Delaware gift deed

What a gift deed does in Delaware

A gift deed transfers property with no money changing hands, and it says so on its face. Stating the donative intent matters: it supports a transfer-tax exemption in most states and it documents that the recipient paid nothing, which is exactly what a recorder, an assessor, and later the IRS will want to see. Mechanically it operates like a quitclaim. Immediate, and without title warranties.

A gift deed operates like a quitclaim deed but recites donative intent, which supports a transfer-tax exemption.

When Delaware property owners use a gift deed

• Give a house or land to a child or grandchild
• Transfer property to a sibling or parent for no payment
• Document donative intent for a transfer-tax exemption
• Make a charitable gift of real estate

What Delaware requires on the deed

These are the execution and formatting rules recorders of deeds enforce. Getting any of them wrong is the usual reason a deed comes back in the mail.

How to complete and record it in Delaware

1. 1Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the Recorder of Deeds can provide one, usually for a few dollars.
2. 2Identify everyone by full legal nameNames must match the current deed and government ID exactly, middle names included. A mismatch creates a gap in the chain of title that shows up years later at closing.
3. 3Complete the deedDeedly builds it with Delaware's statutory language, the correct notary block, and the 3-inch first-page margin recorders of deeds expect.
4. 4Sign in front of a notaryBring photo ID. Do not sign in advance. The signature has to be made in the notary's presence.
5. 5Record it with the Recorder of DeedsFile in the county where the property is located and pay the recording fee. Most offices in this state also accept e-recording, which is usually same-day. Keep the stamped receipt. It fixes your priority date.
6. 6Update insurance and tax recordsA change of ownership can affect your homeowner's policy, your homestead or senior exemption, and in some states the assessed value. Do this within a few weeks.

What it costs in Delaware

Delaware charges a realty transfer tax of 4% of consideration total (2.5% state plus 1.5% county or municipal), customarily split between buyer and seller. It is customarily paid by the negotiated. Cities and counties may add their own on top, so check the municipality rather than just the county.

Exemptions that commonly apply to a transfer like this: transfers between spouses, gifts between parent and child or other close family, transfers to a trust for the grantor's benefit, and first-time homebuyer reduction on the buyer's share. You have to claim the exemption. The recorder won't apply it for you.

Where to record it in Delaware

Delaware deeds are recorded with the Recorder of Deeds in the county where the property sits, not where you live. There are 3 counties in Delaware.

Most Delaware recording offices accept e-recording through vendors such as Simplifile, CSC, or ePN, which is usually same-day. Check your county's website for the list it works with.

Recording offices we cover in Delaware: New Castle, Sussex, Kent. See all Delaware recording offices.

What a gift deed does NOT do

Being honest about the limits is more useful than a sales pitch. Every one of these catches somebody out.

• The recipient takes your original cost basis, not the current market value. A later sale can produce a large capital-gains bill that inheriting the property would have avoided.
• A gift over the annual exclusion requires you to file IRS Form 709, even if no tax is due.
• It is irrevocable once delivered and recorded. You can't take the property back if the relationship changes.
• Gifting a property within Medicaid's look-back period can create a penalty period for long-term-care eligibility.

Quirks of Delaware law that catch people out

• Delaware has only three counties (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex) so there are just three recording offices statewide.
• Delaware's 4% combined realty transfer tax is one of the highest in the US. Family and spousal exemptions matter a lot here.
• Delaware allowed transfer on death deeds starting December 4, 2025. Almost everything written before then says Delaware has none.
• A Delaware TOD deed needs two witnesses, and at least one of them cannot be a beneficiary. Ordinary Delaware deeds need no witnesses at all.
• Tenancy by the entirety is available and is the default presumption for married couples taking title together.

How to hold title in Delaware

When two or more people take title in Delaware and the deed says nothing more, the law presumes a tenancy in common, which means no automatic survivorship. If you want the survivor to take the whole property, the words have to be on the deed. Forms of co-ownership available in Delaware: tenancy by the entirety (married couples only), joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and tenancy in common.