a straightforward estate — W-2 income, one primary residence, standard retirement accounts — can handle the core tax filings themselves. The work is not technically complex. It is procedurally specific: the right forms, the right county offices, in the right order, by the right deadlines. This guide walks through each step in the sequence Delaware requires.

Before starting, be honest about whether your estate is actually straightforward. If the decedent owned business interests, had out-of-state real estate, received K-1 income from trusts, or if total estate assets approach or exceed $1,000,000, a CPA is not optional — it is cost-effective protection against penalties. But if the estate is a house, a retirement account, some savings, and W-2 income, what follows covers the full filing sequence.

Step 1: Establish the Estate's EIN

The decedent's Social Security Number cannot be used for any estate activity after death. Your first step is applying for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) for the estate through the IRS website. The process takes about 15 minutes online and the EIN is issued immediately.

You will use this EIN on:

• The Delaware Fiduciary Income Tax return (Form FID-TAX)
• Any estate bank accounts you open
• All correspondence with the county Register of Wills
• Brokerage account transfers that generate post-death income

Without an EIN, financial institutions will not open estate accounts, and the Division of Revenue cannot correctly attribute fiduciary tax payments.

Step 2: Notify the Delaware Division of Revenue

Delaware requires executors to notify the Division of Revenue of the decedent's death. Contact the Decedent Administrator's unit to register the estate. This creates a file in the state's system, flags that final returns are forthcoming, and initiates the Division of Revenue's review of any outstanding state tax balances that the estate must settle before distributing assets to beneficiaries.

Do not skip this step assuming it is optional. Executors who proceed directly to filing without notification sometimes discover that the state has assessed penalties against prior-year returns that the estate now inherits.

Step 3: File the Decedent's Final Income Tax Return (Form 200-01)

The decedent's final personal Delaware income tax return covers all income earned from January 1 of the year of death through the exact date of death. You file this on Form 200-01, the standard Delaware resident income tax return.

Critical deadline: April 30. Delaware's individual income tax deadline is April 30, not the federal April 15. This two-week gap catches many executors who assume Delaware follows federal timing. The penalty for late filing is 5% of unpaid tax per month, capped at 50%, plus 1% per month failure-to-pay.

What you need to gather before filing:

• All W-2s and 1099s for income earned through the date of death
• Prior-year Delaware returns (to confirm carryforward items)
• Documentation of any estimated tax payments made before death
• The decedent's Delaware filing status in recent years

Mark the return as "DECEASED" in the name area and include the date of death. If you are a surviving spouse filing jointly for the final year, that is permitted for the year of death. If you are an executor who is not the surviving spouse, you must file the return on behalf of the estate.

Refund claims: If the decedent is owed a refund, do not simply deposit it into an estate account. File Form PIT-CFR (Claim for Refund Due on Behalf of Deceased Taxpayer) with the Division of Revenue. This is a separate form that legally authorizes you to receive the refund on behalf of the estate.

Step 4: Assess Whether Form FID-TAX Is Required

The decedent's final income tax return (Form 200-01) covers income through the date of death. Any income the estate earns after the date of death — interest, dividends, rent from the decedent's rental property, gains from asset sales — belongs to the estate, not the decedent, and must be reported separately.

This is the Delaware Fiduciary Income Tax return, Form FID-TAX. It is required for any resident estate or trust with $600 or more in gross income during the taxable year. The filing deadline is April 30 of the year following the close of the estate's taxable year.

Common sources of post-death estate income that trigger FID-TAX:

• Interest and dividends in brokerage accounts between the date of death and the date of transfer
• Rental income from real estate held in the estate
• Capital gains from selling estate assets at a price above the stepped-up basis
• Income distributions from trusts of which the decedent was a beneficiary

If FID-TAX applies, you must also prepare Form FID-BEN for each beneficiary. This functions identically to a federal Schedule K-1: it allocates each beneficiary's share of estate income, and they use it to report that income on their personal tax returns. The FID-BEN is due to beneficiaries no later than the date you file FID-TAX.

Step 5: Check the $1,000,000 Estimated Tax Threshold

This is the Delaware rule that catches the most executors by surprise. Under Delaware law, if the fair market value of estate or trust assets equals or exceeds $1,000,000 in any taxable year, the executor is legally required to make quarterly estimated fiduciary tax payments in the following year using Form FID-EST.

Run this calculation immediately:

If the total reaches $1,000,000, you are required to file quarterly FID-EST declarations starting in the following taxable year. The quarterly due dates follow the federal estimated tax calendar. Missing these payments triggers underpayment penalties from the Division of Revenue that compound quickly.

The $1,000,000 threshold is not the same as the $15,000,000 federal estate tax exemption. You may owe no federal estate tax and still be required to make Delaware estimated fiduciary tax payments. A house worth $350,000, a 401(k) worth $300,000, a life insurance policy for $200,000 payable to the estate, and modest savings totaling $150,000 is a completely ordinary middle-class estate — and it clears the $1,000,000 threshold.

