South Dakota sales tax, and who sets it
Tax year 2026
Set by the state
4.2%
Set locally
1.91%
statewide average
Combined
6.11%
Local share
31.26%
of what you pay
Work out the tax on a purchase in South Dakota
Add the tax on
6.11% effectiveThe general rate applies here: 6.11%, state and local combined. “Statewide average” is a comparison estimate. Named locations use the stored local rate; city and special-district coverage varies, so an address may differ. Rate source · as of 2026-07-01.
How South Dakota's sales tax is put together
- Two governments tax the same purchase in South Dakota. The state takes about 4.2%. Local government takes another about 1.91% on top on average across South Dakota, and the till adds them together into about 6.11%. Neither one is the whole story, which is why the state rate alone is a poor guide to what you will actually pay.
- South Dakota taxes food at the full rate. Groceries are charged at about 6.11%, exactly as a television would be. Most states carve food out or charge less on it. South Dakota does not, which puts a tax on the least optional thing anyone buys — around $61 on a thousand dollars of shopping.
- No apparel break in South Dakota. Clothes carry the same sales tax as anything else, working out at $61 per thousand dollars spent. A few states exempt clothing; most, including this one, do not. Prescriptions are exempt, which is the near-universal rule.
- A purchase in South Dakota is taxed by two layers. The state levies about 4.2%; local jurisdictions levy about 1.91% on average across South Dakota, for a combined about 6.11%. The split is genuinely shared rather than nominal, so the combined figure is address-dependent and the state rate functions as a floor rather than as the rate. Any price comparison drawn across states on state rates alone will misrank South Dakota against its more centralised neighbors.
- South Dakota applies its general rate to groceries with no exemption or reduction, so food is charged at about 6.11% — the same rate as discretionary goods. On a thousand dollars of grocery spending that is $61. Full taxation of food is the minority treatment nationally and is the single largest driver of a sales tax's regressivity, because food consumption varies far less with income than total consumption does.
- Clothing in South Dakota is taxed at the general combined rate, or $61 per thousand dollars of apparel spending. Only a small minority of states exempt clothing, and where they do the effect on a household's effective rate is larger than most rate-based comparisons imply. Prescription medication is exempt in South Dakota, which is the standard treatment across the sales-taxing states.
Sales tax on this purchase
A $75,000 salary
| Tax added | $6.11 |
|---|---|
| Rate appliedStatewide average | 6.11% |
Uses this location’s stored combined rate and category rule. Clothing is one item; address-level coverage varies.
Rates across this state
A $75,000 salary
| Counties in this state | 65 |
|---|---|
| Different rates among them | 1 |
| Lowest county rate | 4.2% |
| Highest county rate | 4.2% |
Most counties here share a rate with many others. The county line rarely changes what you pay.
County floors only — city, transit and special-district taxes are excluded where applicable.
At the register
A $75,000 salary
| Tax added | $6.11 |
|---|---|
| You hand over | $106.11 |
| Rate here | 6.11% |
Uses this location’s stored combined rate and category rule. Clothing is one item; address-level coverage varies.
How much of that was tax
A $75,000 salary
| Goods before tax | $100.84 |
|---|---|
| Rate applied | 6.11% |
Uses the selected combined rate for ordinary goods. Exempt items or a mixed receipt change the split.
Every county here
A $75,000 salary
| Lowest | 4.2% |
|---|---|
| Highest | 4.2% |
| Gap between them | 0% |
County floors only — city, transit and special-district taxes are excluded where applicable.
What gets taxed, in each
A $75,000 salary
South Dakota
Statewide average
Texas
Harris County (Houston)
- Sales tax
- Fuel
- Tobacco
| Category | South Dakota | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| Groceries | 6.11% | Exempt |
| Clothing at $100 | 6.11% | 8.25% |
| Fuel | 28¢ | 20¢ |
| Tobacco | $1.53 | $1.41 |
Grocery and general rates use the locations named here. Clothing is one item priced at $100; a more expensive garment may be taxed differently. Fuel and tobacco have separate units and scales.
The split, county by county
The state rate is the same everywhere in South Dakota. Anything beyond it was decided by a county or a city. These counties are a sample chosen to show the range, not a complete list.
| County | State | Local | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide average | 4.2% | 1.91% | 6.11% |
| Minnehaha County (Sioux Falls) | same | 2% | 6.2% |
| Pennington County (Rapid City) | same | 2% | 6.2% |
What it costs on a thousand dollars
The same purchase in four categories, priced on average across South Dakota. A flat thousand dollars is used deliberately — this is South Dakota's own rate restated in money, not a claim about what anyone spends.
| What you're buying | Tax as share of price | Tax on $1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| General goods | 6.11% | $61 |
| Groceries | 6.11% | $61 |
| Prescription drugs | 0% | $0 |
| Clothing | 6.11% | $61 |
Every county in South Dakota
This is the whole state, not a sample — 65 counties, from 4.2% in Aurora County up to 4.2% in Ziebach County. These are county floors. City, transit and special-district taxes can add to them, so an address may pay more.
