Veteran taxes by state
South Dakota veteran taxes
How South Dakota treats military retired pay and Survivor Benefit Plan annuities in its income tax, and its property tax and vehicle registration relief for disabled veterans — from the state’s own pages.
On this page5 sections
- Military retired pay
- No income tax
- SBP annuities
- No income tax
- Property tax
- Exemption or credit
- Vehicle registration
- Fee waiver or discount
Military retired pay in South Dakota
No income taxSources 1, 2
South Dakota has no personal income tax, so military retired pay is not taxed by the state. The Department of Revenue’s Sales and Use Tax Guide (July 2026) says South Dakota does not have a corporate, unitary, or personal income tax.
Survivor Benefit Plan annuities
No income taxSources 1, 2
With no personal income tax, South Dakota does not tax Survivor Benefit Plan annuities.
Property tax relief for disabled veterans
Exemption or creditSources 3, 4, 5, 6
South Dakota exempts from property taxation $200,000 of the full and true value of an owner-occupied dwelling owned and occupied by a veteran rated as permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability (SDCL 10-4-40). A dwelling designed for and owned and occupied for the full calendar year by a paraplegic veteran or a veteran with the loss or loss of use of both lower extremities is exempt from all property taxes (SDCL 10-4-24.10).
- The veteran applies on a form prescribed by the Secretary of Revenue; the Department of Revenue lists a November 1 deadline and refers applicants to the County Director of Equalization. Once granted, the exemption stays until ownership is transferred, the veteran no longer occupies the dwelling or the property’s use changes.
- If the veteran missed the deadline only because a VA permanent and total rating claim was pending, the county board must abate or refund the difference in taxes back to the claim’s effective date, up to the previous four years (SDCL 10-4-40).
Surviving spouse
The $200,000 exemption also applies to a dwelling owned and occupied by the surviving spouse of a veteran rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, or of a veteran whose service-connected death brings VA dependency and indemnity compensation, and ends if the surviving spouse remarries (SDCL 10-4-41); the unremarried widow or widower keeps the paraplegic veteran exemption (SDCL 10-4-24.10).
Vehicle registration for disabled veterans
Fee waiver or discountSources 7, 8
A veteran with South Dakota’s Disabled Veteran military specialty plates is not subject to the annual registration fees under SDCL 32-5-6 or 32-5-9; the veteran pays $10 for the initial plate and $10 a year for renewal decals and may get up to two sets for automobiles, pickup trucks, vans or motorcycles (SDCL 32-5-160). The Department of Revenue lists eligibility for a resident veteran who received a VA K Award, an automobile under Public Law 187, a statutory benefit for loss or loss of use of one or more extremities, or an allotment for total disability from a service-connected injury, incurred on active duty in a time of war or a military mission involving armed conflict.
- The Department of Revenue also charges a $12 mailing fee.
- One of the two sets may go on a noncommercial pickup truck over 6,000 pounds or a motor home, which then pays the regular annual registration fee.
- The sources read do not provide for a surviving spouse.
Sources
Each source was read on October 28, 2026 on the state’s own site, the normal way. The numbers in the sections above point here.
- Taxes
- Sales and Use Tax Guide
- Codified Law 10-4-40 - Partial exemption--Owner-occupied dwellings of certain disabled veterans.
- Codified Law 10-4-41 - Partial exemption--Owner-occupied dwellings of surviving spouses of certain veterans.
- Codified Law 10-4-24.10 - Exemption for dwelling of paraplegic or amputee veteran or surviving spouse.
- Property Tax Relief Programs (2026 PT Tax Reduction Programs)
- Codified Law 32-5-160 - Certain military specialty plates not subject to annual registration fees--Maximum sets--Permissible vehicles.
- Specialty Military Plates