South Dakota Disabled Veteran Benefits

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If you are a disabled veteran living in South Dakota, or thinking about moving here, this page puts every state-level benefit tied to your VA (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) disability rating in one place: the property tax exemptions, the fact that South Dakota has no state income tax, vehicle plates, parks and hunting/fishing, education for you and your family, the state veterans home, hiring preference, and more. Every dollar figure, deadline, and form name below comes from an official South Dakota source, and I link that source so you can check it yourself. Where the state's own pages leave a number unsettled, I tell you to confirm it rather than guess.

Plain-language promise: I keep the how-to steps here so you can act. The only thing I route out is filing or increasing a VA claim, because that is free claims work best handled by an accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO), never a paid company. In South Dakota your free help is a County or Tribal Veterans Service Officer (CVSO/TVSO) in your own county.

Heads-up on 2026 legislation — the disabled-veteran property tax cap did NOT go up. A bill in the 2026 session would have raised the disabled-veteran exemption cap from $200,000 to $300,000 of assessed value, but it was defeated in the South Dakota Senate in February 2026. So as of this writing the cap is still $200,000. Do not count on $300,000. You can track current and future bills yourself on the Legislature's site.

Sources the Legislature's bill tracker

Property tax exemption

What it is: South Dakota has three separate property tax breaks that a disabled veteran (or surviving spouse) can qualify for. None are automatic — you file with your county, and the deadline matters. Two of the three run through your county Director of Equalization / assessor with a November 1 deadline; the income-based reduction runs through your county Treasurer with an April 1 deadline. Only one of these reaches a true full (100%) exemption, and it is keyed to loss of use of both legs, not to a 100% rating — read the routes carefully.

The one route to a FULL (100%) property-tax exemption:

• Paraplegic / loss-of-use-of-both-legs full exemption. This is the only South Dakota route that wipes out the property tax entirely. It exempts a dwelling from all property taxes (the house, plus real estate up to one acre the building sits on). To qualify, all of the following must be true:
  • You are a veteran with paraplegia or with the loss, or loss of use, of both lower extremities (both legs), or you are the unremarried widow/widower of such a veteran; and
  • the dwelling is specifically designed for wheelchair use within the structure; and
  • you have owned and occupied the dwelling for one full calendar year before the exemption takes effect.
  Note what this route does not key on: it is not a "100% VA rating" test, and the qualifying injury does not have to be service-connected (unlike the $200,000 exemption below). A veteran can be rated 100% and still not qualify here if the disability is not the loss/loss of use of both legs; conversely this route can apply based on the qualifying limb loss even at a lower or non-service-connected rating. File on the Paraplegic exemption application with your county Director of Equalization by November 1. Form: PT-46A — Paraplegic Dwelling Property Tax Exemption.

The partial (capped) programs — these do NOT go to zero unless your home is small enough:

• Totally disabled veteran exemption — up to $200,000 of value. If the VA rates you permanently and totally (P&T) disabled from a service-connected disability, up to $200,000 of the full-and-true (assessed) value of your owner-occupied dwelling is exempt. If your house is worth $200,000 or less, that is effectively a full exemption; above that, you pay tax only on the value over $200,000. The exemption continues until you sell, stop occupying it, or the use changes; your VA documentation is kept confidential. File by November 1 with your county Director of Equalization. Form: PT-46C — Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption.
• Surviving-spouse exemption — up to $200,000 of value. An unremarried surviving spouse who owns and occupies the dwelling can exempt up to $200,000 of assessed value if either (a) the veteran was rated P&T disabled from a service-connected disability, or (b) the veteran's death was service-connected and the spouse receives VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC). This figure moved in step with the veteran's own exemption (both were raised to $200,000 by a 2024 law) — some SD Veterans Affairs consumer pages still show the older $150,000 figure, so confirm the current amount with your county if you see a discrepancy. It ends on remarriage, sale, moving out, or change of use. File by November 1 on the same PT-46C form with your county.
• Paraplegic property-tax REDUCTION (income-based). Separate from the full exemption above: a paraplegic (or person with loss/loss of use of both lower extremities, or the unremarried surviving spouse) whose home is designed for wheelchair use can get taxes reduced on a graduated scale based on income (income and occupancy limits apply). This one goes through the county Treasurer with an April 1 deadline. The reduction is on a graduated scale tied to your household income — SD DOR's own 2025 figures give a sense of scale: roughly under $20,192 for a single-member household or under $24,679 for a multi-member household (these limits are indexed and typically rise slightly each year, so confirm the current-year figures with the Treasurer). This condition is not required to be service-connected. Form: PT-46B — Paraplegic Property Tax Reduction.

