Updated October 5, 2026. Quick answer: No. South Dakota has no estate tax for a person who dies in 2026. The South Dakota Department of Revenue says the state does not have an inheritance tax and adds: “There is also no estate tax.” The federal exclusion is $15,000,000 for 2026.
Putting a loan in writing? The interest limit, the signing rules and the time limit to sue, from the state’s own statutes: South Dakota promissory note.
Deeding a home to a family member while you are alive? What South Dakota requires, from its own documents: South Dakota quitclaim deed requirements.
Naming a beneficiary on a brokerage account or a vehicle title is covered here: transfer-on-death registration in South Dakota.
Inheriting from, or planning for, someone in this state? Whether the state has an inheritance tax, from its own tax documents: Does South Dakota have an inheritance tax?.
South Dakota estate tax at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| State estate tax | None |
| Why | South Dakota’s Legislature repealed the estate and inheritance tax statutes in 2014 (2014 Session Laws ch. 59) |
| State inheritance tax | None: voters repealed the inheritance tax effective July 1, 2001 |
| Federal estate tax basic exclusion amount, 2026 | $15,000,000 |
| Source | South Dakota Department of Revenue; South Dakota Legislature; IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 |
Why South Dakota has no estate tax
The 2014 Session Laws, chapter 59 (HB 1057), is entitled, in the Legislature’s words, an act to “repeal certain provisions imposing the inheritance tax and the estate tax”. The Legislature thereby removed the state’s inheritance tax and estate tax provisions from the statutes.
Does South Dakota have an inheritance tax?
The Department’s taxes page says “South Dakota does not have an inheritance tax”, and that voters repealed the state inheritance tax effective July 1, 2001.
CMG’s inheritance tax by state page covers the beneficiary side.
What applies to a South Dakota estate instead
Federal estate tax is separate. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 says the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, section 70106, increased the “basic exclusion amount to $15,000,000 for calendar year 2026”.
An estate of $3,000,000 in South Dakota owes $0 of state estate tax, and $3,000,000 is below the federal $15,000,000.
Probate: South Dakota probate cost. Retirement accounts: how South Dakota taxes 401(k) and IRA withdrawals.
Common mistakes
- Looking for a South Dakota estate or inheritance tax return; the Department says the state has neither tax.
- Assuming the state answer settles the federal one, or the answer for property held in another state.
Related: estate tax by state, inheritance tax by state, and probate cost by state.
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Answer againSources
- Taxes: https://dor.sd.gov/individuals/taxes/
- 2014 Session Laws Chapter 59 (HB 1057) Inheritance and estate tax revisions: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/SessionLaws/2014/59/null
- Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (Internal Revenue Service): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 5, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and an estate attorney, a tax preparer or the state agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.