Property Tax Refund Program Provides Targeted Relief to Those Eligible

Published on March 07, 2025

Local homeowners have until April 1, 2025, to apply for the State of South Dakota’s Assessment Freeze for the Elderly and Disabled program, which would automatically make them eligible for a property tax refund from the City of Sioux Falls if they are approved through the state’s program. If the program continues to be approved and funded by the City Council in its 2026 budget, homeowners applying by April 1, 2025, would be eligible for a refund from the City of Sioux Falls in 2026. The City will mail almost 800 property tax refund checks on Monday, March 10, 2025, to those who applied and were approved by April 1, 2024.

Those who are 65 years or older and/or have a disability as defined by the Social Security Act are eligible for a property tax refund from the City if they have applied through the Minnehaha County or Lincoln County Treasurer’s Office and have been approved for South Dakota’s Assessment Freeze for Elderly and Disabled program.

To qualify for the state’s Assessment Freeze for the Elderly and Disabled program, the applicant must:

• Own the property or have retained a life estate in the property.
• Have resided in the home for at least 200 days of the previous calendar year.
• Be 65 years or older or be considered a person with a disability as defined by the Social Security Act.
• Own a home with a full and true market value of $345,340 or less unless previously applied for the program.
• Have an income of less than $40,290 annually for a single-member household or less than $51,801 per year for a multiple-member household.

To qualify for the City’s refund program, there is one additional requirement for property owners: the person must not be delinquent on property taxes.

The state requires individuals to apply annually for the Assessment Freeze for the Elderly and Disabled program. If a Sioux Falls property owner applies through Minnehaha County or Lincoln County, they are automatically eligible for the municipal property tax refund up to $500 if they are approved for the state’s program.

Applications for the assessment freeze program must be filed with the property owner’s appropriate County Treasurer’s Office, whether their Sioux Falls property is in Minnehaha County or Lincoln County. The form can be found online but must be printed, filled out, and sent or brought to a County Treasurer’s Office.

• Lincoln County Treasurer’s Office: 104 North Main Street, Suite 100, Canton, SD 57013
  • Phone number: 605-764-5701

• Minnehaha County Treasurer’s Office: 415 North Dakota Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD 57104
  • Phone number: 605-367-4211 

“Since we started this program in 2020 at the direction of the City Council at the time, we have seen a 110 percent increase in the number of participants,” said Shawn Pritchett, director of finance with the City of Sioux Falls. “We recognized five years ago the stress homeowners were feeling from their property taxes. Although we have very little control over property tax assessments as a municipality, we created this refund program to provide some relief to those on a fixed income.”

A total of 787 people will receive a property tax refund from the City in 2025, with 720 of those applicants in Minnehaha County and 67 in Lincoln County, for a total of almost $280,000 issued in refunds to these individuals from the City of Sioux Falls.

For more information on eligibility and the program itself, visit www.siouxfalls.gov/proptaxrefund.

The tables below show how many individuals have been helped over the years since the program started and how much the City’s Property Tax Refund program has grown: