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For immediate release: Monday, March 26, 2007
For more information: Contact Michael Kenyon, Director
Property and Special Taxes Division, 605-773-3311
May 1st Deadline for Property Tax Homestead Exemption
(PIERRE, SD) - Eligible property owners have until May 1st to apply for a program that would allow them to delay the payment of their property taxes.
Applications for the Property Tax Homestead Exemption Program are now available. Under the program, qualified applicants can delay the payment of property taxes until the property is sold; taxes are a lien on the property and must be paid along with the interest before the property can be transferred. To qualify, applicants must be at least 70 years old or a surviving spouse; have owned a house for at least three years; or have been a resident of South Dakota for at least five years; have resided for at least eight months of the previous calendar year in the home; and must also meet the program’s income limits. Under those limits, the maximum amount of income to be eligible is $16,000 for a single-member household and $20,000 for a multiple-member household.
The program defines property as the house, garage, and the lot upon which it sits or one acre, whichever is less. Applicants should keep in mind that application and qualification for the Homestead Exemption Program makes them ineligible for the Sales and Property Tax Refund for Senior and Disabled Citizens Program.
Interested individuals must apply for the Property Tax Homestead Exemption Program annually to their county treasurer. Applications are available at their county courthouse or from the Department of Revenue and Regulation’s Property and Special Taxes Division. For more information, call the Department’s toll-free helpline at 1-800-829-9188 and ask for the Division of Property and Special Taxes.
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