Credit card processing and merchant services in Delaware
Delaware has no sales tax, but its stores must take cash and its sellers pay a gross receipts tax. We'll help you set up payments around both and pay less to accept cards.
Card surcharges
Surcharging allowedNo Delaware law limits surcharges; Visa's 3% and Mastercard's 4% caps apply, and debit can't be surcharged.
Sales tax
No sales tax (gross receipts tax)
Last checked
October 6, 2026
Setting up a register in Delaware skips a step most states require: there's no state or local sales tax to configure. The Division of Revenue taxes the seller instead. Its gross receipts tax applies to the seller of goods or the provider of services, it's levied on you rather than your customer, and the rate depends on your business activity. Look up your activity's rate and filing schedule before your first return is due.
Cash is the rule you can't skip. Under the Consumer Equal Access Protection Act, a retail store can't refuse cash for consumer goods or services, and it can't treat cash customers worse, for example by charging them more. The same chapter lets a store charge cash customers less, so a posted cash discount is fine. Phone, mail and online orders, parking lots and garages, and sporting and entertainment events are among the exclusions.
Delaware has no surcharge statute, so the card networks write the rules on any fee you add to credit card payments. Visa caps it at 3% or your merchant discount rate, whichever is lower, and Mastercard at 4% or your average effective rate. You can't add it to debit or prepaid cards, and it has to be posted at the entrance and the register and printed on the receipt. Our guide to dual pricing vs surcharging compares it with a cash discount.
Before you add any fee, we'd check what you're paying now. Clearo prices on interchange-plus with no cancellation fee, and a free statement review shows your effective rate in plain numbers. If you also run a location in Maryland or Pennsylvania, each state has its own page with its rules.
What Delaware merchants should know
Credit card surcharges in Delaware
Delaware has no statute that bans or caps credit card surcharges, and NCSL's table of state surcharge laws lists none for Delaware. The card network rules still apply:
- Visa: no more than your merchant discount rate or 3%, whichever is lower, with 30 days' written notice to your acquirer.
- Mastercard: no more than your average effective merchant discount rate or 4%.
- No surcharges on debit or prepaid cards.
- Disclose the surcharge at the point of entry and the point of sale, and show it on every receipt.
Sources: NCSL, Credit or debit card surcharges statutes (table last updated 2016); Visa, U.S. Merchant Surcharge Q and A (PDF); Mastercard, Merchant surcharge rules (US)
Cash acceptance in Delaware
Under 6 Del. C. ch. 25H, the Consumer Equal Access Protection Act, it is an unlawful practice for a retail store to refuse cash from a consumer as payment for consumer goods or services. A store may not treat a cash customer differently from one paying another way, including by charging a higher price, but it may charge cash customers less. The chapter excludes telephone, mail and internet transactions, parking lots and garages, and transactions at sporting or entertainment events, among others.
Source: Delaware Code, Title 6, Chapter 25H, Consumer Equal Access Protection Act
No sales tax, but a gross receipts tax
Delaware does not impose a state or local sales tax. It imposes a gross receipts tax on the seller of goods or the provider of services, levied on the business rather than the consumer. Rates depend on the business activity, and returns are due monthly or quarterly depending on your total gross receipts.
Sources: Delaware Division of Revenue, Step 4: Learn about gross receipts taxes; Delaware Division of Revenue, Doing business in Delaware; Delaware Division of Revenue, Gross receipts tax FAQs
Cities we cover in Delaware
Payment services we provide
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Common questions
Do Delaware businesses charge sales tax?
No. Delaware has no state or local sales tax, so there's no sales tax rate to set up at checkout. The state imposes a gross receipts tax on the seller of goods or the provider of services instead. The rate depends on your business activity, and returns are filed monthly or quarterly depending on your gross receipts.
Can a Delaware store go cashless?
Not for consumer goods or services sold in person. The Consumer Equal Access Protection Act makes it an unlawful practice for a retail store to refuse cash, and a store can't charge cash customers more. Phone, mail and online orders, parking lots and garages, and sporting or entertainment events are excluded.
Can I give Delaware customers a discount for paying cash?
Yes. Delaware's cash law bars charging cash customers a higher price, but it expressly lets a store charge them less. A posted cash discount is one way to recover part of your card costs without adding a surcharge.
Can I add a credit card surcharge in Delaware?
Yes. Delaware has no surcharge statute, so the Visa and Mastercard rules are the only limits: credit cards only, no more than your cost, 3% at most on Visa and 4% on Mastercard, and 30 days' notice to your acquirer for Visa. Since Delaware's cash law already lets you charge cash customers less, compare a surcharge with a posted cash discount before you choose.
Other states we serve besides Delaware
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Georgia
- 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
- Washington, DC
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Disclaimer: general information, not professional advice
This page is general educational information, not legal, tax, accounting or financial advice. Rules and rates vary by place and change, so confirm them with the official source and a qualified professional before you act. Full terms are in our Terms of Service.
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