South Dakota Homestead Exemption: Freeze, Veterans and Deadlines

South Dakota has no dollar-amount homestead exemption for ordinary homeowners. Instead, a home is placed in the owner-occupied single-family dwelling classification when the owner files a certificate with the county director of equalization by March 15, under SDCL 10-13-39 and 10-13-40. Beyond that, relief is targeted: the Assessment Freeze for the Elderly and Disabled (apply to the county treasurer by April 1 each year), a $200,000 exemption for permanently and totally disabled veterans (apply by November 1), paraplegic exemptions and reductions, a yearly sales tax refund for owners 65 or older or disabled (the separate property tax refund was repealed in 2026), a municipal reduction for elderly and disabled owners that the Department of Revenue says only Rapid City offers, and a tax deferral for people 70 or older.

That deferral is the program the Department of Revenue calls the "Homestead Exemption Program"; it postpones taxes rather than reducing them. For other states, see our guide to homestead exemptions by state.

Information last verified on October 8, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers South Dakota statewide property tax rules for owner-occupied homes under SDCL Title 10 (the owner-occupied classification, the 3% class cap, the assessment freeze, the disabled veteran and paraplegic programs, the age 70 deferral, the sales tax refund for seniors and people with disabilities), 2026 legislation the research verified, and the creditor homestead under SDCL chapters 43-31 and 43-45. It does not cover levy rates other than the school general fund maximums, county or city programs beyond those named, business or agricultural property, or the law of other states.

Does South Dakota have a homestead exemption?

Not in the usual sense. No South Dakota statute takes a fixed dollar amount or percentage off the value of every owner-occupied home. The research for this page read SDCL chapters 10-6A, 10-6B and 10-6C, sections 10-13-39 to 10-13-48, sections 10-4-24.9 to 10-4-24.15, and sections 10-4-40 and 10-4-41 on the Legislature's statute service, and none grants a general homestead exemption amount.

What South Dakota does have:

• The owner-occupied classification, which separates homes from other property for taxation and is the class that the 3% cap and the new homeowner relief fund target.
• A 3% county-wide cap on growth in the total assessed value of owner-occupied homes for taxes payable 2027 through 2031.
• Programs for older, disabled and veteran owners: the assessment freeze, the disabled veteran exemption, paraplegic programs, the age 70 deferral, a sales tax refund, and a municipal reduction where a city adopts it.

The owner-occupied classification and the March 15 certificate

SDCL 10-13-39 states: "Each owner-occupied single-family dwelling in this state is specifically classified for the purpose of taxation." The classification covers a house, condominium, residential housing of one to four units, town house, owner-occupied cooperative, or a manufactured or mobile home assessed as a separate unit. It "includes all garages and ancillary structures related to the residential use of the dwelling by the owner, and the parcels of land upon which the garages or structures are situated."

Two limits matter:

• One home per person. "A person may only have one dwelling, which is the person's principal place of residence as defined in § 12-1-4, classified as an owner-occupied single-family dwelling."
• Partial occupancy. "If the owner occupies fifty percent or more of the living space within the dwelling, the entire dwelling is classified as an owner-occupied single-family dwelling." Otherwise, only the portion the owner occupies is classified.

How to file

Under SDCL 10-13-40, the owner "shall submit a certificate to the county director of equalization stating such person is the owner and occupant of the dwelling as of the assessment date pursuant to § 10-6-105 and that the dwelling is the owner's principal place of residence as defined in § 12-1-4." The Department of Revenue prescribes the form. An owner who occupies two or more dwellings lists the others on the certificate, and the certificate is signed under penalty of perjury.

The deadline is in the statute: "The owner-occupant shall submit the certificate by March fifteenth." A buyer has a shortcut: "The new owner-occupant of transferred property which is already classified as owner-occupied may meet the requirements of this section by completing and filing the certificate of value required pursuant to § 7-9-7 at the time of the transfer of the property." Manufactured and mobile home owners file the certificate at registration.

There is no annual renewal. Once the director classifies the property as owner-occupied, it "shall retain the classification until such time as the property ownership is transferred or the property has a change in use."

The classification matters most for school taxes. For taxes payable in 2027 and later, SDCL 10-12-42 sets the maximum school district general fund levy on an owner-occupied single-family dwelling at $0.669 per $1,000 of taxable valuation, compared with $4.867 per $1,000 for property outside the agricultural and owner-occupied classes. Other levies also apply, so ask your county director of equalization how the classification affects your bill.

