CraftShow Events

Sales Tax for Craft Show Vendors in Delaware

Last researched September 14, 2026 Sources: Delaware Department of Finance, Division of Revenue Medium confidence

Short answer

Delaware has no state or local sales tax [1]. Instead, sellers need a Delaware business license and owe gross receipts tax, which for retailers is 0.7468% above an exclusion [2][5]. A retailer who sells in Delaware 10 days or less a year can get a $25 transient retailer license and owes tax only on receipts above $3,000 [5]. Local licenses may also apply [2].

Registration
Delaware Business License (retailer or transient retailer); gross receipts tax instead of sales tax
Cost
Retailer $75; transient retailer (10 days or less) $25; rate list shows additional $15 retail crime fee
State base rate
None (no statewide sales tax) As of: 2026-09-14 (date checked; page undated). Local taxes may apply.
Event organizers have duties?
None found in official sources
Official registration
https://revenue.delaware.gov/frequently-asked-questions/business-licenses-faqs/

Who needs to register

  • No sales tax: "Delaware does not impose a state or local sales tax, but does impose a gross receipts tax on the seller of goods" [1]
  • License requirement: "Any person or entity conducting a trade or business in the State of Delaware is required to obtain a Delaware business license" [2]
  • Timing: "A business license must be obtained at the time business commences in Delaware." [2]
  • Short-term sellers: a "Transient retailer" for license purposes "includes any retailer who for 10 days or less during any year locates within the State without any intention of becoming a permanent retailer." [5]
  • Handmade crafts are exempt from the separate transient retailer registration law (Title 6, Chapter 47). That chapter "shall not apply to" "Sales of crafts or items made by hand when sold or offered for sale by the person making such crafts or handmade items" [6]
  • Nonprofit events are also outside that chapter: "Any general sale, fair, auction or bazaar sponsored by an ecclesiastical society, religious corporation, public service or charitable organization" [6]
  • Sellers who are not exempt and sell for longer periods: the Department of Finance summary says retailers "who transact business in Delaware from any temporary structure or motor vehicle for less than four (4) months must obtain a transient retailer's license." [8]
  • Local licenses: "your city and/or county may also require a city and/or county business license, in addition to a State of Delaware business license." [2]

The permit or registration

  • How to apply: "Complete your registration online using the One Stop Business Licensing and Registration Service." [2]
  • Temporary license at sign-up: "you may print a temporary license at the end of the registration or renewal process." [2]
  • Transient retailer license (10 days or less): the applicant pays "a fee of $25." [5]
  • Link to the handmade exemption: the Finance summary says retailers in the Title 6 Chapter 47 exemption categories who sell "for ten days or less during any year" pay a "transient retailer license fee" of "$25." [8]
  • Regular retailer license: "paying a fee of $75, plus a fee of $25 for each separate branch or business location." [5]
  • Retail crime fee: the rate list notes "Retail Crime Fee - This license fee includes an additional $15.00" [4]. The list shows the "Transient 10 days or less" category with a total fee of $40 and "Retailer - General" at $90 [4].
  • Expiry: "most Delaware business licenses are good for one year and expire each December 31st." [2]
  • Non-exempt transient retailers (Title 6, Chapter 47) must also register and post a bond "in the amount of $1,000" [6]

Collecting and filing

  • Tax is on the seller, not the customer: "This tax is levied on the seller of goods or services, rather than on the consumer." [3]
  • No deductions: "There are no deductions for the cost of goods or property sold, labor costs, interest expense, discount paid, delivery costs" [1]
  • Retailer rate: retailers pay "at the rate of 0.7468% of the aggregate gross receipts" [5]
  • Regular retailer exclusion: "In computing the fee due on such aggregate gross receipts for each month, there shall be allowed a deduction of $100,000." [5]
  • Transient retailer (10 days or less): the 0.7468% applies to gross receipts "which exceed $3,000." [5]
  • No return under $3,000: a transient retailer under that amount "shall not be required to file any return or certified statement with the Department of Finance" [5]
  • New businesses: "all new businesses are automatically set-up as quarterly gross receipts tax filers." [3]
  • Quarterly due date: "your gross receipts tax is due on or before the last day of the first month following the close of the quarter." [3]
  • Electronic filing: "Starting January 1, 2021, Delaware mandates online filing for gross receipts taxes" [3]
  • Retail pickup in Delaware is taxable: "Delaware gross receipts tax is due in instances when the retail customer picks up or takes delivery of the product in Delaware" [3]

