South Dakota Property Tax Appeals & Important Dates
Consulting an experienced property tax advisor at Savage & Browning may make the difference in a successful reduction of your real estate taxes in your South Dakota county assessor's valuation appeal.
Most property owners fail to protest their property’s valuation because they aren't aware of their options, don’t understand the complicated process, or have access to the resources to substantiate a claim stating their property is overvalued. Our experience allows us to effectively analyze your property’s value using one or more of the established valuation approaches. We have a proven history for successfully reducing valuations for a diverse range of property types including agricultural and non-agricultural.
We represent South Dakota property owners in their county tax assessor appeal. We have won successful real estate property tax reductions for our clients in Minnehaha County, Pennington County, Lincoln County, Brown County, Brookings County, Meade County, Codington County, Lawrence County, Yankton County, Davison County as well as in every corner of even the smallest Nebraska county.
We often are able to find more compelling reasons for reduction and additional favorable comparable properties to support the appeal in the more urban areas of Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Aberdeen, Brookings, Watertown, Mitchell, Yankton, Huron, Pierre and Spearfish.
Fair Market Value by County Directors of Equalization and Auditors
In South Dakota county Directors of Equalization assessors in each county are responsible for valuing all property March 1 of each year. Properties are assessed in the most fair manner possible and are based on 100% of market value. Then the property is equalized to 85% for property tax purposes. Non-agricultural properties are valued using a combination of the Cost Approach, the Market Approach and the Income Approach. Agricultural peroperties are valued using the productivity valuation method.
Assessors are required value property as of January 1 of each year and assessed valuation notices must be sent to property owners by March 1.
What are valid reasons to protest your South Dakota property valuation?
A property owner may protest their real property valuation with the county board of equalization if they think their property is assessed for more than its actual market value (valuation) or disproportionately valued in relation to similar comparable properties (equalization).
Owner's who occupy their property are entitled to a discount and may appeal the property's owner-occupied status directly to the County Board of Equalization. Owner's ,ay also appeal the taxable/exempt status of their property if they feel it is misclassified.
Appealing County Assessment
The first step, as mentioned is to have an informal discussion with your county director of equalization regarding your property valuation. The director will answer any questions and review any additional, pertinent information you provide regarding the assessment of your property. If you are unable to resolve your issue or concern after an informal discussion, an appeal may be filed with the board of equalization.
If you fail to appeal first to the Local Board of Equalization you will forfeit all rights for further appeal.
There are two exemptions to this rule: non-resident property owners who reside outside the local board jurist diction and owners of properties in unorganized townships.
Note: Any lessee responsible for payment of taxes pursuant to the provisions of a lease shall be considered the taxpayer and may also appeal the valuation, classification, taxable status of the property.
The first step in the appeal process is to the local board of equalization. Property owners/representatives must file in writing with the clear of the local board no later than March 17. Your notice should include the property's legal description as well as an explanation of why you are appealing. You will required to complete form PT17 during your appeal hearing.
The local board must notify you in writing by April 1 of their decision.
If you disagree with the local board's decision you may appeal to the county board before May 5. The county board must notify you of their decision by May 6.
If you disagree with the county board's decision an appeal may be filed with the Office of Hearing Examiners (OHE) by May 20 OR to the county circuit court. You may not appeal to both simultaneously.
If you disagree with the OHE's decision you have the right to appeal to the circuit court within 30 days of receiving the OHE decision.
Don’t delay. Contact Savage & Browning today and let us get a jump on valuing your real properties and determining the best cases to be made for assessment reduction.
With the uncertainty of Covid-19 shutting down many businesses, property owners have seen unprecedented shifts in cash flow from shuttered businesses or residential tenants who lost the ability to pay rent. Additionally, there are other considerations that can be presented to justify assessment reductions:
- Equitability of the Assessment
- Building Age and Type
- Needed Improvements and Repairs
- Vacancy
- All Forms of Depreciation / Obsolescence
- Highest & Best Use of Your Property
As a part of our long history, our team worked hard over the years to build and maintain positive relationships with the various assessor offices and other property tax professionals. These relationships facilitate appeal and negotiation since we have proven our credibility time and again.
Our Process
We start each engagement with a Real Estate Appraisal Review that includes:
- Obtaining data from you, the client and taxing authorities.
- We identify appraisal methods used in assessing properties and audit the results for accuracy.
- We aggressively seek and secure refunds for past years tax over-payments when inaccurate assessments are identified.
- We use cost, market and income approaches in preparing appeals for presentation to taxing authorities.
- We review the assessed value of comparable properties to ensure fair and equal standards.
- We use comparable assessments and calculations of cash equivalency values in presentations to taxing authorities.
If we determine that your real estate valuation by the county is unjustifiably too high, we go to bat for you throughout the entire Real Estate Property Tax Appeal Process:
- We arrange for and conduct diligent, informal settlement discussions with taxing authorities.
- When advisable, we file written protests with tax appraisal review boards for all unsuccessful appeals at the informal level.
- We attend hearings and offer personal presentations of expert testimony before tax appraisal review boards to support lower values.
- If appropriate, we recommend legal counsel and provide support services for continuing an appeal at the state level.
Throughout the entire process you will receive status reports and so you know where we stand in your property tax valuation reduction appeal:
- A preliminary tax savings report using estimated tax rates.
- A final tax savings report using actual tax rates and identifying savings by property.
- A tax comparison report on a property-by-property basis including current and prior year's values and taxes.
- A narrative report pertaining to research, analysis, and negotiation activity.
Once we have established a familiarity with your property we are prepared to Administer your real estate property tax valuation on an annual basis, always looking for opportunities to appeal and reduce valuations or mitigate increases in valuation.
On your behalf we will:
- Respond to inquiries from taxing authorities.
- Provide tax estimates for accrual and budgeting purposes.
- On a timely basis, obtain, audit and forward tax bills to clients with an approval letter.
- Seek and secure corrected tax bills where inaccuracies are discovered.
- Upon request, provide clients with copies of parcel maps from taxing authorities.
- Verify the property tax proration on escrow closing statements for acquisitions or dispositions.
Important Dates
| REAL ESTATE | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Events | Notes |
| Mar 01 | Value Notices Issued | |
| Mar 15 | Appeal Deadline | Thursday before the 3rd Monday |
| Apr 30 | Tax Bills Due | 1st half installment |
| Oct 31 | Tax Bills Due | 2nd half installment |
| Nov 01 | Assessment Date |
| PERSONAL PROPERTY | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Events | Notes |
| Personal Property Exempt |
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