diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f96897c..45c6f7c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ As YAML:
 
 - The `name` property refers to the label name.
 - The `color` property should be a hex code, with or without the leading `#`.
-- The `delete` property is optional. When set to true, matches for this label will _always_ be deleted. This can be used in conjunction with [allowAddedLabels](#allowaddedlabels) to flag specific labels for deletion while leaving non-specified labels intact.
+- The `delete` property is optional. When set to `true`, matches for this label will _always_ be deleted. This can be used in conjunction with [allowAddedLabels](#allowaddedlabels) to flag specific labels for deletion while leaving non-specified labels intact. Defaults to `false`.
 
 The `aliases` property is optional. When GitHub Label Sync is determining whether to update or delete/create a label it will use the aliases property to prevent used labels from being deleted.
 
diff --git a/lib/calculate-label-diff.js b/lib/calculate-label-diff.js
index 0f6bcbc..7c7dd9a 100644
--- a/lib/calculate-label-diff.js
+++ b/lib/calculate-label-diff.js
@@ -32,7 +32,9 @@ function calculateLabelDiff(currentLabels, configuredLabels, allowAddedLabels) {
 
 		matches.forEach((matchedLabel, index) => {
 
-			if (configuredLabel.delete) return diff.push(createAddedEntry(matchedLabel));
+			if (configuredLabel.delete) {
+				return diff.push(createAddedEntry(matchedLabel));
+			}
 
 			const matchedDescription = getLabelDescription(matchedLabel);
 			const configuredDescription = getLabelDescription(configuredLabel, matchedDescription);
@@ -55,7 +57,9 @@ function calculateLabelDiff(currentLabels, configuredLabels, allowAddedLabels) {
 
 	});
 	currentLabels.filter(label => resolvedLabels.indexOf(label) === -1).forEach((currentLabel) => {
-		if(!allowAddedLabels) diff.push(createAddedEntry(currentLabel));
+		if (!allowAddedLabels) {
+			diff.push(createAddedEntry(currentLabel));
+		}
 	});
 	return diff;
 }
diff --git a/lib/validate-label-format.js b/lib/validate-label-format.js
index 3657b51..3cf86e4 100644
--- a/lib/validate-label-format.js
+++ b/lib/validate-label-format.js
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ const schema = {
 		name: { type: 'string', maxLength: 50, },
 		color: { type: 'string', pattern: '^[a-fA-F0-9]{6}$' },
 		description: { type: 'string', maxLength: 100 },
-		delete: { type: 'boolean' },
+		delete: { type: 'boolean', default: false },
 		aliases: {
 			type: 'array',
 			items: { type: 'string', maxLength: 50 }