Death & Survivor Benefits

South Dakota Property Tax Exemption for a Surviving Spouse

The same $200,000 exemption passes to a surviving spouse, and there are two ways in: the veteran was permanently and totally disabled, or the spouse receives DIC for a service-connected death. Remarriage ends it.

Also called: surviving spouse, 10-4-41, DIC, dependency and indemnity compensation, $200,000, widow, remarries.

For: Survivor.

Where it applies

Written for the jurisdictions listed here.

South DakotaState

Section 10-4-41 gives the surviving spouse the same two hundred thousand dollars of exempt full and true value on an owner-occupied dwelling, and it does so through two independent routes. The first is the one every summary carries: the surviving spouse of a veteran who was rated as permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability. The second is the one that is usually dropped, including from the Department of Revenue's own description of the program: the surviving spouse of a veteran who receives dependency and indemnity compensation from VA as a result of the veteran's service-connected death. That second route does not ask what rating the veteran held. A veteran rated 30 percent who dies of the service-connected condition leaves a spouse who qualifies on the DIC award alone, and a spouse reading a page that says only "the veteran must be rated permanently and totally disabled" will not know that. Remarriage ends the exemption. The section lists four terminating events: transfer of ownership, the spouse ceasing to occupy the dwelling, the spouse remarrying, or a change in the use of the property. Until one of those happens the exemption continues without reapplication, once the director of equalization has determined the spouse qualifies. The deadline and the confidentiality rule are the veteran's: November 1, to the local county assessor, with the application and every supporting document confidential. The late-application route here is weaker than the veteran's. A surviving spouse who missed the owner-occupied or exemption deadline may petition the county commissioners, and where the spouse met every other requirement the board may abate or refund up to the previous four years. That is discretionary throughout. The mandatory pending-claim look-back House Bill 1193 of 2026 wrote into 10-4-40 was not written into 10-4-41, so a spouse waiting on a DIC decision has a request rather than a right. This is a separate exemption from the paraplegic dwelling exemption in 10-4-24.10, which the unremarried widow or widower of a paraplegic veteran holds in full rather than up to a ceiling. Where both could apply, the paraplegic exemption is the larger one on any house worth more than $200,000. Check both.

Thresholds

Thresholds for South Dakota Property Tax Exemption for a Surviving Spouse
Gate	Rule
Two routes, and the DIC route asks for no rating	The spouse qualifies if the veteran was rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, or if the spouse receives dependency and indemnity compensation as a result of the veteran’s service-connected death. The second route does not depend on the rating the veteran held.
Remarriage ends it	The exemption runs until the property is transferred, the spouse stops occupying it, the spouse remarries, or the use changes. Short of those it continues without reapplication.
November 1, to the county assessor, confidentially	The application goes to the local county assessor by November 1 and is confidential, as are the supporting documents.
The late route here is discretionary all the way through	A surviving spouse who missed the deadline may petition the board of county commissioners, which may abate or refund up to four previous years. The mandatory pending-claim look-back added to the veteran’s section in 2026 has no counterpart here.

Sources

Legislation

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Ch. 40, L. 2026 (House Bill 1193) Made a four-year refund mandatory where a permanent and total claim was still pending at VA

Catalog reconciledEnactedScope changed

Signed 2026-03-30

Introduced Done, 2026-01-29, step 1 of 6
In committee Done, 2026-01-29, step 2 of 6
Passed one chamber Done, 2026-02-12, step 3 of 6
Passed both chambers Done, 2026-03-02, step 4 of 6
Signed by the governor Done, 2026-03-30, step 5 of 6
In effect Done, 2026-03-30, step 6 of 6

Expands benefits Requires a four-year refund where a permanent and total claim was still pending at VA when the deadline passed.

Amended 10-4-40 to provide that where a veteran meets every eligibility requirement for the disabled veteran exemption except the application deadline because a permanent and total disability claim is pending at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the board of county commissioners must abate or refund the difference in taxes accumulated since the effective date of the claim, not exceeding the previous four years. The word is "must", where the neighbouring late-application paragraph says "may". Also amended 10-4-41 for surviving spouses, but without the mandatory limb, so the two sections now differ. Tracked because a veteran whose rating arrives years after the effective date has an entitlement rather than a request, and no summary of the program yet says so.

Ch. 34, L. 2024 (House Bill 1082) Raised the disabled veteran property tax exemption from $150,000 to $200,000 and dropped the inflation escalator

Catalog reconciledEnactedFigure moved

Signed 2024-03-05

Introduced Done, 2024-01-12, step 1 of 6
In committee Done, 2024-01-12, step 2 of 6
Passed one chamber Done, 2024-01-30, step 3 of 6
Passed both chambers Done, 2024-02-22, step 4 of 6
Signed by the governor Done, 2024-03-05, step 5 of 6
In effect Done, 2024-03-05, step 6 of 6

Expands and restricts Raised the exempt value from $150,000 to $200,000 but dropped the inflation escalator.

Amended 10-4-40 and 10-4-41 to raise the exempt full and true value from one hundred fifty thousand dollars to two hundred thousand, and amended 10-6-154 so the annual assessment notice names the veteran exemptions. Tracked for what did not survive as much as for what did: the bill as introduced said two hundred fifty thousand and added an annual consumer price index escalator beginning January 1, 2025. The House Military and Veterans Affairs committee struck the "fifty" and the Senate Taxation committee struck the escalator, so the figure is a flat $200,000 that does not index. Guidance quoting $250,000, or describing the exemption as inflation-adjusted, is describing the introduced bill rather than the law, and guidance still quoting $150,000 predates the act.

Updated

Last updated 2026-09-29.

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Disclaimer

VetTOC is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Information is for reference only and is not an eligibility determination. Verify with VA, the relevant state or territory, or an accredited VSO.