Starting a Business in Delaware Checklist

Check business name availability with the Delaware Department of State Do a search to see if your business name is available: https://delecorp.delaware.gov/tin/GINameSearch.jsp Delaware LLC names need to end with: “Limited Liability Company” “LLC” or “L.L.C.” Delaware corporation names need to contain: “Association,” “Company,” Corporation,” “Club,” “Foundation,” “Fund,” “Incorporated,” “Institute,” “Society,” “Union,” “Syndicate,” “Limited” or the abbreviation “Co.,” “Corp.,” “Inc.,” “Ltd.” Delaware Department of State Department of State Division of Corporations John G. Townsend Bldg. 401 Federal Street, – Suite 4 Dover, DE 19901
File paperwork to create my business Now you can form a new business entity by filing your paperwork with the Delaware Department of State. To form a corporation, file a Certificate of Incorporation and pay the $89 filing fee plus. To form a Delaware LLC, file a Certificate of Formation and pay the $90 fee. Normal processing takes about 2 weeks. Same day processing costs an extra $100 and 24 hour processing costs an extra $50. If you are really in a hurry, you can pay for priority handling to have your company formed in 2 hours for a $500 or in 1 hour for $1000. Make sure you include a coversheet when you mail or fax your paperwork to the Department of State. One of the nicest features of forming a business entity in Delaware is how easy it is. Delaware requires only a limited amount of information from filers. You only need the following information to form a company here: – Business name – Registered agent name and address – Effective filing date – Filer name and signature If you don’t want to do the filing yourself, you can incorporate in Delaware with Northwest Registered Agent. Division of Corporations Department of State Division of Corporations John G. Townsend Bldg. 401 Federal Street, – Suite 4 Dover, DE 19901 PO Box 898 Dover, DE 19903 P: (302) 739-3073 F: (302) 739-3812 corp@delaware.gov
Register with Department of Revenue You will need to register with the Division of Revenue and pay any licensing fees before you start doing business. The easiest option is the online registration. You can register your business with the Division of Revenue, the Division of Unemployment Insurance, and the Delaware Office of Workers Compensation. Income Tax Corporate tax rate: 8.7% Personal tax rate: 2.2%-6.95% Franchise Tax Corporations: $125 minimum – based on shares LLCs: $250 annual tax Gross Receipts Tax Between .104% and 2.7% on income over about $200,000 each quarter Department of Revenue Department of Revenue PO Box 8750 Wilmington, DE 19899-8750 P: (302) 577-8778 http://revenue.delaware.gov/services/Business_Tax/Step3.shtml
Get a business license The State of Delaware Business License is issued as a result of registering with the Divisions above. Any other registration requirements? New Castle County: The county doesn’t issue business licenses, but you do need to comply with other requirements such as permits/zoning. Contractors in do need a special license. New Castle County has a lot of helpful information for contractors on their website http://www2.nccde.org/landuse/Contractors/default.aspx City of Wilmington: You need a business license from the city. The application is available on the City of Wilmington website Licensing Contact Info New Castle County Government Center 87 Reads Way New Castle, DE 19720 P: (302) 395-5555 City of Wilmington Department of Finance Wage/Business License Division 800 N. French Street Wilmington, DE 19801-3537 P: (302) 576-2415
Collect and Charge Sales Tax Do I need to collect Delaware sales tax? Delaware does not have state or local sales tax, but businesses do have to pay the Delaware gross receipts tax on the sale of goods. What is the Delaware sales tax rate? The business and occupational gross receipts tax rate ranges from 0.1037% to 2.0736%, depending on your business activity. How do I register for Delaware sales tax? You can use the Delaware One Stop business registration to register with the Division of Revenue online at http://revenue.delaware.gov/services/Business_Tax/Step3.shtml You may mail in the paper Combined Registration Application form if you prefer. You can download the form from the Division of Revenue website. How much does the Delaware business registration cost? There is a $75 fee to file the Combined Registration Application. Delaware Division of Revenue Delaware Division of Revenue Gross Receipts Tax Dept. P.O. Box 8750 Wilmington, DE 19899-8750 (302) 577-8205 BusTax@state.de.us http://revenue.delaware.gov/services/BusServices.shtml