1. Figure out which route fits you: loss/loss of use of both legs → the full exemption (PT-46A); P&T service-connected → the $200,000 exemption (PT-46C); unremarried surviving spouse → the $200,000 version (PT-46C); income-limited paraplegic → the reduction (PT-46B).
2. Get your VA paperwork: your VA rating decision / award letter showing P&T status, or documentation of the qualifying limb loss, plus (for the surviving-spouse route) proof of DIC if you are using the service-connected-death path.
3. Download the correct form above (or pick it up at your county courthouse — applications open in January each year) and file it with the right county office: Director of Equalization / assessor for the exemptions (deadline Nov 1), Treasurer for the income-based reduction (deadline Apr 1).
4. If you miss the November 1 deadline, you are not automatically out of options, and two 2026 laws made the safety net stronger and more specific. If your VA permanent-and-total disability claim (the $200,000 exemption route) was still pending as of November 1, a 2026 law (HB1193) requires your county board of commissioners to abate/refund the tax difference back to your claim's VA effective date, capped at the prior four years — a mandatory entitlement once your rating comes through, not a discretionary favor. If instead you missed the deadline on the paraplegic exemption or the owner-occupied classification, a separate 2026 law (SB12) lets you petition the county board for a refund covering up to the prior four years, at the board's discretion.
5. If you are unsure which nets you the most, call the SD DOR Property Tax Division at 1-800-829-9188 (option 2) or your county office, and ask a free CVSO to help assemble the VA documents.
6. Confirm it posted by checking your next tax bill for the exemption line, or call the county a few weeks after filing.

Sources State Dept. of Revenue · State Veterans Affairs · the exemption brochure · SDCL 10-4-40 (HB1193) · SDCL 10-4-24.10 (SB12)

State income tax

What it is: South Dakota is one of the states with no state individual income tax at all, so none of your income is taxed at the state level.

• No state income tax, period. South Dakota does not levy a personal income tax, so your wages, retirement income, and investment income are not taxed by the state. This is not a special veteran carve-out — it applies to everyone. The state's tax listing has no individual income tax among them.
• Military retirement pay: not taxed by South Dakota, because there is no state income tax to tax it with. Nothing to file for.
• VA disability compensation is federally tax-free under federal law no matter what state you live in — a federal rule, not a South Dakota benefit.

1. You do not file a South Dakota income-tax return — there isn't one.
2. Make sure your VA disability compensation is not showing up as taxable income on your federal return either (it should not). If a preparer put it there, have it corrected — that is a filing mechanic, not claims work.

Sources State Dept. of Revenue · the IRS

Vehicles, plates & tolls

What it is: the SD Department of Revenue Motor Vehicle Division issues a low-cost Disabled Veteran plate and several other veteran/medal plates. South Dakota has no toll roads, so there is no toll benefit to claim.

• Disabled Veteran plate — $10/year, no registration fee. A South Dakota resident veteran qualifies if they are any one of: a recipient of a VA "K" award; a recipient of a VA automobile grant; a recipient of a statutory benefit for loss or loss of use of one or more extremities; or a recipient of a veteran's allotment for total disability that is a service-connected injury — where the injury was incurred on active duty in wartime or an armed-conflict operation. The plate costs $10 annually with no separate registration fee (a mailing fee applies). Available for cars and motorcycles.
• Other veteran/medal plates: Purple Heart, Prisoner of War (POW), Pearl Harbor Survivor, and various medal plates are also available (typically $10/year).
• Vehicle excise tax: South Dakota's official Motor Vehicle Exemptions reference (the complete list of every exemption code SD DOR recognizes) has no disabled-veteran or service-connected-disability category — non-government sites claiming a disabled veteran is exempt from the state's 4% motor-vehicle excise tax are not supported by SD DOR's own rules. There is a separate federal path: if the VA bought or adapted your vehicle with an Automobile/Adaptive Equipment Grant (VA Form 21-4502), keep that award letter for any state or dealer paperwork, but it does not itself waive the state excise tax.
• Veteran-owned business, military plates: a 2026 law (HB 1080) lets a veteran business owner display their military specialty plate on a noncommercial vehicle registered to their business, as long as the veteran is listed as an additional owner of that vehicle.

