South Dakota VA Disability Benefits & Resources for Veterans

South Dakota’s largest benefit for disabled veterans is a $200,000 property tax exemption for veterans rated permanently and totally disabled. It is claimed once at the county and then stays with the home. Other state benefits are tied to a 40% rating or a VA “K” award, a threshold you won’t see in most states, and there is a cash bonus for Gulf War and post-9/11 service.

State benefit details verified against official state sources on September 27, 2026.

Key South Dakota Benefits at a Glance

Property Tax Exemptions

Disabled veteran exemption (SDCL 10-4-40). If VA rates you permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, $200,000 of the full and true value of your owner-occupied dwelling is exempt from property tax. The dwelling includes the home, garage and lot. An unremarried surviving spouse who receives Dependency and Indemnity Compensation for the veteran’s service-connected death also qualifies.

• One-time application: After approval, you don’t reapply. The exemption continues until the property is sold, you no longer live there, or its use changes.
• Deadline: Submit the application to your county director of equalization (county assessor) by November 1. Forms are available at the county courthouse or from the Department of Revenue.
• Proof: Ask VA (1-800-827-1000) for a statement verifying that you are permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, and bring a copy when you apply.
• 2026 change for pending claims: If you met every requirement except the deadline because your P&T rating was still pending with VA, the county board must abate or refund the extra tax back to the claim’s effective date, for up to four years.

Paraplegic veteran exemption. Paraplegic veterans, veterans with loss or loss of use of both lower extremities, and their unremarried surviving spouses are exempt from all property taxes on a home specifically designed for wheelchair use. This one must be filed every year with your county assessor by November 1.

The Department of Revenue’s Property Tax Division answers questions at 1-800-829-9188.

State Taxes

South Dakota is one of the few states with no state income tax. Military retirement pay, VA disability compensation and survivor benefits are not taxed by the state, and there is nothing to file.

Vehicles

• Disabled Veteran plates: You must be a resident veteran who owns a car or motorcycle and has one of the following: a VA K award, an automobile provided under Public Law 187, a statutory benefit for loss or loss of use of one or more extremities, or a VA allotment for total service-connected disability. The injury must have been incurred on active duty during wartime or in a military mission involving armed conflict. The plate costs $10 a year with no registration fee, plus a $12 mailing fee. Apply on Form MV-4000. The Department of Revenue verifies your status with the Sioux Falls VA office and refunds the $10 if you don’t qualify.
• Veteran plates: Any honorably discharged resident veteran with an active South Dakota driver license or ID card can get a military veteran plate. It costs regular registration plus a $10 plate fee and $12 mailing when you first apply.

Hunting, Fishing and State Parks

• Reduced-fee small game and fishing licenses (SDCL 41-6-10.2): Residents who get VA compensation for a service-connected disability of 40% or more or have a VA K award qualify. So do residents 40% or more disabled for Social Security purposes who served on active duty or in the Guard or Reserve, and former POWs. You get a resident small game license and resident fishing license at a reduced fee, valid for four calendar years while you remain a resident. Apply to the Game, Fish and Parks licensing office in Pierre with your VA letter.
• Disabled Veteran and POW lifetime state park entrance license: Free lifetime entry to state parks for residents rated 100% permanent and total or holding a K award, plus 50% off camping fees. Apply through Game, Fish and Parks with a copy of your K award or VA letter.

Education

• Free tuition for veterans (SDCL 13-55-2 to 13-55-5): Honorably discharged South Dakota residents who meet the state’s definition of a veteran can take undergraduate courses at state universities and technical colleges without paying tuition. You must not be eligible for GI Bill or other federal education payments. You get one month of free tuition for each month of qualifying wartime service, at least one and at most four academic years. Send the application and your DD-214 to the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs in Pierre.
• Children of service members who died on active duty (SDCL 13-55-6 to 13-55-9): Free tuition at state schools for resident children under 25 if the parent was a South Dakota resident for six months before entering service.
• Dependents of POWs and MIAs: Children and spouses can attend state schools without tuition or mandatory fees if they aren’t eligible for equal or greater federal benefits.

Veterans Bonus

South Dakota pays a bonus to service members who lived in the state for at least six months before active duty. Qualifying service is any active duty from August 2, 1990 to March 3, 1991, or from September 11, 2001 on, plus hostile-area service in certain periods between. You can get up to $500 for Desert Storm-era service (August 2, 1990 to December 31, 1992) and another up to $500 for service after January 1, 1993. Active duty for training does not count. Call the SD Veterans Bonus office at 605-773-3269.

State Veterans Home

The Michael J. Fitzmaurice State Veterans Home in Hot Springs provides long-term care and an independent living setting. Veterans are eligible if they qualify for VA per diem for domiciliary or nursing home care in a state home. Veterans domiciled in South Dakota in the past five years, and members of tribes located in the state, get admission preference. Spouses married at least one year can be admitted with the veteran. Unremarried surviving spouses 60 or older can also apply. Call 605-519-5445.

Employment Preference

Eligible veterans get preference for appointment, employment and promotion at every level of South Dakota government: state, county, city and school district. If you meet the minimum qualifications, you must be granted an interview. A veteran with a service-connected disability gets preference over a non-disabled veteran. The unremarried spouse of a veteran who died in service or from a service-connected cause gets the same preference. So does the spouse of a disabled veteran who can’t use the preference because of the disability.

VA Regional Office and Medical Centers

Sioux Falls VA Regional Benefit Office: 2501 W. 22nd Street, Building 38, Sioux Falls, SD 57105, on the campus of the Royal C. Johnson Veterans’ Memorial Hospital.

• Royal C. Johnson Veterans’ Memorial Hospital, Sioux Falls (VA Sioux Falls Health Care System)
• Fort Meade VA Medical Center, Fort Meade, and Hot Springs VA Medical Center, Hot Springs (VA Black Hills Health Care System)

VA clinics in South Dakota are in Aberdeen, Dakota Dunes (Sioux City VA Clinic), Eagle Butte (Cheyenne River), Pierre, Pine Ridge, Rapid City, Wagner, Watertown and Winner.

Filing a Federal VA Claim

The VA claims process is federal and the same in every state. See How to File a VA Claim, Check Your Claim Status and 2026 VA Disability Rates. For free local help, every South Dakota county has a County Veterans Service Officer, and some reservations have a Tribal Veterans Service Officer. Find yours through SDDVA, or call SDDVA in Sioux Falls at 605-333-6869 or in Pierre at 605-773-3269.

Crisis Support

Veterans Crisis Line: dial 988 then press 1, or text 838255.