Behind on property taxes in South Dakota? What happens in Pennington and Meade County

When do South Dakota property taxes become delinquent?

South Dakota property taxes are paid a year behind: the taxes assessed for one year are due January 1 of the next (SDCL 10-21-4). Half is due by April 30 and becomes delinquent May 1; the other half is due by October 31 and becomes delinquent November 1. Bills of $50 or less must be paid in full by April 30, and when April 30 or October 31 lands on a weekend, the deadline moves to the last working day of the month (SDCL 10-21-23).

For the taxes on a house in Pennington or Meade County right now, that means:

How much interest is added to late property taxes?

Interest is added on May 1, and on the first day of every month after that, at the state’s Category G rate: five-sixths of one percent per month or fraction of a month, which works out to 10% a year (SDCL 10-21-23, 54-3-16). Because it’s charged for any fraction of a month, paying on the 2nd costs the same as paying on the 30th. If you’re going to pay, pay before the 1st.

On a $1,500 delinquent half, that’s $12.50 a month, or $150 over a year.

What is a tax certificate, and who holds it in Pennington and Meade County?

Each year on the third Monday of December, the county treasurer offers a tax certificate on every property with unpaid taxes from the year before (SDCL 10-23-7). The certificate is a claim on the property for the unpaid taxes plus interest.

Where certificates are sold, investors bid on the interest rate they’ll accept, and no bid above 10% a year is valid (SDCL 10-23-8). But a South Dakota county can’t sell tax certificates at all unless its county commission passes a resolution allowing it; otherwise the county itself holds the certificate (SDCL 10-23-28.1).

In practice, both counties around Rapid City have been holding them:

• Pennington County. The Treasurer can assign tax certificates or hold a tax sale only if the Board of Commissioners authorizes it, and the county says there was no annual tax sale in 2023.
• Meade County. The county’s December 11, 2025 notice said it was “not selling certificates at this time,” and it read the list of unpaid taxes publicly on December 15, 2025.

Practice can change from year to year, so call the Treasurer and ask whether a certificate sale is planned this December: Pennington at 605-394-2163, Meade at 605-347-5871.

Who holds the certificate changes one rule, covered next.

How long before the county can take the house?

A proceeding to take a tax deed can start three years after the tax certificate sale, and the same timing applies whether the county or an investor holds the certificate (SDCL 10-25-1). It begins with a notice of intention to take a tax deed, served personally on the owner, the person living in the house and the person it’s taxed to (SDCL 10-25-3, 10-25-5). Once proof of that service is filed with the treasurer, the owner has 60 more days to redeem (SDCL 10-25-8).

There’s one difference depending on who holds the certificate:

Pennington County’s own page puts it plainly: the county may take tax deed action if delinquent taxes aren’t paid within three years.

Can I set up a payment plan for delinquent taxes?

Not in Pennington County. The Treasurer’s Office says it doesn’t accept partial payments or payment plans on delinquent taxes. Once taxes are delinquent it requires certified funds, and credit cards can’t be used after a tax certificate has been issued. In Meade County, delinquent accounts can’t be paid through the online portal; you have to call the Treasurer’s Office.

Get the exact payoff from the Treasurer before you pay, since the amount changes on the first of each month. Pennington County Treasurer: 605-394-2163. Meade County Treasurer: 605-347-5871.

Is anyone protected from losing a house to taxes?

Yes, one group. A homestead worth less than $170,000 that belongs to someone 70 or older, or to that person’s unremarried surviving spouse, is exempt from sale for taxes for as long as it remains a homestead (SDCL 43-31-1). The taxes are still owed; the house just can’t be sold for them. If this describes you or a parent, tell the Treasurer’s Office.

If the county takes a tax deed, do you lose all your equity?

No, not anymore. When a tax-deeded property is sold, whatever is left after the taxes, interest, county liens and costs must be returned to the prior owner of record. If the county can’t find the owner within 180 days, the money goes to the state’s Unclaimed Property Division (SDCL 10-25-39, amended in 2024 and 2025).

That’s better than it used to be, but it’s still a forced sale run for the county’s benefit, not yours. You’ll almost always keep more by selling before it gets that far.

What are your options if you want to sell?

If the taxes are behind and you’d rather sell than catch up, any sale has to clear the back taxes so the buyer gets clean title, so the payoff usually comes out of your proceeds at closing. Your realistic options:

• Pay it and keep the house. If this is a one-time gap, get the payoff from the Treasurer and pay before the next first-of-the-month interest charge.
• List it with an agent. If the house is in good shape and you have a few months, this will usually net the most. Compare what each option nets.
• Sell it to a cash buyer. Makes sense if the house needs work, if the taxes are part of a bigger money problem, or if you’ve inherited it and don’t want to carry it.
• Get budgeting help first. Consumer Credit Counseling Service of the Black Hills (605-348-4550 ext. 144) is HUD-approved. If the property taxes are one of several bills you’re behind on, start there.

How we help when taxes are behind

We get the exact payoff from the Treasurer’s Office and put it right in your written offer, so you see where every dollar goes. The back taxes get paid out of the sale at closing. You don’t need to come up with certified funds first. And if the house is worth keeping and the gap is small, we’ll tell you that too. See how it works.