South Dakota bases household tax refunds on income and funding

The Department of Revenue would divide money set aside for sales and service tax refunds among eligible households that file on time. One-person households would receive no refund above $17,215 in income. Larger households would receive no refund above $23,265. Applicants must meet the program’s other eligibility rules, which are not included here. The department would count each one-person household once and each larger household twice when dividing the available money. Larger households would receive two shares, within their cap.

Covered tax-relief programs would allow people to receive certain benefits together. These protections cover the referenced sales and service tax refund, property-tax assessment freeze, and property-tax reduction programs. Applicants would still need to meet each program’s other requirements. The protection against denial of a property-tax reduction applies when the reason for denial is the covered refund or assessment freeze.

Municipalities could waive or reduce special assessments, which are charges for local improvements. The relief would cover single-family homes occupied by their owners. The household head must be at least 65 or have a disability, or annual household income must be at or below the federal poverty level. Municipalities would choose whether to grant the relief. The income test uses the federal poverty level updated annually on the Department of Social Services website.

Property taxes would have to be reduced on the portion of a home owned and occupied by a person with paraplegia or loss or loss of use of both legs. The reduction would cover only the portion of the home that the person owns and occupies. The reduction would follow the rules in two referenced tax sections whose contents are not included. The person must have owned and occupied the home for the full calendar year before the year the taxes are due.

Sections 11–30 direct the removal of the listed tax-law sections. The directions cover § 10-6C-7, the listed sections of chapter 10-18A, and § 10-45A-2.1. The affected sections’ contents are not included, so the effects on taxpayers cannot be determined from these pages.