In South Dakota, real property is assessed as of November 1 in the year prior to the assessment year. Valuation notices are sent out on or before March 1 of the assessment year. Properties that are not agricultural are valued using a combination of the cost approach, market approach, and income approach.
Taxes are payable in equal installments on April 30 and October 31 in the year following the assessment year. Special assessments are paid in equal parts on both payment dates. For example, the 2023 values have an assessment date of November 1, 2022, and taxes are paid in equal installments in 2024.
There are three to four levels of property tax appeals in South Dakota. The local appeal deadline is the third Thursday in March of the assessment year. If the property owner is a nonresident (usually the case for Ryan clients), the local level of appeal can be bypassed in favor of the county level. The county appeal deadline is the first Tuesday in April of the assessment year. If the property owner does not agree with the County Board’s decision, the property owner can appeal to the Office of Hearing Examiners (OHE) by the third Friday in May. Finally, the value can be appealed to the Circuit Court within 30 days of the County Board or OHE decision. The property owner has the option to bypass the OHE appeal level.
Often, property owners fail to protest their property’s valuation because they are unaware of their options, don't understand the complicated process, or lack the resources to substantiate a claim that their property is overvalued. Ryan has a proven history of successfully reducing values for a variety of property types using one or more of the established valuation approaches. Reach out to one of our many professionals today.