Your first South Dakota sales tax return

Before the month closes: license, invoice, certificate

The first return starts before the first sale. The sales tax license must be in hand, and operating without it is the misdemeanor the license guide describes, so if the license is still pending, that is item one.

Check the invoices next. Each one should show tax at 4.2% plus the customer's city rate, charged where the customer received the service. Personal care services are taxed where performed, services on products where the product is delivered.

Check the certificates. Every exempt sale needs a properly completed exemption certificate kept for three years, and without one the tax should have been collected. If any exempt customer never handed one over, collect it now, before the return is filed.

3 yearsA South Dakota seller must keep purchaser exemption certificates in its records for three years, and must collect sales tax if a properly completed certificate is not provided. — South Dakota Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29

South Dakota taxes personal care services at the location the service is performed, and services performed on products at the location the product is delivered to the customer. — South Dakota Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29

The receipts you total, taxable and not

Total gross receipts for the period, taxable and non-taxable together. The return starts from gross receipts, and non-taxable sales, like sales for resale, are deducted on their own line rather than left out of the total.

Split the receipts by jurisdiction. Municipal tax is reported by city, and a route crossing city lines owes the return a per-city breakdown rather than one blended number.

Add the use tax you owe. Supplies taken from inventory and bought without tax, and any out-of-state purchase whose seller charged no tax, owe use tax in the period received, at the same rate as sales tax, on the purchase price including freight and handling.

South Dakota gross receipts include taxable and non-taxable sales, reported on line 1 of the return, with non-taxable sales such as resale deducted on line 3. — South Dakota Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29

South Dakota use tax is due in the filing period the product or service is received, at the same rate as sales tax, on the purchase price including freight and handling. — South Dakota Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29

The dates and the payment

File the electronic return by the 20th of the month after the period, and pay electronically by the 25th. On paper, the return and payment are both due by the 20th. A due date on a weekend or legal holiday moves to the next business day.

Pay by ACH debit from EPath. Card payments work but carry a 2.50% convenience fee with a $1.95 minimum, which is a cost with no benefit for a tax you owe either way.

If the month had no sales, file anyway. A return is due every period even with no business and no income, and the late penalty's $10 minimum applies even when no tax is due.

20th and 25thSouth Dakota electronic returns are due the 20th and electronic payments the 25th; paper returns and payments are due by the 20th, with weekend and holiday dates moved to the next business day. — South Dakota Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29

$10 minimumA South Dakota business must file a tax return each reporting period even if it did not conduct business or receive income, and the $10 minimum late penalty applies even when no tax is due. — South Dakota Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29

After filing: what to keep and what to check

Keep the records the return was built on, and the exemption certificates for three years. The Department audits from records, and a certificate is what turns an exempt sale back into a documented one.

Check the return against the invoices one more time. If a figure is wrong, an EPath account can amend a return once electronically, and paper filers call the Department at 1-800-829-9188 for the amended process.

Mark next month's dates now. The second return is easier than the first, and the penalty for the second one is identical. The filing guide holds the full mechanics, and the first-year costs page prices what going late actually costs.

A business with a South Dakota EPath account may amend a return one time through EPath, and paper filers or those unable to amend there call 1-800-829-9188. — South Dakota Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29

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

Questions