4 South Dakota counties will vote in November on new sales taxes to lower property taxes

South Dakotans in two counties will decide in the Nov. 3 election whether to implement a county sales tax for homeowner property tax reduction, while residents in two other counties will vote in special elections later in November.

State lawmakers and the governor gave counties the authority during this year’s legislative session to implement their own sales taxes for the first time in state history, with proceeds going toward lowering homeowners’ property taxes. Counties are limited to a half-percent tax. Lawmakers and the governor also decided to use proceeds from next year’s increase in the state sales tax rate, from 4.2% to 4.5%, to reduce property taxes for homeowners statewide.

Brown County commissioners included a provision in their Aug. 18 ordinance requiring a public vote on Nov. 3. In Codington, Clay and Charles Mix counties, residents gathered enough petition signatures to refer the ordinances to voters.

Codington County will vote on the issue on Nov. 3. Because ballots were already printed when petitioners in Clay and Charles Mix counties submitted signatures, those counties will hold special elections Nov. 17. State law requires special elections to be held between 60 and 90 days after the submission of a validated petition.

Six other counties have adopted a sales tax without putting it to voters or being subjected to a referendum. Custer, Fall River, Lawrence, Lincoln, Meade and Pennington counties’ half-percent sales tax ordinances will be implemented in January.

Two more counties have passed ordinances that are still within the window for a potential referral.

Hughes County commissioners passed a half-percent sales tax ordinance that has a deadline of Oct. 14 for a referral petition. Yankton County commissioners passed a half-percent ordinance but intend to lower the sales tax rate to 0.25%, requiring a new ordinance, said Auditor Patty Hojem. Both counties missed the Oct. 3 deadline for a January implementation, so the taxes wouldn’t take effect until July 2027.