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State rules · South Dakota

South Dakota: estate, probate and Medicaid rules in one place

What applies in South Dakota, collected from the site’s state datasets: estate and inheritance tax, transfer-on-death deeds, small-estate procedure, Medicaid long-term-care rules, and state income tax on retirement income. Where the dataset holds a source, the entry links it with its effective marker and check date; where it does not, the entry shows its verification status and the reason.

Quick answers

Does South Dakota have a state estate tax?

State estate tax: No. The pinned estate-tax dataset (2026.v2) has no row for South Dakota, so it cites no state statute; the state page records no state estate or inheritance tax.

Does South Dakota have an inheritance tax?

Inheritance tax: No. The pinned estate-tax dataset (2026.v2) has no row for South Dakota, so it cites no state statute; the state page records no state estate or inheritance tax.

Can you use a transfer-on-death deed in South Dakota?

Transfer-on-death deed for real estate: Available — Transfer-on-death deed (South Dakota Real Property Transfer on Death Act (SDCL ch. 29A-6, §§ 29A-6-401 et seq.); effective July 1, 2014 (2014 HB 1077)).

What is the Medicaid look-back period in South Dakota?

Look-back period: 60 months (South Dakota Medicaid State Plan Supplement 9B; Approved December 5, 2006; effective July 1, 2006).

Does South Dakota tax Social Security benefits?

Social Security benefits: No state individual income tax (dor.sd.gov; tax year 2026).

State estate tax

Estate-tax dataset 2026.v2

State estate tax
NoNo dataset row

The pinned estate-tax dataset (2026.v2) has no row for South Dakota, so it cites no state statute; the state page records no state estate or inheritance tax.

· Checked July 20, 2026

Full detail: South Dakota estate and inheritance tax page

Inheritance tax

Estate-tax dataset 2026.v2

Inheritance tax
NoNo dataset row

The pinned estate-tax dataset (2026.v2) has no row for South Dakota, so it cites no state statute; the state page records no state estate or inheritance tax.

· Checked July 20, 2026

Full detail: South Dakota estate and inheritance tax page

Transfer-on-death deed

Transfer-on-death deed for real estate
Available — Transfer-on-death deedVerified

Source: South Dakota Real Property Transfer on Death Act (SDCL ch. 29A-6, §§ 29A-6-401 et seq.) · Effective: effective July 1, 2014 (2014 HB 1077) · Checked July 26, 2026

Controlling statute
S.D. Codified Laws §§ 29A-6-401 et seq.Verified

Source: South Dakota Real Property Transfer on Death Act (SDCL ch. 29A-6, §§ 29A-6-401 et seq.) · Effective: effective July 1, 2014 (2014 HB 1077) · Checked July 26, 2026

Full detail: South Dakota transfer-on-death deed page

Small-estate procedure

Ceiling, property, and wait
$100,000 personal property; 30-day waitVerified

Source: S.D. Codified Laws §§ 29A-3-1201 and 29A-3-1202 · Effective: current · Checked August 23, 2026

Full detail: South Dakota small-estate procedure page

Medicaid long-term-care eligibility

Medicaid dataset 2026.v16

Current institutional long-term-care income limit
$2,982 per monthVerified
  • Applies to: individual applicant.

Source: South Dakota medical-program eligibility · Effective: 2026 income figure · Checked November 14, 2026

Current individual resource limit
$2,000Verified
  • Applies to: individual applicant.

Source: South Dakota Administrative Rules 67:46:05:30, Resource limit · Effective: 41 SDR 93, effective December 3, 2014 · Checked November 14, 2026

Community-spouse resource allowance
$32,532 minimum to $162,660 maximumVerified
  • Applies to: institutionalized applicant with a community spouse.

Source: CMS 2026 SSI and January spousal-impoverishment standards · Also: South Dakota Medicaid State Plan Supplement 13 · Effective: SSI, spousal-impoverishment maximum, and home-equity standards effective January 1, 2026 · Checked November 14, 2026

Community-spouse monthly maintenance-needs allowance
$2,705 minimum to $4,066.50 maximum per monthVerified
  • Applies to: institutionalized applicant with a community spouse.

Source: CMS 2026 minimum maintenance-needs standards · Also: CMS 2026 SSI and January spousal-impoverishment standards · Also: South Dakota Medicaid State Plan Attachment A · Effective: Minimum maintenance-needs amount effective July 1, 2026 · Checked November 14, 2026

Home-equity limit
$752,000Verified
  • Applies to: applicant subject to South Dakota's home-equity rule.

