South Dakota Per Diem Allowance

Calculate South Dakota’s per diem rate based on GSA guidelines to simplify your business travels.

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Per diem rates for official travel in South Dakota are set by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). These federal rates are mandatory for federal employees and serve as a common benchmark for private sector companies looking to create an IRS-compliant reimbursement policy.

For Fiscal Year 2025 (October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025), key rates are broken down as follows:

Black Hills Tourist Region

The state's primary tourism destinations have their own designated Non-Standard Area (NSA) rates with significant seasonal variations.

  • Rapid City (Pennington County):
    • M&IE: $74 per day
    • Lodging: Seasonal, with a peak summer rate of $158 per night (June-Aug) and a rate of $110 per night for all other months.
  • Hot Springs (Fall River & Custer Counties):
    • M&IE: $74 per day
    • Lodging: Seasonal, with a peak summer rate of $161 per night (June-Sep) and a rate of $110 per night for all other months.
  • Deadwood / Spearfish (Lawrence County):
    • M&IE: $80 per day
    • Lodging: Seasonal, with peak rates of $140 per night (May-Oct) and a rate of $110 per night for all other months.

The first and last day of travel, the M&IE rate is $55.50 for Rapid City and Hot Springs, and $60.00 for the Deadwood/Spearfish area.

Standard CONUS Rate

For any county in South Dakota not specifically listed by the GSA—including the state's largest city, Sioux Falls (Minnehaha County)—the standard CONUS rate applies. For FY 2025, this rate is $178 ($110 for lodging and $68 for M&IE).

South Dakota Per Diem Rate Calculator

Find the exact per diem allowance for your business trip to South Dakota with our easy-to-use calculator. Select the fiscal year, choose your destination, and input your travel dates. The tool will instantly provide the correct lodging and M&IE rates based on the official GSA schedule.

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Your per diem allowance

Dates
Lodging (L)
Meals & Incidentals (M&IE)
Total (L + M&IE)
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Lodging (L)
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Meals & Incidentals (M&IE)
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Total (L + M&IE)
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*For the first and last day of travel, M&lE spend is limited to 75% of its normal, daily allowance.

South Dakota GSA Lodging Rates

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South Dakota Meals and Incidental Rates

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Some Important South Dakota Per Diem Laws

South Dakota has specific and robust laws regarding employee expenses that all employers must follow.

  • South Dakota Law Protects Employees From Business Costs: Unlike many states where reimbursement is a matter of company policy, South Dakota Statute 60-2-1 provides a legal shield for employees. It requires that an employer "shall indemnify an employee... for all that the employee necessarily expends or loses in direct consequence of the discharge of the employee's duties."
  • Per Diem As A Tool For Compliance: This law makes a fair reimbursement system a matter of legal compliance. While the state does not set its own rates for private companies, using a per diem allowance based on the GSA schedule is a common and highly defensible method for employers to meet their legal obligation to cover employees' necessary travel costs.

South Dakota Per Diem Laws vs Federal Law

It's crucial for South Dakota employers to understand how the state's legal mandate interacts with the federal per diem system.

Primary Applicability

  • Federal Law (GSA): Mandatory for U.S. federal government employees traveling to South Dakota. Private companies often use these rates as a benchmark for what is considered a "reasonable" reimbursement.
  • South Dakota State Law: Mandatory for all private sector employers in South Dakota. It establishes the duty to reimburse, not the specific rates.

Rate Setting and Usage

  • Federal Law (GSA): Sets specific, non-negotiable per diem rates that federal agencies must use.
  • South Dakota State Law: Does not set its own rates but legally requires that reimbursement be sufficient to cover an employee's actual, necessary costs. Using GSA rates is a common way to establish a policy that is presumed to be reasonable.

Legal Focus

  • Federal Law (GSA): Aims to create a uniform, cost-controlled system for government travel.
  • South Dakota State Law: Aims to protect employees by ensuring they are not financially burdened by their employer's business costs.

How Fyle Can Automate Per Diem and Expense Tracking

In a state like South Dakota where expense reimbursement is legally required and costs can fluctuate dramatically, accuracy and compliance are paramount. Fyle’s expense tracking platform provides the automated controls needed to manage this complexity with confidence.

Here’s how Fyle helps you build a compliant and efficient expense process in South Dakota:

  • Build Your Legal Compliance Directly Into Your Workflow: Fyle allows you to encode South Dakota's GSA rates, including all seasonal variations for the Black Hills, directly into the platform. This ensures every submitted expense is automatically validated against the correct rules, creating a powerful, preventative compliance system.
  • Empower Your Team with Instant Expense Creation: An employee can create a complete, documented expense by simply taking a photo of a receipt with their phone. This eliminates the risk of lost receipts and provides the real-time data needed for accurate financial oversight.
  • Simplify Your Corporate Card Management: Fyle integrates with your company's existing Visa, Mastercard, or American Express cards. It automatically sends transaction data to employees, who can then text back a photo of the receipt to instantly reconcile the spend, removing the need for manual statement reviews.
  • Ensure Accurate and Fair Mileage Reimbursement: For business travel across the state, Fyle’s GPS-powered mileage tracker allows employees to log their trips with a single click, providing an IRS-compliant record and ensuring they are reimbursed accurately for their travel.
  • Accelerate Your Financial Close with Automated Syncing: Fyle connects directly to your accounting software, including Sage, NetSuite, QuickBooks, and Xero. Once an expense report is approved, all the data is automatically coded and exported, eliminating manual data entry and helping your finance team close the books faster.

With Fyle, you can confidently meet your legal reimbursement obligations in South Dakota, giving your finance team powerful controls while offering a simple, modern experience for your employees.

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The content on this page is for informational use. As legal standards and per diem rates are subject to change, users should verify current details with official GSA or government resources. This information does not serve as financial or legal counsel.