Bankruptcy exemptions in South Dakota: what you can keep
What property South Dakota law protects in bankruptcy, item by item.
Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026.
Short answer
In South Dakota you use state exemptions only (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): no dollar limit on the value of the home itself.
- Exemption system
- State exemptions only
- Wildcard (any property)
- $7,000 in any personal property (goods, money, vehicles and so on) if you are the head of a family; $5,000 if you are not.
- Amounts
- South Dakota amounts are fixed by statute, not indexed.
The South Dakota exemption list
Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You use the South Dakota list. The federal list is not available in South Dakota.
Law: S.D. Codified Laws 43-31-30 and 43-45-13
| What | South Dakota exemption |
|---|---|
Home (homestead) | No dollar limit on the value of the home itself. The limit is by size: up to 1 acre inside a town plat, or up to 160 acres outside a town. If the home is sold (by you or at a forced sale), up to $100,000 of the sale money stays exempt for one year. The same section also says the exemption is limited to $170,000 for the homestead of a person age 70 or older, or that person's unremarried surviving spouse. One house (or mobile home) used as your home, plus buildings that go with it. A single person living in the home counts as a 'family'. A mobile home must be registered in South Dakota at least six months before you claim it. It does not protect against the purchase-money debt or the cost of building the home, or against accrued property taxes. Law: S.D. Codified Laws 43-31-1, 43-31-2, 43-31-4, 43-31-14, 43-31-29, 43-45-3, 43-45-8 |
Household goods and clothing | Always exempt (no cap): all clothing of you and your family, family pictures, a church pew, burial lots, one year's food and fuel for the family, prescribed health aids; family Bible and books up to $200. Other household goods, a car or any other personal property must come from the general exemption ($7,000 head of family / $5,000 otherwise). Law: S.D. Codified Laws 43-45-2, 43-45-4 |
Wildcard (any property) | $7,000 in any personal property (goods, money, vehicles and so on) if you are the head of a family; $5,000 if you are not. This is the exemption most people use for a car, bank accounts and household goods. Law: S.D. Codified Laws 43-45-4 |
Wages | In bankruptcy, you can claim earned but unpaid wages, but only within the $7,000 / $5,000 general exemption. Law: S.D. Codified Laws 43-45-14 |
Retirement accounts | You may choose up to $1,000,000 total in retirement and employee benefit plans (401(k), 403(b), IRAs, Roth IRAs, 457 and similar), plus income and payouts from them, as exempt. This does not stop collection by the State of South Dakota or local governments, or division orders (QDROs). Law: S.D. Codified Laws 43-45-16, 43-45-17 |
Public benefits | Reemployment assistance (unemployment) benefits are exempt while not mixed with other money; workers' compensation is exempt except for child and spousal support; state public assistance is exempt, including from bankruptcy. Law: S.D. Codified Laws 61-6-48; S.D. Codified Laws 62-4-42; S.D. Codified Laws 28-7A-18 |
Other exemptions |
Law: S.D. Codified Laws 58-12-4; S.D. Codified Laws 58-12-6; S.D. Codified Laws 43-45-2(9) |
If you use your state's exemptions, you can protect no more than $214,000 of home equity that you acquired in the 1,215 days (about 3 years and 4 months) before you filed. Equity moved from an earlier home in the same state, bought before that period, does not count. The cap does not apply to a family farmer's main home.
Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(p); 90 FR 8941
Amounts: South Dakota amounts are fixed by statute, not indexed. Homestead sale-proceeds limit raised from $60,000 to $100,000 by 2025 SB 88 (SL 2025, ch 185), effective July 1, 2025. General exemption $7,000/$5,000 since SL 2013, ch 224. Read on sdlegislature.gov, October 2026.
Keeping your home in South Dakota
No dollar limit on the value of the home itself. The limit is by size: up to 1 acre inside a town plat, or up to 160 acres outside a town. If the home is sold (by you or at a forced sale), up to $100,000 of the sale money stays exempt for one year. The same section also says the exemption is limited to $170,000 for the homestead of a person age 70 or older, or that person's unremarried surviving spouse.
One house (or mobile home) used as your home, plus buildings that go with it. A single person living in the home counts as a 'family'. A mobile home must be registered in South Dakota at least six months before you claim it. It does not protect against the purchase-money debt or the cost of building the home, or against accrued property taxes.
