Dover Business Filing Deadlines & Ongoing Requirements

Annual federal income tax return (extensions available via Form 7004 / 4868).

Free, one-time federal tax ID needed for tax filings, payroll and bank accounts.

Businesses holding property that has gone unclaimed — uncashed payroll or vendor checks, customer credits and refunds, unused gift cards, deposits — must report and turn it over to the state each year, after sending the owner a due diligence notice before the deadline. The annual report and payment are due March 1 for general property. Delaware audits holders aggressively and has long look-back periods. Banking organizations report November 10. Which state's law applies depends on the owner's last known address, or the business's state of incorporation when there is none, so a business can owe reports to several states.

Fee: $400 (annual tax). Required to keep the entity in good standing.

A person or service with a physical Delaware address to receive legal notices and service of process; listed with Delaware Division of Corporations.

Corporate income tax and franchise tax.

Fee: $75 (plus gross receipts tax). General state license required to operate in Delaware.

If personal information of residents of the state is acquired without authorization, notify affected residents within 60 days of discovering the breach and the Attorney General if 500 or more residents are affected (6 Del. C. 12B-102). This is an event-driven duty, so it has no calendar date. Sources in the PR describe the state's rule in different words; check the statute for the exact trigger and content of the notice.

Dover's code licenses trades, businesses and occupations operating in the city. A license runs from August 1 to July 31, and a penalty set in the code's fee schedule applies when the fee is not paid by August 31; the fee itself depends on the type of business (Chapter 26, Article II and Appendix F of the Dover Code).

Counties and some municipalities require licenses in addition to the state license.

The commercial space must be approved for its intended use before operating.

Withheld income tax, Social Security and Medicare, plus employer share, via EFTPS.

Quarterly reconciliation of wages and payroll taxes.

Annual FUTA return and payment.

Wage statements to employees and transmittal to the SSA.

Employment eligibility verification, retained for 3 years after hire or 1 year after termination.

Employers must post the FLSA minimum wage, FMLA (50+ employees), EEO, OSHA, USERRA and related notices in a conspicuous place.

Employer account for state unemployment insurance contributions.

Withhold state income tax from wages and remit on the assigned deposit schedule; file annual reconciliation and W-2s.

Quarterly wage report and contribution payment. Delaware taxes the first $14,500 of each employee's wages (2026); new employers pay 1%, and experience-rated rates range from 0.4% to 5.4%.

Federal law requires reporting each new hire within 20 days of hire (some states require sooner).

Required at: 1 employee.

State minimum wage, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation and anti-discrimination notices must be posted where employees can see them.

Employers in business at least six months with five or more employees (part-time included) and no qualified plan must register or certify an exemption; deadlines were October 15, 2024 and October 15, 2025, and June 30, 2025 for newly eligible businesses. After a notice and 90 days, the board can penalize up to $250 per eligible employee a year, capped at $5,000.

Employers with 10+ employees remit contributions quarterly.

Delaware requires employers with 10+ employees to provide paid sick leave, post notice and keep records.

Employers with more than 10 employees keep Forms 300 and 301 for work-related injuries and illnesses, and post the Form 300A summary for the previous year at each establishment from February 1 through April 30. Records are kept five years. Report a work-related fatality within 8 hours and an inpatient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours.

Applicable large employers (50 or more full-time employees, counting part-time hours as full-time equivalents) give each full-time employee a Form 1095-C. The January 31 deadline is extended automatically by 30 days, to March 2 in most years (March 1 for the 2026 forms).

The transmittal Form 1094-C and each Form 1095-C are due to the IRS at the end of February on paper or March 31 electronically; employers filing 10 or more information returns in total must file electronically. Penalties apply per late or incorrect form.

Employers with 50 or more employees must give interactive training to new employees within one year of hire and refresh it every two years, with extra training for supervisors.

Private employers with 100 or more employees file annually through the EEOC's online system; federal contractors with 50 or more employees and certain contracts have also filed. The EEOC sets each year's window (the 2024 report was due June 24, 2025, with no extensions), so check its data collections page.

Establishments with 250 or more employees submit their Form 300A summary through OSHA's Injury Tracking Application by March 2. Establishments with 20 to 249 employees in designated higher-hazard industries must also submit the summary, and those with 100 or more in the most hazardous industries submit Forms 300 and 301 data.

Quarterly estimated payments by owners on business income (Form 1040-ES), including self-employment tax.

Required for each non-employee paid $2,000 or more in the year (payments made after 2025).

Delaware has no sales tax; businesses pay a gross receipts tax through the state business license.

Home-based businesses need a home occupation permit and must comply with zoning limits (signage, customers, employees).

Delaware registers assumed names at the state level.