Step 6: File the "No Estate Tax" Affidavit to Clear Real Property

Delaware repealed its state estate tax for all deaths occurring after December 31, 2017. No estate tax is owed. But if the decedent owned real estate, you must file a sworn "Affidavit of No Delaware Estate Tax" (sometimes called the "No Estate Tax Affidavit" or NETA) with the county Register of Wills before the title company will close any sale of that property.

This is the most counterintuitive step in the Delaware estate tax process: filing a form to prove a tax does not exist. Title companies require it to confirm there is no state tax lien on the property. Without it filed and cleared, the title is legally encumbered and the sale cannot proceed.

The filing is straightforward:

• Complete the affidavit form for your county (the form differs by county)
• File it with the Register of Wills in the county where the property is located
• Pay the $10 filing fee
• Receive the stamped clearance that the title company will require

Do not wait until you have a buyer under contract to do this. The clearance takes time to process, and discovering this requirement during a pending sale causes delays that can cause buyers to walk.

Step 7: Understand the County-Level Probate Closing Fee

Once the estate is ready to close, the Register of Wills assesses a closing fee based on the net personal estate — probate assets minus debts and administrative expenses, not including real estate unless the will directs it to be sold.

The fee rates differ by county:

On a $300,000 net personal estate, this means a closing fee of $6,000 in New Castle County versus $3,750 in Sussex County. Budget for this fee before calculating what beneficiaries will receive.

The Affidavit in Lieu of Receipts: Filing the final accounting requires proving every deduction was actually paid. In New Castle County, pro se executors (acting without an attorney) may use an "Affidavit in Lieu of Receipts" for estates with deductions under $100,000 — a streamlined substitute for submitting individual canceled checks. In Kent and Sussex counties, this affidavit is explicitly labeled "For Attorneys Only." If you are a pro se executor in one of those counties, you must submit physical receipts and canceled checks for every deduction.

What You Cannot Do Without a CPA

Even if you handle every step above yourself, there are specific scenarios where proceeding without a CPA creates liability:

• If total estate assets exceed $1,000,000 and you are uncertain how to calculate quarterly FID-EST payments
• If the estate includes appreciated securities and you need to calculate exact stepped-up basis for individual securities (not just the total portfolio value)
• If a surviving spouse is claiming the one-third elective share — Delaware requires a mock IRS Form 706 to calculate the augmented estate, even if no federal estate tax is owed
• If the estate's fiscal year for tax purposes needs to be elected strategically rather than defaulting to the calendar year
• If there are losses, carryforwards, or complex deduction questions on the FID-TAX return

Tradeoffs

Handling Delaware estate taxes without a CPA saves significant professional fees and keeps you in control of the timeline. The risks are: missing the April 30 deadline if you misidentify it as April 15; triggering the $1,000,000 estimated tax requirement without knowing it; or filing Form 200-01 and believing you are finished when FID-TAX is still required.

The mitigation for each risk is the same: understand the full sequence before you start filing anything. The Delaware tax obligations after a death are not independently difficult — they are procedurally interconnected in ways that the Division of Revenue's individual form instructions do not explain.

FAQ

Is there a Delaware state estate tax return to file?

No. Delaware permanently repealed its state estate tax for deaths occurring after December 31, 2017. There is no Delaware state estate tax return. However, you must still file a "No Estate Tax Affidavit" with the county Register of Wills to clear real estate titles, and you must file the decedent's final personal income tax return and potentially the estate's fiduciary income tax return.

What is the difference between Form 200-01 and Form FID-TAX?

Form 200-01 is the decedent's final personal income tax return, covering income earned through the date of death. Form FID-TAX is the estate's fiduciary income tax return, covering income earned by estate assets after the date of death. They are filed by different deadlines and to different parts of the same Division of Revenue system. Many executors complete only Form 200-01 and do not realize Form FID-TAX is a separate obligation.

Can I use online tax software to file Delaware estate taxes?

You can use tax software to prepare Form 200-01 (the decedent's final personal return) with proper configuration. Standard consumer tax software does not handle Form FID-TAX, Form FID-EST, Form FID-BEN, or any of the county-level Register of Wills filings. For those obligations, you need either professional software designed for fiduciary returns or direct preparation using the Delaware Division of Revenue's forms.

How long does the Delaware estate tax process take from start to finish?

The full estate administration timeline in Delaware typically runs 10 to 15 months. The estate cannot be fully closed until the eight-month creditor waiting period expires, the final accounting is approved by the Register of Wills, and all tax obligations are resolved. The April 30 income tax deadline typically falls within the first four to five months of administration.

What documents do I need to gather before filing Delaware estate taxes?

Before beginning: the decedent's Social Security Number and prior-year Delaware returns; all W-2s, 1099s, and K-1s for income through the date of death; a date-of-death fair market value for every asset (bank statements, brokerage valuations, real estate appraisal); the estate's new EIN; all estate bank and investment statements showing post-death income; and copies of the will and Letters Testamentary from the Register of Wills.

The Delaware Final Tax & Estate Tax Guide provides the complete filing sequence — Form 200-01 through the final Register of Wills accounting — with the $1,000,000 threshold diagnostic worksheet, the county-specific form reference, and the April 30 deadline tracker. It is built for executors who want to handle this themselves without paying $300 an hour to learn Delaware's state-specific rules one question at a time.

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