Source: CMS 2026 SSI and January spousal-impoverishment standards · Also: South Dakota Medicaid State Plan Supplement 17 · Effective: SSI, spousal-impoverishment maximum, and home-equity standards effective January 1, 2026 · Checked November 14, 2026

Full detail: South Dakota Medicaid eligibility page

Medicaid look-back

Medicaid dataset 2026.v16

Look-back period
60 monthsVerified

Source: South Dakota Medicaid State Plan Supplement 9B · Effective: Approved December 5, 2006; effective July 1, 2006 · Checked September 5, 2026

Transfer-penalty divisor
Not yet verified

The reviewed primary material did not provide a current, effective-dated value or rule for this cell.

· Checked September 5, 2026 · Ask the state agency

How the state administers the penalty
The statewide average monthly private-patient nursing-facility cost at application is used; partial-month penalties are allowed and transfers in multiple months are aggregated.Verified

Source: South Dakota Medicaid State Plan Supplement 9B · Effective: Approved December 5, 2006; effective July 1, 2006 · Checked September 5, 2026

Full detail: South Dakota Medicaid look-back page

Medicaid estate recovery

Medicaid dataset 2026.v16

Recovery scope
Expanded recovery includes probate assets and other legal interests passing by joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust, other arrangements, and qualifying prepaid-burial balances.Verified

Source: South Dakota Administrative Rules 67:48:02:01 · Effective: Estate definition effective June 30, 2014 · Checked September 5, 2026

Controlling authority
South Dakota Administrative Rules chapter 67:48Verified

Source: South Dakota Administrative Rules 67:48:02:01 · Effective: Estate definition effective June 30, 2014 · Checked September 5, 2026

Exemptions and deferrals
Recovery is postponed while a surviving spouse lives and while a surviving child is under 21 or blind or permanently and totally disabled; the program also recognizes protected American Indian and Alaska Native property.Verified

Source: South Dakota DSS Estate Recovery brochure · Effective: Dated August 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Hardship waiver
DSS may compromise or waive a claim when recovery would cause severe financial distress or significantly compromise an heir's health care or shelter.Verified

Source: South Dakota Medicaid State Plan Attachment 4.17-A · Effective: TN 09-1 approved August 27, 2009; effective July 1, 2009 · Checked September 5, 2026

Lien practice
DSS may impose a lien when a recipient retains a home, is institutionalized, and cannot return, subject to protected-relative exceptions; release and return home removes it.Verified

Source: South Dakota DSS Medicaid Liens brochure · Effective: Dated November 2025 · Checked September 5, 2026

Full detail: South Dakota Medicaid estate-recovery page

State income tax on retirement income

Retirement-income tax dataset 2026.v4

Social Security benefits
No state individual income taxVerified
  • This jurisdiction has no broad-based state individual income tax; this is not a zero-dollar calculation.

Source: dor.sd.gov · Effective: tax year 2026 · Checked June 20, 2026

Public pensions
No state individual income taxVerified
  • This jurisdiction has no broad-based state individual income tax; this is not a zero-dollar calculation.

Source: dor.sd.gov · Effective: tax year 2026 · Checked June 20, 2026

Private pensions
No state individual income taxVerified
  • This jurisdiction has no broad-based state individual income tax; this is not a zero-dollar calculation.

Source: dor.sd.gov · Effective: tax year 2026 · Checked June 20, 2026

IRA and 401(k) distributions
No state individual income taxVerified
  • This jurisdiction has no broad-based state individual income tax; this is not a zero-dollar calculation.

Source: dor.sd.gov · Effective: tax year 2026 · Checked June 20, 2026

Military retirement pay
No state individual income taxVerified
  • This jurisdiction has no broad-based state individual income tax; this is not a zero-dollar calculation.

Source: dor.sd.gov · Effective: tax year 2026 · Checked June 20, 2026

Full detail: Retirement-income tax dataset, all states (JSON)

About this page

This page assembles entries from datasets the site already publishes; it adds no figure of its own. Entries marked “Not yet verified” or “Pending” have no primary-source value in the underlying dataset yet. Rules change, so confirm anything you plan to act on with the source, the state agency, or a licensed attorney.

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