| Delaware Tax-Free Minnesota Fund | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Delaware Tax-Free Minnesota Fund | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| What is the Fund’s investment objective? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Delaware Tax-Free Minnesota Fund seeks as high a level of current income exempt from federal income tax and from Minnesota state personal income taxes as is consistent with preservation of capital.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| What are the Fund’s fees and expenses? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales-charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in Delaware Investments® Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial intermediary, in the Fund’s prospectus under the section entitled “About your account,” and in the Fund’s statement of additional information (SAI) under the section entitled “Purchasing Shares.”
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Annual fund operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Example | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. In addition, the example shows expenses for Class C shares, assuming those shares were not redeemed at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and reflects the Manager’s expense waivers and reimbursements for the 1-year contractual period and the total operating expenses without waivers for years 2 through 10. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portfolio turnover | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 15% of the average value of its portfolio. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| What are the Fund’s principal investment strategies? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in municipal securities the income from which is exempt from federal income tax, including the federal alternative minimum tax, and from Minnesota state personal income taxes. This is a fundamental investment policy that may not be changed without prior shareholder approval. The Fund is required to derive at least 95% of its income from Minnesota obligations in order for any of its income to be exempt from Minnesota state personal income taxes. Municipal debt obligations are issued by state and local governments to raise funds for various public purposes such as hospitals, schools, and general capital expenses. The types of municipal debt obligations in which the Fund may invest include, but are not limited to, advance refunded bonds, revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, insured municipal bonds, private activity bonds, municipal leases, and certificates of participation. The Fund will invest its assets in securities with maturities of various lengths, depending on market conditions. The Manager will adjust the average maturity of the bonds in the portfolio to attempt to provide a high level of tax-exempt income consistent with preservation of capital. The Fund’s income level will vary depending on current interest rates and the specific securities in the portfolio. The Fund may concentrate its investments in certain types of bonds or in a certain segment of the municipal bond market when the supply of bonds in other sectors does not suit its investment needs. The Fund may invest in insured municipal bonds. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will generally have a dollar-weighted average effective maturity of between 5 and 30 years. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| What are the principal risks of investing in the Fund? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Investing in any mutual fund involves the risk that you may lose part or all of the money you invest. Over time, the value of your investment in the Fund will increase and decrease according to changes in the value of the securities in the Fund’s portfolio. The Manager is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Macquarie Group Limited (MGL). Neither the Manager nor its affiliates referred to in this document are authorized deposit-taking institutions for the purposes of the Bank Act 1959 (Commonwealth of Australia). The obligations of these entities do not represent deposits or other liabilities of Macquarie Bank Limited (MBL), a subsidiary of MGL and an affiliate of the Manager. MBL does not guarantee or otherwise provide assurance in respect of the obligations of these entities, unless noted otherwise. The Fund is governed by U.S. laws and regulations. The Fund’s principal risks include:
Market risk — The risk that all or a majority of the securities in a certain market — such as the stock or bond market — will decline in value because of factors such as adverse political or economic conditions, future expectations, investor confidence, or heavy institutional selling. Interest rate risk — The risk that the prices of bonds and other fixed income securities will increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Interest rate changes are influenced by a number of factors, such as government policy, monetary policy, inflation expectations, and the supply and demand of bonds. Bonds and other fixed income securities with longer maturities or durations generally are more sensitive to interest rate changes. A fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low interest rates. Credit risk — The risk that an issuer of a debt security, including a governmental issuer or an entity that insures a bond, may be unable to make interest payments and repay principal in a timely manner. High yield (junk bond) risk — The risk that high yield securities, commonly known as “junk bonds,” are subject to reduced creditworthiness of issuers; increased risk of default and a more limited and less liquid secondary market. High yield securities may also be subject to greater price volatility and risk of loss of income and principal than are higher-rated securities. High yield bonds are sometimes issued by municipalities that have less financial strength and therefore have less ability to make projected debt payments on the bonds. Call risk — The risk that a bond issuer will prepay the bond during periods of low interest rates, forcing a fund to reinvest that money at interest rates that might be lower than rates on the called bond. Liquidity risk — The possibility that securities cannot be readily sold within seven days at approximately the price at which a portfolio has valued them. Geographic concentration risk — The risk that heightened sensitivity to regional, state, U.S. territories or possessions (such as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin Islands), and local political and economic conditions could adversely affect the holdings in and performance of a fund. There is also the risk that there could be an inadequate supply of municipal bonds in a particular state or U.S. territory or possession. Alternative minimum tax risk — If a fund invests in bonds whose income is subject to the alternative minimum tax, that portion of the fund’s distributions would be taxable for shareholders who are subject to this tax. Government and regulatory risk — The risk that governments or regulatory authorities may, from time to time, take or consider actions that could adversely affect various sectors of the securities markets and significantly affect fund performance. For example, a tax-exempt security may be reclassified by the Internal Revenue Service or a state tax authority as taxable, and/or future legislative, administrative, or court actions could cause interest from a tax-exempt security to become taxable, possibly retroactively. Industry and sector risk — The risk that the value of securities in a particular industry or sector (such as financial services or manufacturing) will decline because of changing expectations for the performance of that industry or sector.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| How has Delaware Tax-Free Minnesota Fund performed? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns for the 1-, 5-, and 10-year or lifetime periods compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future. The returns reflect any expense caps in effect during these periods. The returns would be lower without the expense caps. You may obtain the Fund’s most recently available month-end performance by calling 800 523-1918 or by visiting our website at delawareinvestments.com/performance.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year-by-year total return (Class A) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As of Sept. 30, 2016, the Fund’s Class A shares had a calendar year-to-date return of 3.44%. During the periods illustrated in this bar chart, Class A’s highest quarterly return was 6.32% for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2009, and its lowest quarterly return was -4.31% for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2010. The maximum Class A sales charge of 4.50%, which is normally deducted when you purchase shares, is not reflected in the highest/lowest quarterly returns or in the bar chart. If this fee were included, the returns would be less than those shown. The average annual total returns in the table below do include the sales charge. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Average annual total returns for periods ended December 31, 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
After-tax performance is presented only for Class A shares of the Fund. The after-tax returns for other Fund classes may vary. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s individual tax situation and may differ from the returns shown. After-tax returns are not relevant for shares held in tax-deferred investment vehicles such as employer-sponsored 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). The after-tax returns shown are calculated using the highest individual federal marginal income tax rates in effect during the periods presented and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||