Delaware SUTA Tax Calculator
Figure basis: Official U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment InsuranceState Unemployment Tax Act (SUTA) tax is the state unemployment insurance tax that employers pay to fund unemployment benefits in Delaware. This calculator estimates your Delaware SUTA liability for the 2026 tax year. Enter the average annual wages per employee, your number of employees, and your assigned SUTA rate to see the taxable wages, tax per employee, and total tax. SUTA is charged only on the first $14,500 of each employee's wages (the 2026 Delaware taxable wage base); wages above that per employee are not taxed. Your rate is set by the state based on your business's unemployment claim history (your "experience rating"); a new employer pays 1%. SUTA is separate from the federal FUTA tax and, in most states, is paid entirely by the employer and never deducted from employee wages. All wage-base and rate figures are sourced from U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance and verified for 2026. Replace the default rate with the rate on your state tax-rate notice for an exact figure.
In Delaware, employers pay SUTA on the first $14,500 of each employee's wages for 2026, and a new employer pays 1%. For 5 employees earning $50,000 each at 1%, the estimated annual SUTA tax is $725.00 ($145.00 per employee).
How Delaware SUTA tax works
Delaware charges state unemployment tax on each employee's wages up to the taxable wage base of $14,500 for 2026. Once an employee has earned that much in the year, no further SUTA is due on that employee. Your rate is assigned by the state from your experience rating; a new employer pays 1%.
taxable wages per employee = min(annual wages, $14,500)
SUTA tax per employee = taxable wages per employee x rate / 100
total SUTA tax = SUTA tax per employee x number of employees
Worked example: 5 employees each earning $50,000 in Delaware at 1%. Each employee's taxable wages are capped at $14,500, so the tax per employee is $145.00 and the total is $725.00.
Delaware SUTA figures (2026)
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Taxable wage base | $14,500 | U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance |
| New employer rate | 1% | U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance |
| Experience rate range | 0.4% to 5.4% | U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance |
The experience-rate range shown is the base statutory range. Most states add mandatory assessments on top (for example a fund-building, solvency, or administrative surcharge), so an employer's effective rate can be higher than the range shown, and the new-employer rate may exclude those add-ons. Your exact assigned rate is on your annual state tax-rate notice.
What a new Delaware employer should budget for SUTA
Delaware keeps its unemployment tax base low: for 2026 you pay SUTA on only the first $14,500 of each employee's wages, one of the smaller bases in the country. A new Delaware employer is assigned a flat 1% rate until the state has enough claim history to experience-rate the account, so the most SUTA you can owe on any single worker is $145.00 for the year (1% of $14,500). Pay above $14,500 per person is never taxed, which means your bill tracks headcount far more than salary levels.
Once your account is experience-rated, Delaware's assigned rates run from 0.4% to 5.4%. In dollar terms that is roughly $58.00 to $783.00 per employee each year on the same $14,500 base. A clean layoff record pushes you toward the floor; a history of benefit charges pushes you toward the ceiling, which is why keeping accurate separation records pays off directly.
Two practical points. First, the 0.4% to 5.4% band is the base statutory range; Delaware can layer assessments on top, so the rate on your annual tax notice is the number to trust, not the range. Second, SUTA is an employer-only tax in Delaware and is never withheld from a worker's paycheck. Enter your notice rate above to replace the 1% default and see your exact liability.
Delaware SUTA tax: frequently asked questions
What is the Delaware unemployment (SUTA) taxable wage base for 2026?
For 2026, Delaware employers pay state unemployment tax on the first $14,500 of each employee's wages. Wages above $14,500 per employee are not subject to SUTA.
What is the Delaware new employer SUTA rate?
New employers in Delaware pay a SUTA rate of 1% until they have enough history to be experience-rated. On the $14,500 wage base that is up to $145.00 per employee per year.
How is Delaware SUTA tax calculated?
Multiply each employee's wages, capped at the $14,500 taxable wage base, by your assigned experience rate, then add up across employees. SUTA is primarily an employer-paid tax and is not deducted from employee pay.
Is the Delaware SUTA rate the same for every employer?
No. After the new-employer period, Delaware assigns each employer an experience rate based on its history of layoffs and claims, generally ranging from about 0.4% to 5.4% for experience-rated employers before any state add-on surcharges. The rate field above defaults to the new-employer rate; replace it with the rate on your state tax notice for an exact figure.
Official sources
- Delaware unemployment taxable wage base and rates (tax year 2026): U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance, as at Jul 15, 2026.
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 15 July 2026. See our methodology. General information, not tax or legal advice.