Did you forget to pay your tax bill by 7/31/12? Are you worried to payment will not be post-marked until after the due date?  Legislation was changed in 2010 to Wisconsin Statute 74.69 to allow a 5 business day grace period for real estate tax bills for both the 1st and 2nd installment payments.

What does this mean?  

According to the legislation, the due dates of 1/31 and 7/31 have not changed, however, as long as the payment is RECEIVED IN HAND by the County Treasurer, the payment shall be considered timely.

Example #1:  Payment is post-marked August 4th, 2012 and received by County Treasurer August 6th, 2012.  This payment is timely.

Example #2:  Payment is post-marked August 4th, 2012 and received by County Treasurer August 8th, 2012.  This payment is delinquent and subject to Statutory Interest and Penalty charges.

Example #3:  You forget to pay your taxes until August 7th, 2012.  At this time, you drop off your payment at County Treasurer's office by 4:30 Tuesday August 7th, 2012 and your payment is considered timely.

Please contact County Treasurer's office at (920) 849-1457 with questions.

Responsibilities of County Treasurer

•  
  • Receipt all county delinquent and postponed real estate taxes.
  • Receipt all first installment real estate taxes for the City of New Holstein.
  • Settle tax rolls with townships, villages, cities, vocation and school districts
  • Receipt county general revenue and apply to corresponding budgetary accounts.
  • Disburse county payroll and accounts payable checks.
  • Send delinquent notices and process all properties eligible for tax foreclosure.
  • Answer numerous questions regarding real estate taxes.

 

Taxing Districts

Municipalities:

 

9 townships (Brillion, Brothertown, Charlestown, Chilton, Harrison, New Holstein, Rantoul, Stockbridge and Woodville)

4 villages (Hilbert, Potter, Sherwood, and Stockbridge)

5 cities (part of City of Appleton, part of City of Menasha, Brillion, New Holstein, and Part of City of Kiel)

 

Technical Colleges:

 

Fox Valley, Morraine Park, Lakeshore Technical College

School Districts:

 

Appleton, Brillion, Chilton, Hilbert, Kaukauna, Kiel, Kimberly, Menasha, New Holstein, Stockbridge, Wrightown

Real Property and Personal Property Payment Information:

 

•  
• The township, village, cities (known as local) treasurers mail the real and personal property tax bills in early-mid December each year.
• Personal Property taxes are paid to the LOCAL Treasurer in full by January 31st of that year.**** UNLESS the installment option is indicated on the tax bill *****
  
• There are 2 options for paying real property (real estate) taxes:
• If you choose to pay your taxes in full, payment is due by January 31st to the local treasurer.
• If you choose to pay your taxes in two installments (tax bills in excess of $100), the first installment is due to your local treasurer by January 31st, and the 2nd installment is due to the Calumet County Treasurer by July 31st. If either installment is late, the tax becomes delinquent and interest and penalty are charged at a rate of 1.5% per month as of February 1st.
• Payments that are mailed: must be POSTMARKED no later than the payment due date. Payments that are hand delivered must be to the proper treasurer by the due date.
• All delinquent real property taxes must be paid to the Calumet County Treasurer. All delinquent personal property taxes are paid to the local treasurer.
• Delinquent tax notices are mailed in February and August of each year.

Duties of Real Property Lister

Property transfers and recordings are one of the most important functions of the Real Property Lister. Each time a property transfers ownership a document called a Transfer Form must be recorded in the Register of Deeds office. This document has a recording jacket and page/image that is listed on the tax bill. After the document has been recorded, the forms are sent to the Treasurer’s office so that the tax billing information can be changed.

The Real Property Lister also prepares tax rolls for the municipal assessors of Calumet County. Each municipality contracts their own assessor who places a value for tax billing purposes on each property. The assessor then records these values and submits them to the Treasurer’s office so the property can be tax according to the assessed value. Typically this is done in late February to late March of each year.

Assessment Information

ASSESSMENT BASIS

The Wisconsin Constitution requires, with few exceptions, that all taxable property in the state be taxed uniformly. The uniform basis for assessment, established by the legislature, is the property's full value that could ordinarily be obtained at a private sale. Wisconsin state law requires that all taxable property be valued annually on January 1, and these assessed values will be used on the tax bills created in December of that year.

CHANGES IN ASSESSMENT

Increases


Decreases


Revaluations


Disputing Assessment Values


The assessor must send a written notice to property owners whose real estate assessments have increased by $300 or more. The notice must show the new assessment. This must be done at least 10 days before the board of review meets.

Procedure


The meeting with the assessor or open book session can be helpful. Perhaps there was an erroneous description of the property or an arithmetical mistake. These errors are correctable by the assessor very easily.

For other changes, the owner should ask the assessor to explain the procedure used in arriving at the assessment. The assessor should have detailed records and other information to do this. If a taxpayer, after talking with the assessor, still feels the property is not equitably assessed compared with similar property in the municipality, the next step is to appeal the assessment. While each assessment of real estate is divided between the value of land and the value of improvements, only the total value can be appealed. In making the decision to appeal, the owner should be aware: 1) the assessor's value is presumed correct unless proven otherwise; 2) the board of review may change an assessment based only on evidence presented to it by the taxpayer or his or her representative; 3) the evidence must be factual in nature, not just a matter of opinion; and 4) a small percent difference between the market value as established by the assessor and the taxpayer's idea of value usually is not sufficient to warrant a change by the board of review. Also, a property owner who previously had refused the assessor’s written request to view the property is not eligible to protest the resulting assessment.

GENERAL OUTLINE OF ASSESSMENT REVIEW AND APPEAL PROCEDURES

1. After the assessment roll is completed: contact local clerk to find out individual assessment: or receive notification of increase in assessment; or inspect assessment roll located in County Treasurer’s office.
2. Determine if assessment is equitable.
3. If not, talk with assessor about the assessment.
4. If not satisfied with the explanation, file objection form and appear before board of review.
5. If dissatisfied with board of review decision, consider 1 of 3 possible appeals: circuit court; Department of Revenue or local governing body. Department of Revenue or governing body of decision that is adverse to property owner may be appealed to the circuit court.
6. Beyond circuit court, further appeal may be to the court of appeals and then to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

A property owner whose assessment has increased should check first with the assessor. Some municipalities hold an "open book" during which assessments may be reviewed and the assessor questioned.If the property owner has a dispute with the assessed value, the dispute can be brought to the attention of the Board of Review. This Board is comprised of members living within the municipality. Typically, the Board will compare the property and values to similar properties in the immediate area, and determine if the property has received a fair value. Assessment rolls may be inspected by the first Monday in May or a later date set by the board. It is too late to dispute the assessed value after the property tax bill as arrived.All property within a municipality is periodically revalued. Property that previously was under assessed will have higher values assigned. Over assessed parcels will receive a lower assessment, and some assessments might remain unchanged.While most property owners are concerned about assessment increases, they also should be alert for legitimate decreases. Events that might adversely affect property values include a contaminated water supply, a failing septic system, or significant changes in a neighborhood.There are several reasons why an assessment might rise from one year to the next. If improvements are made to the property, such as the addition of a new room or garage, the value of the property is higher and the assessment might be changed to reflect the increase. In many municipalities, a building permit will alert the assessor to the improvement. In other cases, the sale price of the property, or of similar properties, might result in a change in the assessment. Local assessors receive a copy of real estate transfer tax returns. Any change in assessment should adjust the assessed value to the general level of assessment of all comparable property in the community.