Penalty for a false certificate

Under SDCL 10-13-40.3, a person who obtains the classification through misrepresentation "shall be assessed a penalty equal to ten dollars per thousand dollars of valuation on the subject dwelling, which assessment shall become a perpetual lien on the property pursuant to § 10-21-33. The person shall be barred from receiving the owner-occupied single-family dwelling classification for any property in the state for the following three years."

The 3% county-wide cap on owner-occupied value (taxes payable 2027-2031)

A 2025 law (SL 2025, ch 46) added SDCL 10-6-158:

"For taxes payable in 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, and 2031, the total assessed value of all property in a county with an owner-occupied single-family dwelling classification, as defined in § 10-13-39, may not increase more than three percent over the total assessed value of all property in the county with an owner-occupied single-family dwelling classification in the prior year, except as otherwise provided in this section."

This cap applies to the county's total for the whole owner-occupied class. It does not limit how much any single home's assessment can rise. The section's exceptions include new improvements, reclassified property and the adjustment under SDCL 10-6-121. The only per-home limit on a rising assessment is the assessment freeze below, which is limited to older and disabled owners.

Assessment Freeze for the Elderly and Disabled

The freeze is not a dollar exemption. It holds the home's assessed value at a base-year assessment, and the income and value limits are indexed every year beginning January 1, 2026 under SDCL 10-6A-2 and 10-6A-3, as amended by SL 2025, ch 46.

2026 limits

For the April 1, 2026 deadline, the Department of Revenue published these limits: "Have an income of less than $56,595 for a single-member household (Only one individual in the household) or less than $66,885 for a multiple-member household." The home's full and true value limit for the same cycle was $514,500, and that value limit does not apply if you received the freeze in a preceding year. The statute's base figures, before indexing, are income under $55,000 and $65,000 and a value of $500,000; use the Department's current-year figures.

Household income for the freeze includes Social Security, IRA distributions, pensions and nontaxable interest, among other items.

Who is eligible

Under SDCL 10-6A-2, the applicant must be 65 or older or disabled under the Social Security Act definition, and must meet these conditions, among others:

"(2) Has been an owner of an owner-occupied single-family dwelling and a resident of South Dakota for at least five years, unless the person has received the assessment freeze in the previous year; (3) Has resided for at least two hundred days of the previous calendar year in the single-family dwelling;"

The base year is the year you turned 65 or became disabled (1977 if that was before 1982). A surviving spouse can qualify. Under SDCL 10-6A-1, the freeze covers "a house, condominium apartment, or manufactured home as defined in § 32-3-1 that is assessed and taxed as a separate unit including the platted lot upon which the structure is situated or one acre, whichever is less, and the garage, whether attached or unattached."

How and when to apply

SDCL 10-6A-4 provides: "The application for the real property tax assessment freeze provided under this chapter shall be annually submitted on or before April first on forms prescribed by the secretary of revenue." The Department says applications are available at your county treasurer's office or can be printed from the Department's website at sddor.seamlessdocs.com/f/pt38.

The freeze is not automatic and does not carry over. The Department's freeze brochure states: "Applications must be submitted annually to your county treasurer on or before April 1st." Under SDCL 10-6A-7, the treasurer certifies eligibility and household income to the county director of equalization, and "Upon such certification, the director of equalization shall freeze the real property tax assessment." An owner who misses April 1 but otherwise meets the requirements may petition the board of county commissioners to recalculate the taxes and abate the difference.

A person who obtains the freeze by misrepresenting ownership or income is assessed the tax reduction received, which becomes a perpetual lien, and is barred from the freeze for three years.

A 2026 bill to increase the freeze income limits, SB 196, failed in the Senate on February 24, 2026 (15 yeas, 18 nays), so the indexed limits above still apply.

Disabled veteran exemption: $200,000 of full and true value

SDCL 10-4-40 provides:

"Two hundred thousand dollars of the full and true value of the total amount of a dwelling or portion thereof classified as owner-occupied pursuant to §§ 10-13-39 to 10-13-40.4, inclusive, which is owned and occupied by a veteran who is rated as permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, is exempt from property taxation."

The Department's relief page describes the amount as $200,000 of assessed value, but the statute and the Department's brochure use full and true value. The veteran must own and occupy the home, and the Department asks for a VA statement as proof. The veteran keeps the exemption "until the property ownership is transferred, the veteran does not occupy the dwelling, or the property has a change in use."

Surviving spouses. Under SDCL 10-4-41, the same $200,000 exemption is available to the surviving spouse of a permanently and totally disabled veteran and to "(2) The surviving spouse of a veteran, who receives dependency and indemnity compensation from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as a result of the veteran's service-connected death." It lasts until remarriage, transfer, non-occupancy or a change in use.