Law: S.D. Codified Laws 43-31-1, 43-31-2, 43-31-4, 43-31-14, 43-31-29, 43-45-3, 43-45-8
If you use your state's exemptions, you can protect no more than $214,000 of home equity that you acquired in the 1,215 days (about 3 years and 4 months) before you filed. Equity moved from an earlier home in the same state, bought before that period, does not count. The cap does not apply to a family farmer's main home.
Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(p); 90 FR 8941
Retirement money
You may choose up to $1,000,000 total in retirement and employee benefit plans (401(k), 403(b), IRAs, Roth IRAs, 457 and similar), plus income and payouts from them, as exempt. This does not stop collection by the State of South Dakota or local governments, or division orders (QDROs).
Law: S.D. Codified Laws 43-45-16, 43-45-17
Retirement money in tax-exempt accounts is protected whichever set of exemptions you use (IRAs subject to the 522(n) cap).
Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(3)(C), 522(d)(12), 522(n)
The 730-day rule
You use the exemption law of the state where you lived (your domicile) for the full 730 days (2 years) before you filed. If you moved between states during those 2 years, you use the law of the state where you lived for the 180 days before that 2-year period, or where you lived the longest part of those 180 days.
Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(3)(A)
The non-absolute state exemptions (such as the $7,000 / $5,000 general exemption) do not apply to a nonresident or to someone in the act of moving out of the state with family.
Law: S.D. Codified Laws 43-45-7
If this rule leaves you with no exemptions at all (for example, the state's exemptions apply only to its residents and you no longer live there), you can use the federal exemptions instead.
Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(3), flush language
What changed in 2024–2026 in South Dakota
July 1, 2025: the homestead sale-proceeds exemption rose from $60,000 to $100,000.
Law: SB 88, SL 2025 ch 185, amending S.D. Codified Laws 43-45-3
In nearby states
- Nebraska: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $120,000 in value.
- North Dakota: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $150,000 in equity in the land you live on and your house, including improvements; the land must be one tract or contiguous tracts.
- Minnesota: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): $540,000 in equity, or $1,350,000 if the homestead is used mainly for farming (amounts effective July 1, 2026).
- Iowa: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): unlimited value — up to 1/2 acre inside a city plat, or up to 40 acres elsewhere.
What to do now in South Dakota
Write down your property
List each thing you own and what it is worth on Official Form 106A/B.
Compare with the list
The table above shows the South Dakota amount for each kind of property.
List the exemptions you claim
The exemptions you choose go on Official Form 106C.
Talk to legal aid
Legal aid can help for free: SD Law Help (online application for Access to Justice, Dakota Plains Legal Services and East River Legal Services) and Access to Justice, Inc. (State Bar of South Dakota free and reduced-rate program).
Free help in South Dakota
- SD Law Help (online application for Access to Justice, Dakota Plains Legal Services and East River Legal Services)
- Access to Justice, Inc. (State Bar of South Dakota free and reduced-rate program)
- Dakota Plains Legal Services
- East River Legal Services
- SD Free Legal Answers (ask a volunteer lawyer online)
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Dakota – Court's self-help page
Questions about exemptions in South Dakota
Can I use the federal bankruptcy exemptions in South Dakota?
No. South Dakota requires you to use the state exemptions.
How much home equity can I keep in South Dakota?
No dollar limit on the value of the home itself. The limit is by size: up to 1 acre inside a town plat, or up to 160 acres outside a town. If the home is sold (by you or at a forced sale), up to $100,000 of the sale money stays exempt for one year. The same section also says the exemption is limited to $170,000 for the homestead of a person age 70 or older, or that person's unremarried surviving spouse.
What is the wildcard exemption in South Dakota?
$7,000 in any personal property (goods, money, vehicles and so on) if you are the head of a family; $5,000 if you are not. This is the exemption most people use for a car, bank accounts and household goods.
What household goods can I keep in South Dakota?
Always exempt (no cap): all clothing of you and your family, family pictures, a church pew, burial lots, one year's food and fuel for the family, prescribed health aids; family Bible and books up to $200. Other household goods, a car or any other personal property must come from the general exemption ($7,000 head of family / $5,000 otherwise).
Is my 401(k) or IRA protected in a South Dakota bankruptcy?
You may choose up to $1,000,000 total in retirement and employee benefit plans (401(k), 403(b), IRAs, Roth IRAs, 457 and similar), plus income and payouts from them, as exempt. This does not stop collection by the State of South Dakota or local governments, or division orders (QDROs).
How much of my pay is exempt in South Dakota?
In bankruptcy, you can claim earned but unpaid wages, but only within the $7,000 / $5,000 general exemption.