Search Bills

provide for the assessment of certain agricultural land as noncropland.

This bill allows agricultural landowners to have high-elevation land (above 1,950 feet) assessed as lower-value "noncropland" if it's been in perennial vegetation for at least 20 years and used for grazing, or if it's native grassland—regardless of soil type. Landowners must request this classification by August 1st with documentation, and must notify the state if they later change the land's use to cropland or another purpose.

revise the classification of agricultural land according to soil type.

South Dakota's system for classifying agricultural land based on soil quality will now use federal soil classification standards developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to determine whether land is cropland or noncropland for property tax purposes. The bill allows the director of equalization to reclassify certain mid-quality soils (land capability class IV) as noncropland if data shows they're best used for non-crop purposes, but only if this reclassification doesn't exceed 120 percent of the previous year's noncropland acreage.

limit the increase of assessed value of property for the purpose of taxation, and to limit the property tax due on property.

This bill caps how much property taxes homeowners and businesses pay each year at no more than 1% of the property's assessed value, and limits annual increases in assessed values to 3% or less (unless the property has been significantly improved or changed). It also tightens rules requiring that assessed values stay closer to actual market values, with a maximum assessment level of 85% of market value instead of the current range. These changes make property tax bills more predictable and limit how much assessments can jump year to year.

provide property assessment freeze and reduction of property assessment for certain seniors, and to revise qualifications for a property tax exemption.

HB1253 creates a property tax relief program for seniors age 70 and older and disabled property owners by freezing their home assessments at a baseline year value and limiting future increases to a calculation based on the appreciation rate from their baseline year. Surviving spouses of eligible seniors can also receive this benefit using the same baseline year their deceased spouse would have used. This reduces property tax bills for qualifying seniors by preventing their assessments from rising as much as other homeowners' assessments do.

revise provisions regarding the procurement of tax deeds.

This bill shortens the timeline for tax certificate holders to pursue a tax deed on property from six years down to three years after the initial tax certificate sale. It also moves up when someone must start the process from "after three years" to "after two years," requiring action within a narrower window. The bill applies the same shortened timeline to both private purchasers and county tax certificate holders.

require sellers of residential real property to disclose property taxes to buyers.

When selling a house in South Dakota, sellers must now tell buyers how much property tax is owed on the property before the buyer makes an offer to purchase it. This new requirement applies to residential real estate sales that already require other disclosures under state law.

reduce the number of years of delinquent property taxes required for a county to issue a tax deed on a property.

This bill speeds up when counties can foreclose on properties with unpaid taxes by reducing the required delinquency period from six years to three years. Property owners will have less time before the county can issue a tax deed and potentially sell their property to recover back taxes owed.

revise the discretionary formula for reduced taxation of new structures and residential property.

Counties in South Dakota currently have the option to reduce property taxes on new structures for up to five years after construction, and this bill clarifies and slightly adjusts how that discretionary tax reduction works. The bill specifies that counties must apply their chosen tax reduction formula equally to all similar properties within the same taxing district, and it allows property owners to request that the tax reduction not apply to their new structure if they prefer to pay full taxes immediately. The bill also makes technical corrections to the law's language about how assessed values are calculated during the tax reduction period.