Stay compliant in South Dakota

South Dakota’s recurring dates are the Secretary of State annual report, sales tax on the 20th, and employer accounts if you have people on the payroll. There is no state income-tax return.

What’s different in South Dakota

• The annual report is due on the first day of your formation month, every year. Limited partnerships and business trusts do not file one.
• There is no state income tax to put on the calendar. Sales tax still comes back on the schedule the department assigns.
• The sales-tax rate on the books changes in 2027. Today’s rate is 4.2%⁶. The statute shows four and one-half percent beginning July 1, 2027⁹.
• State law tells a covered employer to secure workers’ compensation, and the minimum wage is set by the state. The 2026 wage is $11.85¹⁵ an hour.

Do this

1. File your annual report on the schedule selected for your entity. The Secretary of State’s older FAQ describes the deadline as the 1st day of the anniversary month of the original filing, every year and provides an entity filed June 11, 2026, has its first report due June 1, 2027, and every June 1 after that. However, starting January 1, 2027, an entity choosing the anniversary schedule may file during its anniversary month, instead of the previously published first-day deadline. From January 1, 2027, an entity may instead file by January 31 each year, beginning the calendar year after it forms: a new entity marks its choice on its formation document, and an entity in good standing can switch between the two dates by filing a change-of-filing-date form with the Secretary of State¹⁰. If following the anniversary-month schedule, the FAQ says you may file starting 2 months before the due date. An LLC or a business corporation pays $55 online, or $70 on paper. A nonprofit pays $10². Limited partnerships and business trusts do not file an annual report¹.
2. File before the late fee starts. Delinquency starts 2 months after the due date. For example, a June 1 due date becomes delinquent on August 1. State law sets the late fee at $55¹¹ for an LLC and the same $55¹² for a business corporation, on top of the report fee. The filing tool still displays $50³.* Check the total shown at filing, since the published statute and tool disagree. Nonprofit corporations do not pay the extra late fee. They still file the annual report. A company that stays delinquent may be administratively dissolved¹.
3. Answer the farm questions on the report. The annual report asks whether the company owns agricultural land and whether it has foreign beneficial owners. If both answers are yes, the form says to file the report online⁴.
4. Keep a registered agent who can be reached in South Dakota. The agent is a South Dakota resident, with both a physical address and a mailing address in South Dakota. Losing the agent is one of the reasons the office gives for administrative dissolution: a missed annual report, no valid South Dakota registered agent, or a filing fee that stays unpaid after a declined payment. Changing the agent is $10. A domestic company that was dissolved can apply to be reinstated. An LLC pays $150, plus the missed reports. A business corporation pays $300², plus the missed reports. A for-profit entity also needs a tax clearance certificate from the Department of Revenue before the Secretary of State will reinstate it. A foreign entity that was revoked cannot be reinstated. It files a new certificate of authority¹.
5. Do not put a state income-tax date on the calendar. South Dakota has no corporate, unitary, or personal income tax²³. Federal returns are still filed with the IRS. This page does not estimate them.
6. File sales tax on EPath if you are licensed. The department tells you how often to file. Returns are due the 20th of the following month, whatever filing schedule the department assigns. Payment is due with the return, on the 20th, when you file on paper, or on or before the 25th when you pay electronically. If the due date is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day. The state rate is 4.2%⁶, city tax is 1% to 2% where the city imposes it²³, and one return reports both the state tax and the municipal tax. Cities may impose or change a municipal tax only on January 1 and July 1²⁴. A 2026 law lets each county add a county tax of up to 0.5%, collected on the state sales tax return, at the same time as the state tax. A new county tax can take effect only on January 1 or July 1⁸. The department’s county guide does not list which counties have adopted one.* Check the department’s newest tax guide for the county of the sale. A late return can cost 10% of the tax, at least $10, plus interest of 1%⁵ a month. The published statute shows four and one-half percent beginning July 1, 2027⁹, and the 2023 release says the 2023 rate cut is repealed effective June 30, 2027²⁵. Rates and the service exemptions are on Get your tax IDs.
7. If you have employees, file reemployment-assistance quarterly reports. Reports are due the last day of the month after the quarter ends. For example, the fourth quarter is due January 31. The wage base for 2026 is $15,000. Year-1 rates are 1.2% outside construction and 6% in construction, plus an investment fee of 0.55%. Report new hires within 20¹⁴ days. The tests, the year-2 rates, and the new-hire penalty are on Get your tax IDs. The department says the statements on its reemployment assistance site are general information and do not have the effect of law¹³.
8. Renew the local license and any trade license on their own dates. Plumbing licenses expire every December 31. The one-month grace period is no longer in effect²². Renew through the Plumbing Commission; Licenses and permits explains the separate license types. A fictitious name lasts five years from the filing date¹ and is renewed only in the window that ends on the expiration date. A sales tax license and an alcohol license are not on the annual-report date.
9. Secure workers’ compensation if the law covers your employees. The statute, the exceptions, and what happens without coverage are below.

Employer rules

Workers’ compensation: state law says an employer the workers' compensation law covers must secure the payment of compensation to its employees¹⁸. An employer secures it with workers' compensation insurance, unless the department approves it each year to pay the compensation itself¹⁹. An employer that does not secure it is deemed to have elected not to operate under the workers' compensation law²⁰, and an injured employee may then sue the employer for damages, or claim under the workers' compensation law for medical care plus twice the other compensation²¹. The coverage page says the workers' compensation law covers all employers, with only limited exceptions. The exceptions it names include some domestic workers, farm or agricultural labor, and work outside the employer's usual business, including a certified independent contractor¹⁷. Check with a legal professional if you are not sure the exception list fits the work. The department’s home page says no South Dakota law requires an employer to carry workers' compensation insurance, the department highly recommends it, and an uninsured employer may be sued by an injured worker¹⁶. Where that reads differently from the statute, the statute is the rule.

Minimum wage: $11.85 an hour from January 1, 2026. $12.30 an hour from January 1, 2027. Where both the federal and the state wage laws apply, the employee gets the higher rate. Tipped employees get a cash wage of at least $5.925 an hour from January 1, 2026, half the state minimum, and at least $6.15 an hour from January 1, 2027. Tips plus the cash wage still have to reach the full minimum. An opportunity wage of $4.25 an hour may be paid to a new hire under 20 for the first 90 consecutive calendar days¹⁵. The wage page lists exemptions for some seasonal amusement workers, babysitters, and outside salespeople. Some apprentices need a department permit. The page does not list a separate city minimum.* Check the wage page and your city before you set a rate from memory.

Reemployment assistance: liable at $1,500 in a quarter or 20 weeks, with other tests for farm work, domestic work, and a 501(c)(3). All new and acquired businesses register, including when the entity or the ownership changes²⁶. A new employer’s rate is on the rate table, not a single number for every industry.

What you get back

A filed annual report and a sales tax return for each period the department assigned. Current employer accounts if you have employees. If the company is dissolved, reinstatement needs the missed reports, the reinstatement fee, and, for a for-profit company, a tax clearance from the Department of Revenue.