Dover now requiring all residents to file city income taxes as revenue rises
DOVER (WJER) (Jan. 12, 2026) – All Dover residents must file their income taxes with the city this year.
Previously, the city only required filing by residents who paid less than Dover’s 1.5 percent income tax rate, rental owners and self-employed individuals. Dover City Auditor Nicole Stoldt says now every resident 18 and older with qualifying income must file locally.
Dover will still give credit for income taxes paid in other cities. Forms are on the city’s website and at the auditor’s office. Residents can also bring their W-2’s to the office and the auditor will process them for city income tax.
Stoldt says 2025 was a strong year for income tax collection in Dover with $10.5-million collected, up about 5 percent.
She says in 2026 the city will designate 35 percent of that money toward master capital improvements, like construction projects, sewer system upgrades and park additions.
The rest of the income tax collections are divided between the general fund, police and fire pensions, streets and maintenance repair, and cemeteries.
Mayor Shane Gunnoe says the city’s income tax base grew in 2025.
Gunnoe says residential, commercial and industrial expansion in Dover added more than $25 million in new payroll in the city in 2025.
City officials are expecting more growth in the coming years. However, the largest job creator on the horizon – the Schaeffler manufacturing facility on the north side of Dover – isn’t expected to open until 2027. Schaeffler officials have said that facility will eventually employ 450 people.