Complete county coverage for South Dakota: 65 counties spanning 4.2% (Aurora County) to 4.2% (Ziebach County), across 1 distinct rates. Figures are county floors: the state rate plus the county's own levy, excluding municipal, transit and special-district taxes. The representative location figures earlier in the page may include additional local layers.
| County | State portion | County levy | Floor (state + county) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Beadle County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Bennett County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Bon Homme County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Brookings County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Brown County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Brule County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Buffalo County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Butte County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Campbell County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Charles Mix County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Clark County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Clay County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Codington County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Corson County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Custer County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Davison County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Day County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Deuel County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Dewey County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Douglas County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Edmunds County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Fall River County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Faulk County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Grant County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Gregory County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Haakon County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Hamlin County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Hand County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Hanson County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Harding County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Hughes County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Hutchinson County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Hyde County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Jackson County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Jerauld County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Jones County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Kingsbury County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Lake County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Lawrence County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Lincoln County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Lyman County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Marshall County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| McCook County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| McPherson County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Meade County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Mellette County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Miner County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Minnehaha County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Moody County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Pennington County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Perkins County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Potter County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Roberts County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Sanborn County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Spink County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Stanley County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Sully County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Todd County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Tripp County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Turner County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Union County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Walworth County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Yankton County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
| Ziebach County | 4.2% | 0% | 4.2% |
Streamlined Sales Tax member rate files plus individual state Department of Revenue rate tables — county-level rows only; city, transit and special-district levies excluded — as of 2026-01-01, last verified 2026-08-29.
What this page does not cover
- The first South Dakota county table and calculator location list are samples, picked to show how much local rates move rather than to cover everywhere. Your address might land outside the range shown. A recent receipt is the better source if you have one.
- South Dakota taxes some things through this general rate and other things through taxes of their own. Fuel, alcohol and tobacco fall in the second group, and those charges sit inside the price rather than on the receipt. Vehicle purchases, hotel stays and eating out often add their own charges as well.
- Exemptions are broader on paper than in a shop. South Dakota draws its own lines inside each category — what counts as a grocery rather than a prepared meal, what counts as clothing rather than an accessory. Those lines decide the tax on a real basket, and they are where two states with identical rates stop agreeing.
- The first South Dakota county table and calculator location list are representative samples, not a complete register. It exists to demonstrate the magnitude of local variation, so the highest and lowest figures shown bound the sample rather than the state. Any specific address should be checked against the local revenue authority or a recent receipt; a complete county-floor table, where shown separately, still excludes additional city and district taxes.
- South Dakota's general sales tax is one of several consumption taxes it levies, and the only one modeled on this page. Motor fuel, alcoholic beverages and tobacco are taxed under separate excise schedules, normally price-inclusive and therefore not visible as a line item. Lodging, prepared meals and vehicle transfers are frequently subject to additional dedicated rates at state or local level.
- The exemption classes shown for South Dakota are broad categories, and the statutory boundaries inside each one govern the actual charge. Prepared and heated food routinely falls outside a grocery exemption; footwear, athletic wear and accessories are commonly carved out of a clothing exemption. Because these definitions differ between states, two jurisdictions with matching rates and matching exemption lists can produce materially different tax on an identical basket.
Questions people ask
Why is the tax at the register higher than the state rate?
Because the state rate is only the first layer. Counties, cities and special districts add their own on top, which takes about 4.2% up to about 6.11% — and it changes as you cross town lines rather than staying put.
Is food exempt here like it is in most states?
Most states exempt food; South Dakota does not. The full rate applies to groceries, which makes the weekly shop a taxed purchase like any other.
Is clothing exempt here?
It is not. Clothing takes the standard rate here — only a small group of states exempt it, and South Dakota is outside that group.
Will the rate change if I shop in the next town?
A little, but the state sets the bulk of it. With just about 31.26% decided locally, crossing a boundary changes the total only slightly.
Is the sales tax higher here because there is no income tax?
That is usually the arrangement. With no wage income tax, South Dakota leans on consumption and property, and the combined rate of about 6.11% reflects it.
Does it matter what I spend my money on?
Not much. Because South Dakota exempts neither food nor clothing, one rate describes almost all spending rather than a weighted mix.
What composes the combined rate in this state?
The combined rate is the state levy plus every local levy sourced to the point of sale. South Dakota sets about 4.2%; the representative combined rate is about 6.11%, of which about 31.26% is decided locally. A single statewide figure is therefore an approximation.
Why are groceries taxed at the standard rate in this state?
South Dakota applies the standard rate to groceries with no exemption or preferential rate. Because food expenditure falls as a share of income as income rises, a full-rate grocery tax is regressive relative to an exemption, which is the usual argument raised against it.
How is apparel classified for sales tax in this state?
South Dakota applies the standard rate to apparel with no general exemption. Only a small minority of states exempt clothing, and among those several impose per-item caps or exclude athletic and formal wear, so cross-state assumptions about apparel are unreliable.
How much intra-state variation is there in the combined rate?
Locally determined levies account for about 31.26% of the representative combined rate, so intra-state dispersion is limited and the statewide figure approximates most locations closely. Rates remain sourced to the point of sale.
How does the absence of an income tax affect consumption tax burden?
South Dakota levies no personal income tax on wages, so general revenue relies more heavily on consumption and property bases. The representative combined sales rate is about 6.11%. ⚠️ Relative overall burden depends on a household's consumption share of income and cannot be inferred from the rate alone.
Does category composition affect burden in this state?
South Dakota applies the standard rate to both groceries and apparel, so there are no major preferential classes to weight a basket toward. Effective burden therefore approximates the combined rate applied to total taxable consumption, and is less sensitive to household spending mix than in exempting states.