Tax 14.03 NoteNote: Section 71.52 (6), Stats., was amended by 1997 Wis. Act 27, effective for 1998 homestead credit claims filed in calendar year 1999 and thereafter. Under the statutes in effect immediately prior to the enactment of 1997 Wis. Act 27, scholarship and fellowship amounts described in sub. (5) (c) could not be excluded from income.

Tax 14.03 HistoryHistory: Cr. Register, February, 1990, No. 410, eff. 3-1-90; renum. (3) to (6) to be (4) to (7) and am. (5) (a) 1., cr. (3), Register, August, 1990, No. 416, eff. 9-1-90; am. (3) (a), (4) (b) 10., 15., 23. d. and f. Register, June, 1993, No. 450, eff. 7-1-93; cr. (2) (intro.) and (4) (b) 5. e., r. and recr. (4) (b) 3. and (5), am. (3) (a), (b) and (c) 2. and (4) (b) (intro.), 2., 5. (intro.) and a., 7., 11., 12., 14., 15. and 20., renum. (4) (b) 23. (intro.) and a. to i. to be (4) (c) (intro.) and 1. to 9. and am. (4) (c) (intro.) and 6., Register, July, 2000, No. 535, eff. 8-1-00; corrections in (4) (b) 3. f. made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 6. and 7., Stats., Register March 2013 No. 687; CR 16-046: am. (3) (a), (a) (Example), (4) (b) 23. h., (5) (a) 7. Register January 2018 No. 745, eff. 2-1-18; CR 19-141: r. (4) (b) 23., cr. (4) (c) 10. Register September 2020 No. 777, eff. 10-1-20; CR 22-044: am. (4) (b) 3. e. Register June 2023 No. 810, eff. 7-1-23.

Tax 14.04(2)(2) Definition. Under s. 71.52 (7), Stats., “property taxes accrued” means real or personal property taxes or monthly parking permit fees under s. 66.0435 (3) (c), Stats., exclusive of special assessments, delinquent interest and charges for service, levied under ch. 70, Stats., on a homestead owned by a claimant or a member of the claimant’s household, less the tax credit, if any, afforded in respect of the property by s. 79.10, Stats. With respect to sub. (3) (e), “property taxes accrued” means the property taxes accrued levied on the former homestead owned by the claimant.

Tax 14.04(3)(a)(a) Property taxes shall be levied on a homestead or former homestead to qualify as “property taxes accrued.”Property taxes are levied when the tax roll is delivered to the local treasurer for collection, usually on or near December 15 of each year.

Tax 14.04(3)(b)(b) The property taxes accrued on a homestead or former homestead for the year to which a claim relates need not be paid prior to filing a homestead credit claim. The fact that the property taxes accrued on the homestead or former homestead are delinquent for years prior to the year to which a claim relates does not disqualify the claimant.

Tax 14.04(3)(c)(c) “Property taxes accrued” includes personal property taxes assessed on a homestead or former homestead that is constructed on leased land or assessed on a mobile home owned by the claimant or a member of the claimant’s household. “Property taxes accrued” also includes mobile home parking permit fees assessed under s. 66.0435 (3) (c), Stats., for a mobile home owned by the claimant or a member of the claimant’s household.

Tax 14.04(3)(d)(d) Under s. 71.52 (3), Stats., a buyer of a homestead or former homestead in possession under a land contract shall be entitled to claim the property taxes accrued on the homestead or former homestead.

Tax 14.04(3)(e)(e) Under s. 71.54 (2) (c) 2., Stats., if a claimant has moved from a homestead owned by the claimant to housing that is exempt from taxation under ch. 70, Stats., other than housing for which payments in lieu of taxes are made under s. 66.1201 (22), Stats., and other than a correctional or detention facility, a claim or claims may be allowed based on the property taxes accrued on that former homestead, provided the claimant has attempted to sell the former homestead. The property taxes accrued on the former homestead may be claimed for the period of time ending on the earliest date any of the events in subds. 1. to 4. occurs. If the earliest date any of those events occurs is in the calendar year following the year in which the claimant moves to the tax-exempt housing, the property taxes accrued shall be prorated from the date of the move to December 31 on a claim for the calendar year in which the move occurs, and from January 1 to the earliest date any of the events in subds. 1. to 4. occurs on a claim for the succeeding calendar year. The events after which the property taxes accrued on the former homestead may no longer be claimed are as follows:

Tax 14.04 NoteExample: A claimant moves on July 1, 2017, from the homestead she owns to an apartment that is exempt from property taxes. She has listed her former homestead for sale with a realtor. While continuing to reside in the apartment, she sells the former homestead; the date on the closing agreement is May 31, 2018. The property taxes accrued on the former homestead are $2,400 for 2017 and the prorated property taxes on the closing agreement are $1,000.

Tax 14.04 NoteThe claimant may file a 2017 homestead credit claim, based on the 2017 property taxes accrued of $2,400 for the entire year. She may also file a 2018 claim, based on the property taxes accrued of $1,000, prorated from January 1, 2018, to the date of the sale.

Tax 14.04(4)(a)(a) Except as provided in pars. (b) and (c), a claimant who claims property taxes accrued shall submit with the homestead credit claim a copy of the property tax bill, or if not available, a substitute for the property tax bill containing equivalent information to that appearing on the original property tax bill.

Tax 14.04(4)(b)(b) If a claimant sells a homestead during the year to which a claim for homestead credit relates, proper verification of property taxes accrued shall be a copy of one of the following documents:

Tax 14.04(4)(c)(c) If a claimant’s homestead is a mobile home owned by the claimant or a member of the claimant’s household, on which parking permit fees are assessed under s. 66.0435 (3) (c), Stats., proper verification of property taxes accrued shall be a copy of the parking permit fee statement issued by an authorized representative of the municipality in which the mobile home was located, or if the claimant paid rent for the land on which the mobile home was located and also paid parking permit fees to a landlord, a statement of the parking permit fees paid to the landlord, signed by the landlord, such as a form I-017, “Rent Certificate.”

Tax 14.04(5)(a)(a) Under s. 71.54 (2) (a), Stats., property taxes accrued shall be reduced by one-twelfth for each month or portion of a month for which the claimant received either $400 or more of county relief under s. 59.53 (21), Stats., or any amount of aid to families with dependent children, or “AFDC” under s. 49.19, Stats., Wisconsin works payments for community service jobs or transitional placements under s. 49.147 (4) or (5), Stats., or Wisconsin works payments as a caretaker of a newborn child under s. 49.148 (1m), Stats. However, property taxes accrued need not be reduced if the assistance consists solely of foster care payments under s. 49.19 (10) (a), Stats., non-legally responsible relative, or “NLRR” AFDC payments or kinship care payments.

Tax 14.04(5)(b)(b) County relief and other cash public assistance payments that are repaid by the claimant in the same calendar year in which they are received are not considered payments for purposes of computing the one-twelfth reduction of property taxes accrued as required by par. (a).

Tax 14.04(6)(6) Marital property agreements. Under s. 71.52 (7), Stats., a marital property agreement or unilateral statement under ch. 766, Stats., has no effect in computing property taxes accrued for a person whose homestead is not the same as the homestead of that person’s spouse.

Tax 14.04(7)(7) Ownership of homestead by one person or one household. An otherwise qualified person who owns and resides in a Wisconsin homestead may claim a homestead credit based upon property taxes accrued on the homestead, even if another person pays the property taxes.