Organizer / promoter obligations

  • No specific promoter obligation found in official sources for craft shows or fairs in general.
  • Narrow case: for special events inside large enclosed shopping facilities, the facility "shall compile and maintain for a period of 4 years a listing containing the name, address, telephone number" of each transient merchant [6]
  • Flea markets and swap meets held at least 6 times a year ("unused property markets") have product restrictions for merchants. The law exempts "The sale of arts or crafts by a person who produces such arts or crafts" [7]

Food and other special cases

  • Restaurant-type sellers have their own category: "restaurant retailers are taxed at the rate of 0.6472%." [8]
  • Unused property markets: merchants may not sell "baby food, infant formula, cosmetics or any nonprescription drug or medical device" [7]
  • Other state agencies may be involved: One Stop registrants must also ensure compliance with "the Departments of Agriculture, Health, Natural Resources & Environmental Control" as necessary [9]

Sources

  1. Step 4: Learn About Gross Receipts Taxes — Delaware Division of Revenue — https://revenue.delaware.gov/business-tax-forms/doing-business-in-delaware/step-4-gross-receipts-taxes/ — no state or local sales tax; gross receipts tax basics
  2. Business Licenses FAQs — Delaware Division of Revenue — https://revenue.delaware.gov/frequently-asked-questions/business-licenses-faqs/ — who needs a license, One Stop, temporary license, expiry, local licenses
  3. Gross Receipts Tax FAQs — Delaware Division of Revenue — https://revenue.delaware.gov/frequently-asked-questions/gross-receipts-tax-faqs/ — tax on seller, filing frequency, due dates, online filing
  4. Detailed List of Division of Revenue Licenses and Tax Rates — Delaware Division of Revenue — https://revenuefiles.delaware.gov/docs/gr_rates.pdf — license fees including retail crime fee; transient 10 days or less category
  5. Delaware Code Title 30, Chapter 29 (Occupational and Business Licenses and Taxes) — Delaware General Assembly — https://delcode.delaware.gov/title30/c029/index.html — §2902 transient retailer definition; §2905 retailer and transient retailer license fees and rates
  6. Delaware Code Title 6, Chapter 47, Subchapter I (Transient Retailers) — Delaware General Assembly — https://delcode.delaware.gov/title6/c047/sc01/index.html — §4703 exemptions (handmade crafts, charitable fairs), registration, $1,000 bond
  7. Delaware Code Title 6, Chapter 47, Subchapter II (Unused Property Markets) — Delaware General Assembly — https://delcode.delaware.gov/title6/c047/sc02/index.html — flea market rules; arts and crafts exception
  8. Business and Occupational License and Gross Receipts Tax (tax summary) — Delaware Department of Finance — https://financefiles.delaware.gov/docs/bus_occup_lic.pdf — transient retailer summary; restaurant retailer rate
  9. Step 3: Licensing and Registration Information — Delaware Division of Revenue — https://revenue.delaware.gov/business-tax-forms/doing-business-in-delaware/step-3-licensing-registration/ — One Stop; other agency compliance

What we could not confirm

  • Confidence: medium. The statutes and Division of Revenue pages clearly establish the business license, gross receipts tax, and the $25 license for sellers present 10 days or less. How the Title 6 handmade-craft exemption fits with the Title 30 transient retailer license comes from a Department of Finance summary (undated; its legislative history runs to at least 2017) rather than a current Division of Revenue page.
  • Fee amounts: statute says $25 (transient) and $75 (retailer). The Division of Revenue rate list shows $40 and $90, which include the $15 retail crime fee. The rate list is undated (date checked 2026-09-14).
  • No Division of Revenue page specific to craft shows or temporary events was found.
  • No general promoter or organizer obligation was found beyond the narrow enclosed-shopping-facility listing rule.
  • Some Delaware municipalities (for example Wilmington) require their own business licenses. These were not reviewed.
  • Statutory rates (0.7468% retailer; $100,000 monthly deduction) were current in the Delaware Code Online on the date checked. Quarterly thresholds are adjusted annually under §515.