# South Dakota Film Incentives

Source: https://storiara.com/incentives/us/south-dakota
Last updated: 2026-09-14
Author: Charles Hirschhorn, Storiara

> South Dakota does not offer a film or television production incentive. The state once refunded contractor's excise, sales, and use tax for motion picture, documentary, and TV productions under SDCL chapter 10-46D, but that chapter was repealed effective June 30, 2011. Productions shooting there now pay the 4.2% state sales and use tax plus any municipal tax, and budget without a rebate.

South Dakota used to have a narrow film program. Chapter 10-46D of the South Dakota Codified Laws let motion picture, documentary, and television productions apply for refunds of contractor's excise tax, sales tax, and use tax. The legislature repealed all twelve sections (10-46D-1 through 10-46D-12) in Session Laws 2006, chapter 57, section 13, with the repeal taking effect June 30, 2011. Nothing has replaced it. There is no [tax credit](https://storiara.com/glossary/tax-credit), rebate, or grant for production in South Dakota today.

That leaves producers with two practical questions: what shooting there will cost in tax, and whether a neighboring state with a program can play the same landscape.

## What a production pays

The South Dakota Department of Revenue lists the state sales and use tax rate at 4.2%. It applies to retail sales, leases and rentals of tangible personal property, products transferred electronically, and sales of services. Municipal sales tax can apply on top of the state rate, so look up the total rate for each town before you finalize the location accounts.

Without a production exemption, sales tax is simply a cost in the location and equipment accounts. Here is a $1,000,000 feature spending $650,000 in South Dakota, of which $280,000 is taxable purchases and rentals (equipment rental, expendables, set dressing, picture vehicles). The other $370,000 is payroll and non-taxable items.

- State sales and use tax: $280,000 x 4.2% = $11,760
- Municipal tax: depends on the towns, budget it per location
- Incentive: $0

The same show in a state with a 20% or 25% program on [qualified spend](https://storiara.com/glossary/qualified-spend) would be looking at a six-figure return, so moving a shoot to South Dakota only makes sense when the location can't be matched somewhere else or when the production is small enough that incentive paperwork isn't worth it. For a $5,000,000 production with $1,500,000 of taxable purchases, the state tax alone is $63,000.

## When shooting in South Dakota still makes sense

Some scripts need the actual place. A documentary about a reservation community, the Black Hills, or a specific ranch family isn't going to be shot in Montana with a sign changed. In that case, plan around the lack of a rebate:

- Keep the South Dakota unit small and schedule it tightly. Stack exteriors so the company isn't paying hotel and per diem for a travel day between locations.
- Price local vendors against trucking a package in. The tax is due either way, and a package shipped from out of state adds truck days and driver hotel nights to the transportation account.
- For federal land such as national parks and monuments, the permit comes from the managing federal agency, and those rules apply no matter which state the land is in.
- If the rest of the shoot can go elsewhere, split the schedule: South Dakota for the scenes that need it, and a neighboring incentive state for interiors and stage work.

A split like that means two sets of paperwork. Most state programs count only spend in their own state and set a minimum you have to hit there, so run each state's share through the [incentive calculator](https://storiara.com/tools/incentive-calculator) before committing the schedule.

## Nearby states to price

South Dakota borders [Montana](https://storiara.com/incentives/us/montana), [Minnesota](https://storiara.com/incentives/us/minnesota), [Nebraska](https://storiara.com/incentives/us/nebraska), [Iowa](https://storiara.com/incentives/us/iowa), and [North Dakota](https://storiara.com/incentives/us/north-dakota), and each is worth checking for its current status. [Wyoming](https://storiara.com/incentives/us/wyoming) has no program either. Each page lists the current rate, minimum, and caps from its film office. If the difference between credits and rebates is unfamiliar, read [how film tax credits work](https://storiara.com/blog/how-film-tax-credits-work), and use the [incentives hub](https://storiara.com/incentives) to compare all of them.

When Storiara's Funding page matches incentives to a project's locations, South Dakota comes up as a state with no program, so the [budget](https://storiara.com/feature/budgeting) for a South Dakota shoot carries no incentive offset.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does South Dakota have a film tax credit?

No. South Dakota has no film tax credit, rebate, or grant for productions. Its only film-specific tax relief, a refund of sales, use, and contractor's excise tax under SDCL 10-46D, was repealed effective June 30, 2011.

### What sales tax will a production pay in South Dakota?

The state sales and use tax rate is 4.2%, according to the South Dakota Department of Revenue. Cities can add their own tax on top, so check the rate for each town where you rent or buy.

### Is there any state money for filming in South Dakota?

Not through a statewide program. With no state incentive, the savings have to come from the budget itself, such as fewer shoot days on location and fewer out-of-state hires carried on per diem.

### Where is the nearest film incentive to South Dakota?

Check Montana, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, and North Dakota on the incentives hub. Wyoming, to the west, also has no program.

## Sources

- [SDCL Chapter 10-46D, Refunds of Contractor's Excise, Sales, and Use Tax on Motion Picture, Documentary, and Television Productions [Repealed]](https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/10-46D)
- [Sales and Use Tax, South Dakota Department of Revenue](https://dor.sd.gov/businesses/taxes/sales-use-tax/)