1. Gather your proof of eligibility: your VA letter showing the "K" award, the auto-grant award, the loss-of-use benefit, or the total-disability allotment.
2. Complete the Application for South Dakota Military License Plates and take it to your county treasurer's motor-vehicle office. Online form: Veteran & Active Duty Military License Plate Application (form 1302).
3. Confirm at the counter that the $10 plate fee with no registration fee is being applied.
4. If a dealer or the county raises the 4% excise tax, ask them directly whether any disabled-veteran exemption applies and get it in writing before you pay.

Sources State Motor Vehicle Division · the military plates page · motor vehicle exemptions list

Recreation: parks, hunting & fishing

What it is: the SD Game, Fish & Parks (GFP) department gives a free lifetime state-park entrance license to 100%-disabled veterans and a reduced-fee hunting/fishing license for veterans rated 40% or higher.

• Park Entrance License — free, lifetime, plus 50% off camping. A South Dakota resident who provides a "K" award or a VA letter showing 100% total service-connected disability (or documentation of POW status, or a Purple Heart) can get a free lifetime Park Entrance License covering the veteran's vehicle at all SD state parks, plus a 50% discount on campsite/cabin fees and electrical hookups. Apply online through your Go Outdoors South Dakota profile (select "Disabled Veteran Lifetime PEL Application" and upload your VA documents); approval takes about two weeks.
• Reduced-fee hunting & fishing license — $10 for four years, for 40%+ ratings. A South Dakota resident qualifies with a VA "K" award, a veteran's allotment for a 40%-or-greater service-connected disability, or a Social Security Administration letter showing 40% disability plus verified active-duty/Reserve/Guard service, or discharge papers showing POW status. The license is a one-time $10 fee good for four years and replaces the resident small-game and resident fishing licenses. Mail the application, your VA/SSA verification, and $10 to SD GFP, 20641 SD Hwy 1806, Ft. Pierre, SD 57532. Form: Disabled Veteran & POW Reduced-Fee Hunting and Fishing Application (PDF).
• Disabled Veteran/Purple Heart special pheasant hunt (new for 2026): a 2026 law (SB 131, "Honoring Our Heroes") created a nonprofit-hosted special pheasant hunt, free to the state and to participants, held before or during the regular pheasant season on private land. You qualify with a 20%+ service-connected VA rating (or a VA "K" award), a 40%+ Social Security disability rating with service, or as a Purple Heart recipient. Both residents and nonresidents are eligible.
• If a source told you the hunting/fishing license is "free": the official GFP pages describe a $10 / four-year reduced fee, not a $0 license, for the veteran programs above. (GFP also runs a separate Total Disability reduced-fee license — also $10/4-year — for people certified totally disabled, e.g. legal blindness, which is not veteran-specific.) Treat any "completely free" claim as unverified and confirm the current fee with GFP.

1. For the free lifetime park pass, create/log into your Go Outdoors South Dakota profile, choose the Disabled Veteran Lifetime PEL Application, and upload your 100% VA letter (or POW/Purple Heart proof).
2. For the reduced-fee hunting/fishing license, get your VA letter showing a 40%+ rating (or the K award), fill out the application PDF, and mail it with your $10 and verification to the Ft. Pierre address above.
3. Questions on either program: GFP customer service, 605-223-7660, or 605-773-3391 for park-license status.

Sources State Game, Fish & Parks · the reduced-fee license page · the total-disability license page · the special pheasant hunt page

Education for you & your family

What it is: South Dakota offers free tuition at state universities and technical colleges in several situations — for the veteran directly (when GI Bill benefits are used up or unavailable), and for the children and spouses of veterans who died or became permanently disabled from service. These run through the SD Dept. of Veterans Affairs and the schools.