How to apply. The Department's brochure states: "Application must be submitted to your county director of equalization on or before November 1." The application is on a form the secretary of revenue prescribes, linked from the Department's relief programs page, and the application and supporting documents are confidential. The brochure adds: "Once approved for the exemption, no further applications are needed. The property will continue to receive the $200,000 exemption until the property is sold or there is a change in use."

Missed deadlines (amended 2026). SL 2026, ch 40 amended both sections. A veteran who misses either the owner-occupied certificate deadline or the deadline for this exemption may petition the board of county commissioners, which may abate or refund the difference in taxes under chapter 10-18. Under SDCL 10-4-40, "If the veteran meets all eligibility requirements for this exemption except for the application deadline due to a pending claim for a permanent and total disability rating through the United States Department of Veteran Affairs, the board must abate or refund the difference in taxes accumulated since the effective date of the claim, but not exceeding the previous four years." Under SDCL 10-4-41, for a surviving spouse who missed the deadline, "the board may abate or refund the difference in taxes accumulated over a period not exceeding the previous four years, pursuant to chapter 10-18." The $200,000 amount is unchanged in the current text.

Paraplegic programs

The Department lists two programs for owners who are paraplegic or have lost, or lost the use of, both lower extremities: an exemption from all property taxes for paraplegic veterans, and an income-based percentage reduction for others. The Department's eligibility statement reads: "The property must be owned or occupied by a paraplegic or individual with the loss or loss of use of both lower extremities, or the unremarried widow/widower of such paraplegic. The property must be specifically designed for wheelchair use within the structure."

Under SDCL 10-4-24.12, the reduction is 100%, 75%, 50% or 25% depending on income; the statute's base figures for a 100% reduction are income under $14,000 for a single-member household and under $18,500 for a multiple-member household. Those figures are indexed, and the research did not capture the current ones. Veterans apply to the county assessor by November 1; the reduction is applied for with the county auditor by April 1. A paraplegic veteran who missed the owner-occupied certificate deadline or the exemption deadline may petition the board of county commissioners for a refund of taxes paid in any of the previous four years, and the board may approve or reject it (SDCL 10-4-24.10, as amended by SL 2026, ch 39).

The "Homestead Exemption Program" is a tax deferral for age 70 and older

Despite its name, this program lowers no taxes. The Department of Revenue explains: "This program delays the payment of property taxes until the property is sold. The taxes are a lien on the property and must be paid along with the interest before the property can be transferred." SDCL 10-6C-8 states: "No property on which the county is prohibited from collecting property taxes pursuant to this chapter may be transferred unless the property taxes and interest are paid in full." Interest runs at the Category E rate in SDCL 54-3-16, which is 4% per year. The county files the lien with the register of deeds, and the deferred taxes and interest may not exceed the value of the property (SDCL 10-6C-8, 10-6C-10).

Eligibility under SDCL chapter 10-6C. You must have established a base year at age 70, owned the single-family dwelling for at least 3 years or been a South Dakota resident for at least 5 years, and lived in the home at least 8 months of the previous calendar year. The statute's base income limits in SDCL 10-6C-2 are "less than sixteen thousand dollars if the household is a single-member household" and "less than twenty thousand dollars if the household is a multiple-member household," indexed annually from January 1, 2024. The Department's December 2025 brochure lists the indexed limits as under $18,470 (single-member) and under $23,087 (multiple-member). The rule that barred deferral participants from the property tax refund under chapter 10-18A (former SDCL 10-6C-7) was repealed, along with that refund chapter, by SL 2026, ch 37, effective July 1, 2026; the refund that remains is the sales tax refund under chapter 10-45A.

Under SDCL 10-6C-1, the covered "single-family dwelling" is "a house, condominium apartment, or manufactured home as defined in § 32-3-1 that is assessed and taxed as a separate unit, including the platted lot upon which the structure is situated or one acre, whichever is less, and the garage, whether attached or unattached."

How to apply. Under SDCL 10-6C-3, "a person must submit an application annually on or before April first to the county treasurer in the county where the person's property is located."

Protection from tax sale at 70. A related rule in SDCL 43-31-1 provides that "a homestead with a value of less than one hundred seventy thousand dollars of a person seventy years of age or older, and the unremarried surviving spouse of such person, is exempt from sale for taxes." That is a tax-sale rule, not a creditor cap or a tax reduction.

