Sheet WI · 2026 rules
Wisconsin Property Tax Calculator
Wisconsin assessors must value at full market value only on average over a five-year cycle, so each municipality’s bill prints an assessment ratio; the net tax is the assessed value times the net rate, minus the state-funded lottery and first dollar credits.
Rules verified 11 primary sources Editorial policy
Estimate your 2026 Wisconsin bill
- Tax — All levies —
- Credits subtracted —
- Fixed charges added —
How Wisconsin turns value into a tax bill
| Step | Wisconsin rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Assessed value (local assessor's full-value assessment); bill also shows estimated fair market value | [1][2][3] |
| Assessment | Approved assessment ratio you enter (Municipal average assessment ratio)Assessors must assess at full value, but municipalities only have to be within 10% of full value at least once in every 5-year period, so each town/village/city has its own average assessment ratio (DOR-computed). Taxes are levied on assessed value, not estimated fair market value. | [1][2][3] |
| Annual limit | No cap on an individual assessment; levy limits restrict municipal and county levies instead. | |
| Exemptions | No statewide homestead exemption; relief comes as state-funded credits on the bill. | [1][2][3] |
| Rate | All levies: local rate — you enter it.All levies combined (state none; county, municipality, school district, technical college, special districts) - net assessed value rate per $1,000 from your bill, already net of the school levy tax credit | |
| Credit | Lottery and gaming credit for a primary residence: the school tax rate times the lesser of the home’s value or a maximum the Department of Revenue sets each November. | [4][6][7] |
| Credit | First dollar credit for any parcel with a building: the school tax rate times the lesser of the parcel’s value or a maximum the Department of Revenue sets. | [5][6][8] |
Wisconsin property tax rules in brief
Wisconsin assessors value real property at full value - what it would ordinarily sell for at a private sale - with no assessment ratio, class ratio or value cap.1
Municipalities only must assess at full value at least once every five years, so each one has an average assessment ratio that converts assessed value to estimated fair market value.23
Taxes equal assessed value times the net assessed value rate, which is stated per $1,000 of assessed value and already reflects the state's school levy tax credit.310
Wisconsin has no homestead exemption; home owners instead get the lottery and gaming credit on a primary residence they own and live in on January 1.47
The lottery credit equals the school tax rate times the home's fair market value up to a statewide maximum credit value that DOR sets each November.46
Every parcel with a building also gets a first dollar credit computed the same way on a separate DOR-set value.5
The state no longer levies a property tax of its own: the forestation tax ended with the 2017 assessments.9
Worked example
Illustrative 95% ratio, 18.00 net rate per $1,000 and credits of 150 and 70. Assessed 285,000 → 5,130.00 − 220.00 = 4,910.00.
| Line | Taxable value | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| All levies at 18 mills | $285,000.00 | $5,130.00 |
| Credits | −$220.00 | |
| Annual total | $4,910.00 |
Left to your local bill
- School levy tax credit - distributed to municipalities and already reflected in the net assessed value rate printed on the bill
- Homestead credit, veterans and surviving spouses property tax credit, renter's and homeowner's school property tax credit (income-tax credits)
- Municipal/county levy limits and school district revenue limits (limit total levies, not a parcel's tax)
- WHEDA property tax deferral loans for the elderly
- Use-value assessment of agricultural land; manufacturing property assessed by DOR
- Special assessments, special charges and other special-purpose costs added to the bill
- State forestation tax - no longer levied since the January 1, 2017 assessment (replaced by a general-fund transfer)
- The credit amounts for December 2026 bills: the Department of Revenue sets the maximum values by November 20, 2026, so the calculator asks for the credits shown on your bill
Census context, not a rate
American Community Survey 2020–2024: median owner-occupied value $266,500 (±$1,051), median real-estate taxes $3,792 (±$12). Dividing one by the other gives 1.42% for Wisconsin. Tables B25077 and B25103; why it is only context.
Sources
- docs.legis.wisconsin.govWis. Stat. 70.32(1), read .
“from actual view or from the best information that the assessor can practicably obtain, at the full value which could ordinarily be obtained therefor at private sale.”
- docs.legis.wisconsin.govWis. Stat. 70.05(5)(b), read .
“Each taxation district shall assess property at full value at least once in every 5-year period.”
- revenue.wi.govWisconsin DOR, 2026 Guide for Property Owners (PB-060, R. 1-26), read .
“The total estimated fair market value is calculated by dividing the total assessed value by the average assessment ratio. Property taxes are levied on the total assessed value, not the total estimated fair market value.”
- docs.legis.wisconsin.govWis. Stat. 79.10(9)(bm), read .
“a lottery and gaming credit shall be allocated to every principal dwelling for which a credit is claimed under sub. (10) in an amount determined by multiplying the estimated fair market value of the principal dwelling, not exceeding the value determined under sub. (11), by the school tax rate.”
- docs.legis.wisconsin.govWis. Stat. 79.10(9)(bn), read .
“the first dollar credit shall be allocated to every parcel of real estate on which improvements are located in an amount determined by multiplying the estimated fair market value of the property, not exceeding the value determined under sub. (11) (d), by the school tax rate.”
- docs.legis.wisconsin.govWis. Stat. 79.10(11)(c), read .
“Before November 20, the department of revenue shall calculate, to the nearest $100, the estimated fair market value necessary to distribute the total amount available for distribution under the lottery and gaming credit in the following year.”
- revenue.wi.govWisconsin DOR, Lottery and Gaming Credit common questions, read .
“To qualify for the lottery and gaming credit, you must be a Wisconsin resident, own a dwelling and use it as your primary residence as of the January 1 certification date of the year the property taxes are levied.”
- revenue.wi.govWisconsin DOR, First Dollar Credit common questions, read .
“Every taxable parcel (business, commercial or private) containing a real property improvement (ex: building), qualifies for the First Dollar Credit. Unlike the Lottery and Gaming Credit, the property does not have to be the owner's primary residence.”
- docs.legis.wisconsin.govWis. Stat. 70.58(1), read .
“no tax shall be levied under this section beginning with the property tax assessments as of January 1, 2017.”
- revenue.wi.govWisconsin DOR, 2026 Guide for Property Owners (PB-060), Tax Rate, read .
“The net assessed value rate is the same as dollars per $1,000 of assessed property value. The net assessed value rate is calculated by adding each taxing jurisdiction’s mill rate less the state credit.”
- docs.legis.wisconsin.govWis. Stat. 79.10(1)(g), read .
“"School tax rate" means the taxes levied by school districts, as defined in s. 115.01 (3), as reflected on each property tax bill divided by the estimated fair market value of the property as reflected on each tax bill.”
Bordering jurisdictions
Rules verified by the Property Tax Calculator Editorial Team. Report a correction