• Free tuition for the veteran. An eligible South Dakota resident veteran who is not drawing federal GI Bill education benefits can take undergraduate courses at a state university or technical college and get one month of free tuition for each month of qualifying service, up to a total of four academic years. Requires an honorable discharge, South Dakota residency, and meeting the statutory "veteran" definition.
• Free tuition for children of deceased or disabled service members. A South Dakota resident under age 25 whose parent was killed in action or died on active duty (parent must have been an SD resident for at least six months before entering service), or whose parent was permanently disabled or died in the line of duty as a member of the South Dakota National Guard, can attend a state-supported school tuition-free. (Room, board, and books are generally not covered unless stated separately.)
• Free tuition/fees for children and spouses of POW/MIA service members. Children and spouses of a prisoner of war or a person listed as missing in action can attend a state-supported school without tuition or mandatory fees, provided they are not eligible for an equal or greater federal benefit.
• South Dakota National Guard tuition. Active Guard members who have completed basic training receive a 100% reduction in tuition at state universities (up to 128 undergraduate credits, or up to 32 graduate credits) or technical colleges while maintaining satisfactory progress. Federal education benefits do not disqualify a Guard member.
• Honorary high school diploma: a WWII, Korea, or Vietnam-era veteran who left high school early to serve can receive an honorary diploma from their former school district.

1. Decide who the benefit is for: you (veteran free tuition), your child (deceased/disabled-parent or POW/MIA tuition), your spouse (POW/MIA), or a Guard member.
2. Contact the SD Dept. of Veterans Affairs education contact (Shane Olivier, 425 E. Capitol Ave., Pierre, SD 57501, 605-773-3269) and the school's veterans/financial-aid office to confirm current eligibility and get the application.
3. Have the veteran's discharge document (DD Form 214) and, for the dependent programs, proof of the service-connected death/disability or POW/MIA status ready.
4. If you are a veteran with remaining GI Bill benefits, use those first — the state tuition benefit is aimed at when the federal benefit is unavailable or exhausted.

Sources State Veterans Affairs

State Veterans' Home & long-term care

What it is: South Dakota runs one state veterans home — the Michael J. Fitzmaurice South Dakota Veterans Home in Hot Springs — providing skilled-nursing and assisted-living care to veterans and, in some cases, their spouses.

• Who can be admitted: an honorably discharged veteran (per the state's definitions) who is eligible for VA per-diem payment for domiciliary or nursing-home care — that eligibility test, not a flat state-residency clock, is what state law actually requires. Admission preference (not a strict requirement) goes to veterans domiciled in South Dakota within the past five years, and separately to enrolled members of a federally recognized tribe in the state. The Home's own Application Process page states no separate income test for admission — an older figure (countable income no more than roughly $1,000 above the VA Improved Pension rate) still circulates in some secondary sources, but current eligibility is the per-diem test above. Cost of care once admitted may still be income-scaled — confirm your specific cost with the Home's admissions office.
• Spouses and surviving spouses: a spouse may qualify if married to and living with the veteran for at least a year before applying; an unremarried surviving spouse age 60+ who was married to the veteran for at least a year before death may also qualify. Confirm your specific case with admissions.
• Cost: costs depend on your income, VA benefits, and level of care. If you have a higher VA disability rating, ask specifically how much of your care the VA covers — verify the current arrangement with the admissions office.

1. Call the Home's admissions office: 605-745-5127, 2500 Minnekahta Ave., Hot Springs, SD 57747.
2. Confirm you meet the discharge, one-year-residency, care-need, and income requirements, and ask for the exact current income limit and cost given your VA rating.
3. Have your DD Form 214 and VA award letter ready to submit with the application.
4. For care options beyond the state home, a free CVSO can also walk you through nearby federal VA facilities (Sioux Falls VA and VA Black Hills in Hot Springs/Fort Meade).

Sources State Veterans Affairs · application process

State hiring & civil service

What it is: South Dakota gives veterans a hiring preference across all levels of government, with an extra edge for service-connected disabled veterans and a guaranteed interview if you meet the minimum qualifications.