Other relief: the refund and the Rapid City reduction

Sales tax refund for seniors and people with disabilities (SDCL chapter 10-45A). This is a yearly refund, not a homestead exemption. You must be 65 before January 1 of the claim year or disabled, and a South Dakota resident for the whole calendar year. For the 2026 application covering 2025 taxes, the Department's limits are: "Live alone and have a yearly income of $17,215 or less OR live in a household whose members' combined income is $23,265 or less." The application window runs May 1 to July 1, refunds begin in early September, and "Only one claimant per household per year shall be entitled to relief under this chapter."

A 2026 law, SL 2026, ch 37 (SB 21), signed March 4, 2026 and in force July 1, 2026, repealed the separate property tax refund in SDCL chapter 10-18A. Under chapter 10-45A as amended, the refund is for retail sales and service taxes paid: the money appropriated divided among timely claimants (a household of more than one person counts as two), with a one-person household receiving one share capped at $500 and a larger household receiving two shares capped at $1,000, within the same $17,215 and $23,265 income limits. The Department's pages may still describe the older combined Sales and Property Tax Refund.

Municipal elderly and disabled reduction (SDCL chapter 10-6B). A city may adopt this reduction by resolution. It cuts the city's property tax by 100%, 75%, 50% or 25% by income band for a head of household who is 65 or older or disabled and has owned and lived in the home at least five years. The Department states: "Currently, Rapid City is the only municipality that allows for this program." Apply to the county treasurer by April 1.

2026 laws and the November 2026 ballot

• Homeowner property tax reduction fund (SL 2026, ch 48, SB 245). SDCL 10-13-47 creates a fund whose stated purpose is "to provide property tax relief for owner-occupied single-family dwellings. Moneys in the fund must be used to reduce the local effort for general education levies on owner-occupied single-family dwellings." Deposits begin with taxes collected on or after August 1, 2027, and the deposit section takes effect July 1, 2027. The research did not verify any per-home amount.
• Municipal rebates (SL 2026, ch 47). Under SDCL 10-13-46, "The governing body of a municipality may, by ordinance, establish a program to provide a property tax rebate to an owner of an owner-occupied single-family dwelling situated within the municipality." This is a local option; the research did not identify any city that has adopted one.
• Disabled veteran changes (SL 2026, ch 40), described above.

Ballot. The Secretary of State's 2026 ballot page lists four legislatively referred measures (letters I to L), and none concerns property tax. As of October 8, 2026, the page lists a citizen petition for "An Amendment to the South Dakota Constitution to repeal real property taxes and replace them with a 'retail transaction' tax" only as approved for circulation (November 3, 2025), not as a ballot measure. A referendum petition against SB 245, the homeowner fund law described above, likewise appears only as approved for circulation (April 29, 2026), not as a ballot measure.

South Dakota's creditor homestead (a separate law)

The property tax programs above do not protect a home from creditors. That protection comes from a different law, SDCL 43-45-3, read with chapter 43-31:

"A homestead: (1) As defined and limited in chapter 43-31, is absolutely exempt; or (2) In the event the homestead is sold under the provisions of chapter 21-19, or is sold by the owner voluntarily, the proceeds of the sale, not exceeding the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, are absolutely exempt for a period of one year after the receipt of the proceeds by the owner."

The same section, as amended by SL 2025, ch 185, also states: "The exemption is limited to one hundred seventy thousand dollars for a homestead of a person seventy years of age or older or the unremarried surviving spouse of such person so long as it continues to possess the character of a homestead." That sentence is the last sentence of subdivision (2), after the sale-proceeds sentence and the sentence on a homestead divided by court order. The section's source history includes SL 1980, ch 296, the same session law that added the protection of a homestead valued under $170,000 of an owner 70 or older from sale for taxes (SDCL 43-31-1). A 2025 bill as introduced (SB 88) would have rewritten that sentence to say that, for such owners, the proceeds of a sale up to $170,000 are exempt for one year; the enacted version kept the older wording. This page does not resolve whether the sentence limits anything beyond sale proceeds, so ask a South Dakota lawyer how it applies to a particular case.

• Area limits. Under SDCL 43-31-4, "If within a town plat the homestead must not exceed one acre in extent, and if not within a town plat, it must not embrace in the aggregate more than one hundred sixty acres."
• No required declaration. Under SDCL 43-31-6, "The owner or the husband or wife may select the homestead, and cause it to be marked off, platted, and recorded as provided in this code. If not so marked off, platted, and recorded, the officer having an execution against the property of such a defendant may cause the homestead to be marked off, platted, and recorded, and may add the expense thence arising to the amount embraced in his execution."
• Property taxes. Under SDCL 43-31-29, "The homestead shall be liable for taxes accruing thereon, and if certified and recorded as hereinbefore directed, shall be liable only for such taxes, and may be sold to pay the same except as provided in §§ 10-23-7, 43-31-1, or 43-45-3."
• No federal option in bankruptcy. Under SDCL 43-45-13, "residents of this state are not entitled to the federal exemptions provided in § 522(d) of the Bankruptcy Code of 1978 (11 U.S.C. § 522(d))."
• Federal limits in bankruptcy. South Dakota's exemptions generally apply in bankruptcy if South Dakota was your domicile for the 730 days before you file; if your domicile was not in one state for that whole period, the law of the state where you lived for most of the 180 days before it applies (11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3)(A)). Home equity acquired in the 1,215 days before filing is capped at $214,000 (11 U.S.C. § 522(p), amount effective April 1, 2025), except for a family farmer's principal residence and value carried over from a previous South Dakota home bought before that period.

