Property Taxes 101:
Taxes payable in 2025 are the result of district board actions taken during 2024. Schools, Cities, the County, Townships, Fire Districts all have boards who determine the budget for each agency and then request a tax levy to support the budget. Those requests are sent to the county auditor who calculates the levies. The auditor does not “set the levy”. The calculation is based on the value of the properties in the district and the requests of the various districts layered above those properties.
Questions related to the amount of the tax applied to a property should be directed to the board that represents the district from which the question has arisen. Neither the auditor, treasurer or assessor have the data to support the opinions of the various boards in their budget and levy request process.
All of the various taxing districts are to have their levy requests turned into the county auditor according to the laws which govern that district. Townships submit first with their deadline being March 31. Then school districts, fire districts, cities and finally the county who has to submit theirs by September 30.
It is also important to understand that while you pay your taxes at the treasurer’s office, the treasurer has no role in how the amounts are determined. They are simply charged with collection of the taxes. So many times, people “vent” to the treasurer about their taxes but that venting is to the wrong ears. Again, questions and comments about taxes should be presented to the boards who control the budgets and subsequent requests.
What is the role of the South Dakota Department of Revenue (Property Tax Division) if the state isn’t actually collecting property taxes? The South Dakota Department of Revenue has statutory responsibility to determine if local districts are following the property tax code in their requests before levies are approved. Once approved the county auditor is informed that the levies have been approved. Once approved by the SD-DOR, the county then produces the tax billing statements for all properties and all districts therein. The county treasurer then mails out those statements to the property owners.
In their review, the South Dakota Department of Revenue looks at every district request, their subsequent levy calculation and works with the county auditor to resolve any errors. This process takes weeks to complete as the SD-DOR does this review process for all of the counties (and all the districts therein) as well.
On this page you will find information about property taxes in Hand County. Statewide data can be found through the South Dakota Property Tax information portal which is located on the internet via: Home – SD Property Tax Portal
Taxes payable in 2025:
The following reports are produced by the SD-DOR and provided to the county auditor upon approval of the levies:
- Pay 2025 All Property Taxes – All Districts
- Pay 2025 All School District Property Taxes (Five districts serve Hand County)
- Pay 2025 All Districts (Excluding Schools) Property Taxes (County, Cities, Townships, Secondary Roads, Fire District)
Check back later, other information will be added as the year continues.
