5 Documents South Dakotans Need for the Assessment Freeze for Senior Citizens in 2027
Applying for South Dakota’s assessment freeze? You’ll need a Social Security statement for every member of your household.
The deadline is April 1, so it’s worth gathering the paperwork early.
Here are the documents South Dakotans need for the Assessment Freeze for Senior Citizens in 2027.
Note: This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Assessment rules and income limits are subject to change, so confirm the current details with your county treasurer.
Who Qualifies for the South Dakota Assessment Freeze for Senior Citizens?
The South Dakota assessment freeze for senior citizens holds your home at its earlier value for tax purposes, so rising market prices don’t raise your tax.
You qualify at 65 or older, or if the Social Security Act counts you as disabled.
You also have to own and live in a single-family home, and you need five years of South Dakota residency unless you received the freeze the year before.
The $56,595 limit for one person and the $66,885 limit for a household measure income from the previous calendar year.
For the April 2027 deadline, the treasurer will look at what you took in during 2026.
State law raises both limits every year by an index factor, so the numbers on next year’s form can differ from these.
Your home’s full and true value also has to stay under $514,500 for the 2026 assessment, unless you already had the freeze on it.
An unremarried surviving spouse of a past qualifier can still qualify if the other rules are met.
Every test applies.
1. Your Signed Application Form
The first document the freeze requires is the application itself, which you pick up at your county treasurer’s office or print from the Department of Revenue’s website.
Recent versions of form PT 38 ask for your birth date, the names and ages of everyone in your household, and the legal description of your property.
A new form comes out every January.
You can print the online form blank or fill it in first, but it can’t be signed or submitted electronically.
State law has you sign the certificate under penalty of perjury.
If you get stuck, your county treasurer has to help you fill it out when you ask.
2. Your Federal Tax Return
Recent versions of the application ask you to attach a copy of your federal income tax return if you filed one.
The timing matters.
AARP Foundation’s South Dakota guide lists a completed 2025 federal return for 2026 applicants, if they filed one.
For the April 1, 2027 deadline, that pattern points to your 2026 return, but check the new form.
File it early, and you’ll have the copy well before the deadline.
Quiz
South Dakota Tax IQ
Answer these questions on South Dakota property taxes. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
South Dakota equalizes homes to what share of full value before it applies a tax rate?
3. Every Household Member's SSA-1099
Recent versions of the application ask for an SSA-1099, the Social Security Benefit Statement, for each household member who receives Social Security.
Social Security payments count toward the income limit, which is why the statement matters.
Each person who receives Social Security benefits needs one.
In a multiple-member household, everyone's income goes on the form with yours.
Social Security mails the SSA-1099 each January, and the newest year's copy is also online starting February 1.
If yours goes missing, you can download a replacement by signing in to your my Social Security account.
4. Proof You're 65 or Disabled
The freeze application asks for your birth date, and it's the disability side that wants proof.
For age, AARP Foundation's guide suggests a South Dakota driver's license or state ID card.
The form has asked for proof of disability every year, including the year the disability began.
State law defines disabled by whether you receive, or qualify to receive, certain payments under the Social Security Act.
Those payments have to cover all or part of the year of your application.
Ask your county treasurer which record to attach.
5. Records for Every Other Income Source
Recent versions of the application end the checklist with a catch-all: Attach all documentation of income.
The 2024 county copy of the form has an income worksheet that runs from wages, interest, and dividends to railroad retirement, veterans' benefits, workers' compensation, and alimony.
Each source you list needs paper behind it, for instance, a pension or annuity statement, an individual retirement account (IRA) distribution record, or a benefits letter.
State law adds another catch-all.
The application has to include whatever supporting evidence your county treasurer considers necessary to verify the claim.
So a treasurer's office can ask for more than the form lists.
It's worth asking.
What Counts as Income for the Freeze?
The South Dakota assessment freeze starts from your federal adjusted gross income, then adds money your tax return leaves out.
IRA disbursements, nontaxable interest, and the gross amount of any pension or annuity all go on the list.
Gifts and inheritances above $500 count as income.
So do life insurance proceeds above $20,000.
A personal item sold for more than $500 counts as well.
Quiz
Senior Tax Break Trivia
Answer these questions on South Dakota tax breaks for older and disabled residents. We bet you can't get them all right. Prove us wrong?
According to the Department of Revenue, South Dakota is one of how many states with no state income tax?
Where and When to File by April 1
You have to submit your freeze application to your county treasurer on or before April 1.
Forms appear in January, so you have about three months to gather, fill in, and sign.
You reapply every year.
What the Freeze Covers
The South Dakota assessment freeze covers your house, your garage, and the lot under them, or one acre, whichever is less.
The freeze holds your assessed value, not your tax bill.
Each taxing district still sets a levy rate, so your bill can change when a levy does.
What Happens After You File
After you file your freeze application, your county treasurer decides whether you qualify.
The treasurer certifies your eligibility and household income, and your county then freezes your assessment.
If the treasurer denies your claim in whole or part, you have 30 days after you receive the denial notice to request a hearing before the Secretary of Revenue.
Don't let that notice sit.
For another state's version, see our look at an Arizona senior freeze.
Quiz
County Hall Trivia
Answer these questions on who does what in South Dakota county government. We bet you can't get them all right. Prove us wrong?
Which county officer does the Department of Revenue call the watchdog of the county for property taxes?
FAQ
Questions go to the Department of Revenue at (800) 829-9188, option 2.
When is the South Dakota assessment freeze deadline?
Your county treasurer must receive the application on or before April 1 each year.
What age do you have to be for the assessment freeze for senior citizens?
You have to be 65 or older, or disabled as the Social Security Act defines it.
Do you have to reapply for the assessment freeze every year?
Yes, the application is due each year, and a new form comes out every January.
Can you apply for the assessment freeze online?
You can print the form online, but it can't be signed or submitted electronically, so you file it with your county treasurer.
What if you miss the assessment freeze deadline?
State law lets an applicant who missed the prior year's deadline but otherwise qualified petition the board of county commissioners to recalculate and abate the taxes.
If you misstate your ownership or income on a freeze application, state law assesses the tax reduction you received.
That amount becomes a perpetual lien on your property, and you're barred from the freeze on any South Dakota property for three years.