• Preference at every level. An honorably discharged, U.S.-citizen veteran who served under qualifying conditions gets preference in appointment, employment, and promotion at all levels of South Dakota government — state, county, municipal, and school district.
• Guaranteed interview. If you meet the minimum qualifications for the job, you shall be granted an interview.
• Extra preference for disabled veterans. A veteran with a service-connected disability is given preference over a non-disabled veteran. Age, limb loss, or a physical impairment cannot be used to disqualify a veteran unless it actually prevents doing the job.
• Surviving spouses. An unremarried surviving spouse of a veteran who died in service or from a service-connected cause receives equivalent preference; a spouse of a disabled veteran who cannot use their own preference may claim it if otherwise qualified.

1. When you apply for any South Dakota state, county, city, or school-district job, claim veteran status and, if you have a service-connected rating, claim disabled-veteran preference.
2. Attach your DD Form 214 and your VA rating letter.
3. If you meet the minimum qualifications and are not granted an interview, raise it — the interview is required by statute. A CVSO can help you press the point.

Sources State Veterans Affairs

Other: bonus, burial, business

What it is: a state cash bonus for qualifying wartime-era service, and burial/headstone help for the family.

• South Dakota Veterans Bonus. A one-time state bonus, up to $1,000 total, for veterans who were a South Dakota legal resident for at least six months before entering active duty. It has two stackable $500 pieces: Bonus A for Desert Storm-era service, August 2, 1990–December 31, 1992 (hostile-area service and the Southwest Asia Service Medal are required for service after March 3, 1991); Bonus B for January 1, 1993 to the present, split into a January 1, 1993–September 10, 2001 window (requires hostile-area service with a qualifying combat medal, e.g. Somalia/Bosnia/Kosovo-era operations) and a September 11, 2001–present window (all active service qualifies, no combat medal needed). Active duty for training does not count. Apply through the SD Dept. of Veterans Affairs, 425 E. Capitol Ave., Pierre, SD 57501, 605-773-3269.
• Burial / funeral expense assistance. The state pays up to $100 toward the burial/funeral costs of an honorably discharged veteran (or the veteran's spouse/widow/widower) when the estate and immediate family cannot cover them. Requires one year of SD residency before entering service or before death; the CVSO/TVSO must submit the application within one year of burial.
• Headstone setting / etching reimbursement. The state also reimburses part of the cost of setting a government-issued headstone or marker ($200), and of professionally etching military information on a privately purchased stone ($100), confirmed current on the SD Dept. of Veterans Affairs' own headstone page.
• Veteran business / other: South Dakota does not run a large state-level veteran-owned-business preference program, but a free CVSO can point you to federal veteran-owned small business certification and the SBA. Ask your county officer.

1. If you had qualifying wartime-era active service and were an SD resident before entering, apply for the Veterans Bonus (up to $500) through the SD Dept. of Veterans Affairs or your CVSO.
2. For a veteran's death, the family member who paid the costs works with the County or Tribal Veterans Service Officer to file the burial-assistance and headstone-reimbursement claims within one year of burial.
3. Confirm current dollar amounts and required proof (residency, discharge, receipts) with the CVSO before filing.

Sources the veterans bonus page · the burial benefits page

Who to call

South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs is your single front door for the state programs above, and your local County or Tribal Veterans Service Officer is your free, in-person help for filing any of them — and for a VA claim or rating.

• Website: vetaffairs.sd.gov
• Pierre office: 425 E. Capitol Ave., Pierre, SD 57501 — 605-773-3269
• Find your County/Tribal Veterans Service Officer (free help in every county) through the department's benefits guide.
• Property tax questions: your county Director of Equalization / assessor (they administer it) and the SD DOR Property Tax Division, 1-800-829-9188, option 2.

1. Anything tied to your actual VA rating — filing a new claim, appealing, or arguing for a higher percentage — goes to a free accredited VSO or your County/Tribal Veterans Service Officer. You can also find an accredited representative at VA.gov. Never pay a private company for basic claims help.
2. State-program questions (property tax, plates, parks, education, the veterans home, hiring, bonus, burial) go to the specific office linked in that section, or start at vetaffairs.sd.gov.

Sources State Veterans Affairs benefits guide · State Dept. of Revenue

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