Where My Taxes Go

Federal taxesFiscal year 2025IRS Data Book

How much federal tax does South Dakota pay?

South Dakota paid $14.4 billion in federal taxes in FY2025: $15,406 per person, 15th of 51.That is what the IRS collected from individuals and businesses with an address in South Dakota in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), before refunds. After $1.4 billion of refunds, $13.0 billion remained.

FY2025 total
$14B
$14.4 billion
Per person
$15,406
0% below the US average
Share of US
0.3%
43rd of 51 by total
Change on FY2024
+12.8%
FY2024: $13B

South Dakota ranks 15th of 51 for federal tax per person

IRS gross collections per resident, FY2025, 50 states and DC, highest to lowest. Dashed line: US average.

$0$10K$20K$30KDistrict of Columbia $60,067 (axis cut)US average $15,462South Dakota $15,406HighestLowest$0$10K$20K$30KDistrict of Columbia $60,067 (axis cut)US average $15,462South Dakota $15,406HighestLowest

What the total is made of

Most federal tax is taken from pay. In South Dakota, income tax withheld by employers together with Social Security and Medicare payroll tax came to $6.7 billion, 46.5% of the total. The IRS reports withholding and payroll tax as one figure for each state, because employers pay them in together.

Corporate income tax was $411.4 million (2.9%), against 9.1% across all states. Corporate tax is counted at a company's principal office, so states with many head offices show more of it.

Where South Dakota's $14B of federal tax came from

IRS gross collections by type of tax, FY2025.

Type of taxFY2025Share
Income tax withheld + Social Security and Medicare payroll tax$6.7 billion46.5%
Individual tax payments + self-employment tax$3.2 billion22.6%
Corporate income tax$411.4 million2.9%
Excise taxes$43.5 million0.3%
Estate and trust income tax$4.0 billion27.5%
Estate tax$22.5 million0.2%
Unemployment, railroad retirement and gift tax$25.7 million0.2%

Source: IRS Data Book Table 5.

Federal taxes paid in South Dakota by year

South Dakota: $14B in FY2025, up 79% on FY2019

IRS gross collections, FY2019–FY2025, nominal dollars.

$0$5B$10B$15BFY2019FY2020FY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024$14BFY2025$0$5B$10B$15B'2019'2021'2023$14B'2025
Every year as a table, with refunds and per person
Fiscal yearGross collectionsRefundsAfter refundsPer personChange
FY2019$8.0B$1.0B$7.0B––
FY2020$8.1B$1.9B$6.2B$9,0700.3%
FY2021$11.5B$2.9B$8.6B$12,85843.1%
FY2022$13.5B$1.4B$12.1B$14,84617.1%
FY2023$11.0B$1.4B$9.7B$12,030-18.2%
FY2024$12.8B$1.1B$11.6B$13,77415.7%
FY2025$14.4B$1.4B$13.0B$15,40612.8%

B = billion, M = million. Per-person figures start in FY2020, the first year of the Census Vintage 2025 estimates. Refunds in FY2020 and FY2021 include the pandemic Economic Impact Payments, which the IRS counts as refunds.

Source: IRS Data Book Tables 5 and 8 / 1-8.

Collections in South Dakota rose from $8.0 billion in FY2019 to $14.4 billion in FY2025. Across all states they rose 49% over the same years. The biggest one-year move was in FY2021 (+43%). Year-to-year swings can reflect when tax was paid, such as filing deadlines postponed after a disaster, rather than what was owed.

Is South Dakota a donor state?

For every $1 of federal tax the IRS collected in South Dakota in FY2025, $0.79 came back as federal contracts, grants, loans and direct payments ($11.4 billion in all, excluding Medicare). Across all states the figure was $0.76, so South Dakota gets about the same as the typical state: 34th of 51, where 1st gets the most back per $1.

Per person, that is $15,406 of federal tax collected against $12,162 of federal awards. On this measure it is close to the middle, neither a clear donor nor a clear receiver. Where the money goes in South Dakota: federal money to South Dakota by agency and program. All states: donor states and taker states.

Federal awards per $1 of federal tax: South Dakota and its neighbours

FY2025. Dark bar: all states together.

Montana$1.03
North Dakota$1.02
Iowa$0.99
Wyoming$0.82
South Dakota (this page)$0.79
All states$0.76
Nebraska$0.49
Minnesota$0.48
How this is measured, and what it leaves out
  • Tax side: IRS gross collections for FY2025, before refunds. The IRS assigns them to the filer's address and, for companies, to the principal office, so a company's whole corporate tax is counted where its head office is. States where corporate income tax is an unusually large part of collections, such as Nebraska, Delaware and Washington, look as if their residents pay more than they do. Employers near a state line may withhold tax for people who live in the next state.
  • Spending side: federal award obligations for FY2025 on USAspending.gov by place of performance: contracts, grants (including Medicaid), loans and direct payments such as Social Security. Medicare is left out because it is recorded where claims are processed, not where patients live. Federal salaries, military pay and interest on the debt are not reported as awards, so they are not included either.
  • Why the all-state figure is $0.76, not $1: the spending side leaves out Medicare, federal pay and interest, and the federal government spends more than it collects. So the fair comparison is with the all-state figure, not with $1.
  • This compares two official datasets. It is not a full accounting of who pays for what, and a different method (for example, adding federal salaries and Medicare) gives different numbers.

How South Dakota compares

Federal tax per person: South Dakota and its neighbouring states

IRS gross collections per resident, FY2025. Dark bar: US average.

Nebraska$21,884
Minnesota$21,656
US average (50 states + DC)$15,462
South Dakota (this page)$15,406
Wyoming$14,557
Montana$13,071
North Dakota$12,865
Iowa$11,343

Closest in the per-person ranking: Colorado ($16,071), Rhode Island ($15,930), Florida ($15,257), Missouri ($15,142).

Questions and answers

How much federal tax does South Dakota pay?
The IRS collected $14.4 billion in federal taxes in South Dakota in fiscal year 2025 (gross collections, before $1.4 billion of refunds), according to the IRS Data Book. That is 0.3% of the total for the 50 states and DC.
How much federal tax does South Dakota pay per person?
About $15,406 per resident in FY2025, using the Census Bureau's July 2025 population estimate of 935,094. The average for the 50 states and DC was $15,462.
Where does South Dakota rank for federal taxes?
43rd of 51 by total and 15th per person in FY2025 (50 states and DC).
Is South Dakota a donor state?
On the IRS and USAspending figures for FY2025, South Dakota received $0.79 in federal awards for every $1 of federal tax collected there, against $0.76 for all states together, so it gets about the same as the typical state (34th of 51). Medicare, federal salaries and interest are not in the awards figure.
Did South Dakota pay more federal tax in 2025 than in 2024?
Yes. Gross collections were $14.4 billion in FY2025 against $12.8 billion in FY2024, a change of 12.8%.

Sources and notes

  1. Internal Revenue Service, SOI Tax Stats, IRS Data Book Table 5 (gross collections by type of tax and state), FY2019–FY2025. Amounts are gross collections, including penalties and interest, before refunds. The IRS assigns them to the filer's address; for businesses, the principal office. Public domain. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
  2. Internal Revenue Service, IRS Data Book Table 8 / Table 1-8 (amount of refunds issued, including interest and refundable credits, by state), FY2019–FY2025. Public domain.
  3. USAspending.gov (U.S. Treasury): federal contract, grant, loan and direct-payment obligations by place of performance, excluding Medicare. Public domain.
  4. U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates (July 1 of each year), used for per-person figures.
  5. How the site works and what each dataset leaves out: sources and methods.