Supporting report · White utility costs and the financial records behind them
White’s 2% sales tax: where it applies and where the money comes from
A guide for businesses and customers in ZIP 57276, and four charts from the South Dakota Department of Revenue’s reports on White’s city sales tax, 2020 through August 2026.
Where White’s 2% applies
White’s city sales tax follows the city limits, not the ZIP code. Plenty of 57276 addresses sit outside the boundary below. For most taxable goods, the state counts the sale where the customer receives the item.
Boundary: South Dakota Department of Revenue, Sales Tax Rates by Address (city code 388-2, 2.00%). Map prepared Sept. 12, 2026. The DOR map is a working reference; recorded annexation documents are the legal record.
Common situations
| Situation | White 2%? | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| Customer picks up a taxable item at a seller inside White | Generally yes | The customer receives it in White, even if the customer lives outside town. |
| Seller delivers a taxable item into White | Generally yes | Where it is delivered decides, including online and mail-order deliveries. |
| Seller delivers to a rural 57276 address outside city limits | Generally no | A White mailing address alone does not make it a White sale. Another jurisdiction or special rule may apply. |
| Rural business sells taxable goods picked up at its rural premises | Generally no | Received outside White. Being near White does not create city tax. |
| White-based business delivers a taxable item outside White | Generally no | The destination decides, subject to the applicable sourcing rule. |
| White resident picks up an item in another taxing city | Not automatically | That city’s tax applies at pickup. White does not simply add another 2%. |
| Taxable service, repair, rental or electronic product | Depends | Each has its own sourcing rule. Personal care is generally where performed; repaired items follow delivery back to the customer. |
| Exempt sale or properly documented resale | No, if exempt | A valid exemption removes sales tax. The business must keep the required paperwork. |
Contractors: the state’s 2% contractor’s excise tax is a separate tax from White’s 2% city tax. A contractor’s office address alone doesn’t decide either one. What matters is where materials are picked up or delivered and what kind of work it is.
Before changing an invoice or checkout setting, look up the physical address in DOR’s Sales Tax Rates by Address tool. For a boundary address, an unusual service, or tax you may have collected by mistake, call DOR Business Tax at 1-800-829-9188 or email bustax@state.sd.us. Tax collected in error must be corrected with the customer and on the return, not kept as revenue.
These are general rules from DOR’s published guides (Municipal Tax Guide, Sales and Use Tax Guide, Contractor’s Excise Tax Guide, July 2026), not tax advice. DOR has the final word on any specific sale.
Where the money comes from
1. City sales tax by year
Roughly flat from 2020 to 2022, then up sharply in 2023 and 2024.
Show the numbers
| Year | City sales tax reported | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $96,739 | — |
| 2021 | $108,355 | +12.0% |
| 2022 | $104,077 | -3.9% |
| 2023 | $119,196 | +14.5% |
| 2024 | $153,541 | +28.8% |
| 2025 | $162,494 | +5.8% |
2. Where the 2025 money came from
Grouped by the kind of seller that reported it. Catalog and mail-order sellers (orange), which include online retailers, reported $33,543, about one dollar in every five.
Show the numbers
| Category (2025) | Tax | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Other retail stores | $36,760 | 22.6% |
| Catalog & mail-order | $33,543 | 20.6% |
| Wholesale | $27,883 | 17.2% |
| Services | $22,670 | 14.0% |
| Utilities, phone & transport | $21,314 | 13.1% |
| Agriculture services | $10,160 | 6.3% |
| Finance & real estate | $3,856 | 2.4% |
| Manufacturing | $3,776 | 2.3% |
| Construction | $2,521 | 1.6% |
| Other / unclassified | $11 | 0.0% |
| Total | $162,494 | 100% |
3. Mail-order versus everything else
Catalog & mail-orderEverything else
Mail-order more than doubled from 2020 to 2025. In 2025 it grew $9,265 — more than White’s entire increase for the year ($8,953). Everything else combined was slightly lower.
Show the numbers
| Year | Catalog & mail-order | Everything else | Mail-order share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $14,334 | $82,405 | 14.8% |
| 2021 | $18,843 | $89,512 | 17.4% |
| 2022 | $18,995 | $85,082 | 18.3% |
| 2023 | $20,554 | $98,641 | 17.2% |
| 2024 | $24,278 | $129,262 | 15.8% |
| 2025 | $33,543 | $128,950 | 20.6% |
4. This year so far, month by month
20252026
Six of the first eight months of 2026 came in lower than the same month of 2025. May alone was down $14,116.
Show the numbers
| Month filed | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | $12,305 | $15,955 | +29.7% |
| Feb | $11,009 | $7,950 | -27.8% |
| Mar | $12,994 | $9,995 | -23.1% |
| Apr | $15,964 | $11,186 | -29.9% |
| May | $25,939 | $11,823 | -54.4% |
| Jun | $8,916 | $12,293 | +37.9% |
| Jul | $14,689 | $13,767 | -6.3% |
| Aug | $20,046 | $14,959 | -25.4% |
| Jan–Aug | $121,861 | $97,927 | −19.6% |
How to read these numbers
Where the tax is counted. The state credits sales tax to the place where the buyer receives the item. An online order delivered to a White address counts as White tax even if the seller is in another state. So the catalog and mail-order line largely reflects online and catalog orders delivered to White addresses, not sales at local storefronts. The reports do not say who the buyers were.
What this is not. These are amounts reported on tax returns filed each month, not deposits in the City’s bank account. Late and amended returns shift numbers between months. The reports never name individual businesses; the state keeps that confidential and hides categories with fewer than three licensed sellers.
Why 2026 is lower. The reports don’t say. They show the drop, not its cause.
Check it yourself. Every figure comes from the Department of Revenue’s historical tax reports (“Municipal Taxable Sales per City by SIC Code”). The full detail, with the page number for each row, is in the downloadable workbook.