New Laws Passed in North Dakota: Taxes, Schools, and Fentanyl

North Dakota’s 2023 and 2025 legislative sessions produced a wave of new laws that changed what residents pay, what schools must share with parents, who can buy land in the state, and how certain crimes and medical procedures are treated. The biggest shifts for most households are financial: single filers now owe zero state income tax on the first $48,475 of taxable income, the top rate dropped to 2.50 percent, and the primary residence property tax credit tripled from $500 to $1,600 a year.

Income Tax Overhaul

House Bill 1158, signed in 2023, replaced the old five-bracket income tax with three brackets and eliminated the bottom tier entirely.¹ For the 2025 tax year, a single filer pays:²

0 percent on taxable income up to $48,475
1.95 percent on taxable income between $48,475 and $244,825
2.50 percent on taxable income above $244,825

Married couples filing jointly get wider brackets: the zero-percent tier runs through $80,975, the 1.95 percent rate applies up to $298,075, and 2.50 percent kicks in above that. Head-of-household filers fall in between, with the zero-percent bracket covering income up to $64,950.² The thresholds are inflation-adjusted each year.

A large share of residents now owe no state income tax at all. A 2025 bill to widen the zero-percent bracket further died in the Senate, so the three-tier structure above is what applies.

Property Tax Relief

HB 1158 also created a primary residence property tax credit of up to $500 per year, with no age or income limits.³ The 2025 session went much further. House Bill 1176, signed by Governor Armstrong, raised that credit to $1,600 per year, retroactive to the 2025 property tax year.⁴ The credit is funded through earnings from the state’s Legacy Fund, and the full package was estimated at $409 million for the 2025–2027 biennium.

HB 1176 also capped future increases in local property tax budgets at 3 percent per year for residential, commercial, and agricultural property. Unused room under the cap carries forward for up to five years. The bill expanded the renter’s refund program and increased funding for the disabled veterans tax credit.⁴ The application window for the $1,600 credit opened January 1, 2026.³

Parental Rights and Student Privacy in Schools

Two 2023 laws changed how public schools handle gender identity and parental access to classroom materials.

Pronouns and Gender Identity

Senate Bill 2231 restricts how public schools and teachers address student gender identity.⁵ Districts and teachers generally cannot adopt policies recognizing a student’s expressed gender, provide classroom instruction on the topic, or require professional development around it. When a pronoun or identity policy is implemented for a specific student because another law requires it, parental consultation and approval must come first. Teachers cannot be compelled to use a student’s preferred pronouns; a teacher may choose to do so only after getting approval from both the parent and a school administrator.

Access to Curriculum

Senate Bill 2260 gives parents an explicit right to review what their children are taught. It defines “curriculum” broadly to cover textbooks, handouts, videos, presentations, digital materials, websites, apps, surveys, and other written or electronic materials. Schools must make the syllabus, curriculum, and teacher training materials for each class available to parents at least seven days before the class starts. Other curriculum and training materials must be available for review, copying, and recording at least three days before classroom use.⁶

Foreign Ownership of Real Property

Senate Bill 2371 bars foreign adversaries from purchasing or holding real property anywhere in North Dakota. The restriction covers all real property, not only farmland, and reaches three categories: foreign adversary governments, businesses headquartered in or controlled by an adversary nation, and individual citizens of those countries.⁷

The law defines “foreign adversary” by reference to the federal designation at 15 CFR 7.4(a), which currently lists China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and the Maduro regime in Venezuela.⁸ Counties and cities are also prohibited from entering development agreements with anyone on that federal list.⁷

Enforcement has teeth. Foreign governments and businesses holding property in violation must divest within 36 months. If they do not, the county state’s attorney can subpoena witnesses and records and bring a court action to force divestment. A foreign entity that ignores a court-ordered divestment faces a civil penalty of up to $25,000, and the property can be sold at public auction.⁹ The Attorney General separately reviews security concerns when a foreign business entity seeks to acquire real property in the state. Federal rules under CFIUS and AFIDA still apply on top of the state law, with CFIUS review zones around military installations expanded in a November 2024 Treasury rule.¹⁰

Tougher Penalties for Fentanyl and Trafficking

House Bill 1313 raised criminal penalties for distributing fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. Delivering a controlled substance that causes death or serious injury is now treated as a Class A felony, which in North Dakota carries up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000.

The law also set mandatory minimum sentences for trafficking offenses tied to drug quantity, with steeper minimums for repeat offenders based on criminal history. Investigators can rely on indicators like packaging materials, large amounts of cash, or distribution equipment to separate trafficking from simple possession. Because fentanyl is far more potent than other controlled substances, smaller quantities trigger the heightened penalties.

Ban on Gender Treatments for Minors

House Bill 1254 prohibits healthcare providers from performing gender-transition surgeries or prescribing hormone treatments and puberty blockers to patients under 18 when the purpose is to align the minor’s physical characteristics with a gender identity differing from their biological sex.¹¹ A provider who willfully violates the law commits a Class B felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000.

Two narrow exceptions apply. The ban does not reach treatment for a medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development, such as a minor born with ambiguous external characteristics or an atypical chromosomal structure. It also does not apply when treatment began before the law’s effective date, though the statute does not specify a tapering schedule for those patients.¹¹

Similar laws in other states faced constitutional challenges, and in June 2025 the U.S. Supreme Court decided United States v. Skrmetti, holding that Tennessee’s ban on youth gender treatments does not violate the Equal Protection Clause because it does not classify on the basis of sex or transgender status and satisfies rational basis review.¹² That ruling leaves state bans like North Dakota’s on firm legal footing.

1
North Dakota Office of the Governor. Burgum, Legislative Assembly Celebrate Signing of Historic Tax Relief Package
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North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner. Individual Income Tax
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North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner. Tax Commissioner Announces Upcoming Primary Residence Credit Application Period Opening January 1, 2026
4
North Dakota Office of the Governor. Armstrong Signs Historic Property Tax Relief and Reform Package
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North Dakota Legislative Branch. SB 2231 – Overview
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North Dakota Legislative Branch. Senate Bill 2260
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North Dakota Legislative Branch. Senate Bill 2371
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GovInfo. 15 CFR 7.4 – Determination of Foreign Adversaries
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North Dakota Legislative Branch. Engrossed Senate Bill 2371
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U.S. Department of the Treasury. Treasury Issues Final Rule Expanding CFIUS Coverage of Real Estate Transactions
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North Dakota Legislative Branch. House Bill 1254
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U.S. Supreme Court. United States v. Skrmetti