Delaware Franchise Tax Late Penalty: $200 and 1.5% a Month

17 October 2026 · Informational only · No affiliate links · 3 min read

General information, not tax, legal or financial advice. We are not the State of Delaware and are not affiliated with it. Check corp.delaware.gov or ask a qualified professional. Sources read on October 17, 2026 (passages cited). Dates after 2026 are expected; the amounts shown are the current rates on the State pages, not confirmed 2027 rates. Examples use made-up numbers. This page contains no affiliate links.

Short answer: if a Delaware domestic corporation does not file a complete annual report by March 1, §502(c) adds a $200 penalty. Interest is 1.5% for each month or portion of a month on the tax and the $200 penalty, because the penalty is added to the tax (8 Del. C. §§502(c), 504(c); State pay-taxes page). Even one day late counts as a full month ("or portion thereof"). The expected 2027 deadline is Monday, March 1, 2027.

Example (made-up numbers)

Tax due $1,000. The report is filed and paid on March 5, 2027, in the first month of lateness. - Penalty: $200. - Interest for one month or part: 1.5% × ($1,000 + $200) = $18. - Approximate total owed on top of the fee: $1,218 (plus the report filing fee). For a delay of several months, the sources we read do not say whether interest compounds; the State's notice shows the amount owed. A simple, non-compounding estimate would be 1.5% × (tax + $200) × number of months started; this is an estimate, not the State's computation. Made-up example: tax $1,000 paid in the third month gives 1.5% × $1,200 × 3 = $54 on a simple basis (compounding not confirmed).

What a late filing can lead to

After a year of neglect the charter can be void (§510) and a good standing certificate is unavailable while tax is unpaid (§502(f)): read more.

Avoiding it

• Mark March 1, 2027 as the deadline: due date guide.
• If your tax is $5,000 or more, estimated payments apply earlier: installments.
• Payments over $5,000 must be made by ACH debit.

FAQ

Does the penalty depend on the tax amount? The statute gives a flat $200 for failing to file a complete report by March 1.

Is there a grace period? None was found in our sources.

Can the penalty be waived? Not covered by the sources read.

What we could not verify

• Whether interest compounds over several months (no official source read says so).
• Whether the State offers penalty relief (not found).
• 2027 rates: the State pages do not date amounts by year, so everything here is described as current rates; recheck on corp.delaware.gov.
• Any extension or grace period for the March 1 deadline: none was found in the sources read. 8 Del. C. §510 mentions further time for good cause, which is exceptional.
• Registered agent prices and comparisons: not researched here (no official source).
• LLC and limited partnership tax: only the June 1 due date is mentioned; we give no amount because the State's own pages were inconsistent. Check corp.delaware.gov.

Sources (official)

• Delaware Division of Corporations, Pay taxes (read October 17, 2026)
• Delaware Code, Title 8, Chapter 5 (8 Del. C. §§ 502-514, statute text read) (read October 17, 2026)
• Delaware Division of Corporations, Franchise tax FAQ (read October 17, 2026)