File a South Dakota sales tax return
How do I file and pay my South Dakota sales tax return?
- Total your gross receipts for the period, taxable and not
- Split out exempt sales and the municipal tax by city
- File the return in EPath by the 20th of the month after the period
- Pay by the 25th if you are paying electronically
- Amend in EPath if a figure turns out wrong
Every period gets a return, even empty ones
File a return every reporting period, even if you did no business and received no income. That sentence is the one new licensees miss.
The return starts from gross receipts, which includes taxable and non-taxable sales. Non-taxable sales, like sales for resale, are deducted on a separate line rather than left off the return entirely.
Zero-sales months are the reason to set up EPath on day one. An electronic return with nothing on it takes minutes, and filing it is what keeps the license clean. If you skip the paperwork habit, the first-return checklist builds it.
A South Dakota business must file a tax return each reporting period even if it did not conduct business or receive income. — South Dakota Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
The due dates you work to
Electronic returns are due the 20th of the month. Electronic payments are due the 25th. Paper returns must be filed and paid by the 20th of the month in which the return is due.
When a due date lands on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the next business day is the due date. That small rule moves real deadlines through the year, so check the calendar before you schedule anything around the 20th.
The Department mails paper returns and worksheets each period to businesses filing on paper, but it is your job to ask if one does not arrive. Electronic filers receive nothing in the mail, which is by design.
20th and 25thSouth Dakota electronic returns are due the 20th of the month and electronic payments the 25th; paper returns and payments are due by the 20th of the month in which the return is due. — South Dakota Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
What filing late costs
The penalty is 10% of the tax liability, assessed when a return is more than 30 days past the month it was due. The minimum penalty is $10, and it applies even when no tax is due.
Interest runs at 1% a month on past-due tax until it is paid, with a $5.00 minimum the first month. The interest clock and the penalty are separate, so a return filed late and paid late accrues both.
The Department can also issue an assessment of estimated tax, penalty and interest, file a tax lien with the register of deeds, and file a criminal complaint when a return goes more than sixty days past due. That end of the scale starts with a missing return, which is why the empty-month rule above matters.
| Charge | Rate or amount |
|---|---|
| Late-filing penalty | 10% of tax liability, $10 minimum |
| Interest on unpaid tax | 1% per month, $5.00 minimum first month |
| Penalty when no tax is due | $10 minimum |
| Criminal complaint exposure | Return unpaid more than 60 days past due |
10% + 1% per monthSouth Dakota assesses a late-filing penalty of 10% of the tax liability with a $10 minimum, plus 1% monthly interest with a $5.00 first-month minimum. — South Dakota Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
60 daysFailing to file or pay a South Dakota return within sixty days of the due date can lead to a criminal complaint, on top of liens, assessments and penalties. — South Dakota Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
EPath, amendments and one-time fixes
File and pay through your EPath account. You can amend a return once through EPath if a figure was wrong; paper filers and anyone who cannot amend there call the Department at 1-800-829-9188 for the amended return process.
Payments can be made as a single ACH debit or by credit card even without an EPath account. The card convenience fee is 2.50% of the payment amount with a $1.95 minimum, and commercial cards run 3.95%. ACH costs nothing extra, which is why most service businesses pay that way.
Account changes run through EPath too. A mailing or business address change, or changes in corporate officers or members, goes to the Department without a new tax license.
2.50%South Dakota credit and debit card tax payments carry a nonrefundable convenience fee of 2.50% of the payment amount with a $1.95 minimum, and 3.95% for commercial cards. — South Dakota Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
A business with an EPath account may amend a South Dakota return one time through EPath. — South Dakota Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
Records, audits and what the Department can ask for
Keep the records behind the return. The Department audits sales tax accounts, and the audit covers the procedures used and the differences identified, which you can discuss with the auditor or agent.
Exemption certificates are the records that carry the most weight. Sellers must keep them for three years, and may need to provide copies to member states of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement.
The Department publishes your rights alongside them, including a credit for interest or penalties later determined inappropriate and removal of a lien within 30 days after full payment. The filing side of the obligation is the license guide; the pricing side is the first-year costs page.
3 yearsSouth Dakota sellers must keep exemption certificates in their records for three years and may need to provide them, including copies, to member states of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement. — South Dakota Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
30 daysSouth Dakota taxpayers have the right to a credit for interest or penalties inappropriately assessed, and to lien removal within 30 days after paying all tax, penalty and interest due. — South Dakota Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
Questions
Can I file and pay on the same day?
Yes. Electronic returns are due the 20th and electronic payments the 25th, so paying when you file clears both deadlines. Paying by ACH debit avoids the card convenience fee of 2.50%.
What happens if I file the return but cannot pay the tax?
The 10% penalty attaches to returns more than 30 days late rather than immediately, but interest runs at 1% each month on past-due tax until paid, and unpaid returns past sixty days can draw a criminal complaint. Call the Department at 1-800-829-9188 before the sixty-day mark.
Do I need to keep paper copies of everything?
What you must keep are the records behind the numbers, and exemption certificates specifically, for three years. The Department audits from records, so keep them in whatever form you can produce on request.
My period had zero sales. Do I really file?
Yes. A return is due every reporting period even with no business and no income, and the $10 minimum late penalty applies even when no tax is due. An empty EPath return takes minutes.