Exceptions. No exemption is allowed against an attachment or execution for the purchase money of the property or for the cost of materials or labor in the original construction of buildings on it (SDCL 43-45-8). A conveyance or mortgage of the homestead by a married owner is valid if both spouses sign, when both are South Dakota residents (SDCL 43-31-17). The homestead also remains liable for its own property taxes (SDCL 43-31-29, above), and the protection lasts only while the property keeps the character of a homestead (SDCL 43-31-1).

For how these exemptions work in a bankruptcy case, see our guide to bankruptcy in South Dakota.

Homestead allowance in probate

Under SDCL 29A-2-402, "A decedent's surviving spouse or minor children are entitled to a homestead allowance as provided in chapter 43-31," which lets the survivor continue to possess and occupy the homestead, alongside exempt property and a family allowance. The homestead allowance and exempt property have priority over all claims against the estate (SDCL 29A-2-402(b)), and the personal representative may set a family allowance of up to $18,000 in a lump sum or $1,500 a month for one year without court approval (SDCL 29A-2-403). For how a South Dakota estate is administered, see South Dakota probate.

Related

• Homestead exemptions by state
• South Dakota bankruptcy exemptions and process
• South Dakota probate
• South Dakota property records

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about South Dakota property tax programs for homeowners under SDCL Title 10 and the homestead exemption from creditors under SDCL chapters 43-31 and 43-45, as verified on October 8, 2026. It is not tax or legal advice. For your situation, contact your county director of equalization or county treasurer, the South Dakota Department of Revenue at (800) 829-9188, or a lawyer licensed in South Dakota.

Last updated: October 8, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the homestead exemption in South Dakota?

South Dakota has no dollar-amount homestead exemption for ordinary homeowners. Homes are placed in the owner-occupied classification by certificate (SDCL 10-13-39 and 10-13-40), and dollar or percentage relief is limited to targeted programs such as the $200,000 disabled veteran exemption (SDCL 10-4-40), the paraplegic exemption and reduction, and Rapid City's municipal reduction for elderly and disabled owners.

When is the deadline for the owner-occupied certificate in South Dakota?

The owner-occupant must submit the certificate to the county director of equalization by March 15 (SDCL 10-13-40). A buyer of a home already classified as owner-occupied can meet the requirement with the certificate of value filed at the transfer.

Do I have to reapply every year in South Dakota?

Not for the owner-occupied classification, which stays until ownership transfers or the use changes, and not for the disabled veteran exemption once approved. The assessment freeze and the age 70 deferral must be applied for every year by April 1 with the county treasurer.

What are the 2026 income limits for the South Dakota assessment freeze?

For the April 1, 2026 deadline, the Department of Revenue published income limits of under $56,595 for a single-member household and under $66,885 for a multiple-member household, and a home value limit of $514,500 that does not apply if you received the freeze in a preceding year. The limits are indexed each year under SDCL 10-6A-2 and 10-6A-3.

Is the South Dakota Homestead Exemption Program really an exemption?

No. The Department of Revenue says the program delays the payment of property taxes until the property is sold; the taxes are a lien and must be paid with interest before the property can be transferred (SDCL chapter 10-6C).

How much is the disabled veteran property tax exemption in South Dakota?

SDCL 10-4-40 exempts $200,000 of the full and true value of an owner-occupied dwelling owned and occupied by a veteran rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability. Apply to the county director of equalization by November 1; once approved, no further applications are needed until the property is sold or its use changes.

Does the South Dakota homestead exemption protect my house from creditors?

The property tax programs do not. A separate law, SDCL 43-45-3 with chapter 43-31, makes a homestead absolutely exempt as defined and limited in chapter 43-31, limited by area, and protects sale proceeds up to $100,000 for one year. The section also mentions $170,000 for owners 70 or older in its sale-proceeds subdivision; ask a South Dakota lawyer how it applies to you.