If you sold Delaware real estate during the tax year, you may have made a Real Estate Capital Gains Tax Payment (REW-EST) at the time of closing.
This payment is not an additional tax on top of your Delaware Individual Income Tax Return. Instead, it is generally treated as a payment toward your Delaware tax liability and may be claimed as a credit when you file your Delaware return.
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State → Edit Delaware → Payments → Capital Gains Tax Payments
What Is a Real Estate Capital Gains Tax Payment?
When certain Delaware real estate is sold, a tax payment may be required at closing. This payment is reported on Form REW-EST, Declaration of Estimated Income Tax, and is intended to cover any Delaware income tax that may result from the sale.
When preparing your Delaware return, you may claim this payment as a credit against your Delaware tax liability.
How Do I Know If I Made a Payment?
If a Real Estate Capital Gains Tax Payment was made at closing, you should receive documentation showing the amount paid.
Review your closing documents and Form REW-EST to determine the amount that was paid on your behalf.
The amount reported on Form REW-EST may be claimed as a credit on your Delaware return.
Where Do I Enter This Payment?
Enter the amount shown on Form REW-EST in the Delaware Payments section.
The amount entered will be reported as a Real Estate Capital Gains Tax Payment Credit on the Delaware return.
Only enter the amount actually paid and reported on your closing documents or Form REW-EST.
What Documents Do I Need?
Keep copies of:
- Form REW-EST received at closing
- Your settlement statement or closing disclosure
- Any records showing the payment amount made at closing
Important: Delaware generally requires taxpayers claiming this credit to retain copies of Form REW-EST and provide documentation if requested by the Delaware Division of Revenue.
What If I Am Married?
If you file a Delaware Married Filing Combined Separate return (Filing Status 4), Delaware permits you to allocate the Real Estate Capital Gains Tax Payment between spouses.
Common allocation methods include:
- Assigning 100% of the payment to the spouse who owned and sold the property
- Splitting the payment 50/50 between spouses
- Allocating the payment using another reasonable percentage appropriate for your Delaware return
For all other filing statuses, the payment should generally be claimed by the taxpayer whose identification number is associated with the payment.
What Should Not Be Entered Here?
Do not enter the following as a Capital Gains Tax Payment:
- Delaware income tax withholding
- Delaware estimated tax payments made directly by you
- Delaware extension payments
- Payments reported by an S Corporation on your behalf
These payments should be entered in their respective sections of the Delaware return.
Important Information
Do not claim the same payment twice. A Real Estate Capital Gains Tax Payment entered in this section should not also be entered as an estimated tax payment or another Delaware credit.
Only enter amounts supported by official documentation. The amount entered should match the amount reported on Form REW-EST or your closing documents.
Entering an incorrect amount may delay the processing of your Delaware return or result in correspondence from the Delaware Division of Revenue.