Sussex County, DE Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- County lodging tax rate
- 3% of rent
- Covered lodging types
- Hotel, motel, tourist home rooms
- Territory covered
- Unincorporated Sussex County only
- Effective date
- January 1, 2020
- Monthly remittance deadline
- 15th of following month
- Late payment penalty
- 1% per month
- Underpayment penalty
- One-time 10% on deficiency
Summary
Sussex County charges a 3% lodging tax on every hotel, motel or tourist home room rented in the unincorporated county, stacked on top of Delaware's own state lodging tax. Operators collect it from occupants and remit it monthly to the County Department of Finance.
§ 103-40. Levy of tax; exemption; collection; payment.
A. A tax is hereby levied at the rate of 3% of the rent upon every occupancy of a room or rooms in a hotel, motel or tourist home within unincorporated sections of Sussex County. Such tax shall be in addition to the lodging tax imposed by the state pursuant to 30 Del. C. § 6102. ...
D. The lodging tax is imposed on the occupant and shall be collected by the operator from the occupant at the time of the payment of the rent for the occupancy.
E. The amount of tax collected for each month shall be reported and remitted to the Sussex County Department of Finance, or its designee, not later than the 15th day of the month following the month of collection on forms to be prescribed by the Sussex County Department of Finance.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4401089; v17 updated 2025-06-17; through 06-17-2025).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 103, Article VI (adopted November 12, 2019 by Ord. No. 2687) sets the county lodging tax. Section 103-40(A) levies the tax at 3% of the rent on every occupancy of a room in a hotel, motel or tourist home located in unincorporated Sussex County, and that county tax stacks on top of the separate state lodging tax charged under 30 Del. § 6102. Section 103-40(B) grandfathered any reservation or contract that was paid in full before January 1, 2020, exempting it from the new tax, and Section 103-40(C) exempts rentals by the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
Under Section 103-40(D), the tax legally falls on the occupant, but the operator (the hotel, motel or tourist home) must collect it at the time rent is paid. Section 103-40(E) requires the operator to report and remit the tax collected each month to the Sussex County Department of Finance, or its designee, by the 15th day of the following month, on forms the Department prescribes. Section 103-39 pulls in the lodging-tax definitions codified at 30 Del. § 6101 by reference rather than restating them locally, so the county tax tracks the state's definitions of hotel, motel and tourist home.
The article gives the Department of Finance audit and enforcement authority through Sections 103-41 and 103-42, covering late penalties, abatement of penalty (but never principal), and a formal determination-and-redetermination process for operators who underpay.
Violations & Fines
An operator who pays late owes a penalty of 1% per month, or fraction of a month, on the overdue amount under Section 103-41(A); the Finance Director can abate that penalty on written application with supporting documentation but has no authority to abate the underlying tax itself. If the Department of Finance determines an operator underpaid, Section 103-42 lets it assess the shortfall by mail within three years of the due date, gives the operator 90 days to file a written petition for redetermination, and adds a one-time 10% penalty on top of the late penalty on any additional tax found due.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Sussex County's hotel lodging tax rate?
Who actually has to collect and pay Sussex County's lodging tax?
Is any lodging exempt from the Sussex County lodging tax?
What happens if an operator pays the Sussex County lodging tax late?
What if the County determines an operator underpaid the lodging tax?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sussex County
Compare Sussex County to another location·View the Delaware hotels & lodging overview
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