IMPORTANT NOTICE
June 1, 2020
In compliance with the current order issued by the Milwaukee Health Department in response to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, the City Treasurer’s Office remains closed to the general public to prevent the spread of the virus.
Taxpayers can pay their property taxes on-line or by mail during this period. The drop box inside the Market Street entrance to City Hall also remains an option for making a tax payment. It is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Do note that US Bank has suspended the Pay-at-the-Bank option for property tax payments until further notice.
The State of Wisconsin legislature passed and the Governor signed Act 185, which included provisions for a moratorium on the collection of interest and penalties for property taxes. The Milwaukee County Board and Milwaukee Common Council have now both passed resolutions enacting the moratorium.
The temporary moratorium provides that you will not be charged interest or penalties on late property tax installments after April 1st until October 1st. However if your account is not current by September 30th, interest and penalties would be charged on the remaining balance beginning October 1st with interest and penalties charged back to February 1st.
Do note that, if your property tax account was delinquent prior to April 1st, you do not qualify for the temporary moratorium. Your delinquent tax account will continue to accrue interest and penalty charges back to February 1st.
As always, you may e-mail the office at ctreas@milwaukee.gov with questions. If a high volume of messages are received, please understand that it may take a day or two before you receive a reply.
You can also call the office at 414-286-2240. Again, if a high volume of calls is received, you may experience a wait period before your call is answered in the order in which it is received.
If your tax account is in a tax foreclosure action or bankruptcy action, you may contact the Tax Enforcement Division by telephone at 414-286-2260, or you may e-mail the office at ctreas@milwaukee.gov.
The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic must be taken seriously as the health and well-being of both the public and my office staff matters greatly. While this temporary change may pose an inconvenience to some, taking steps to prevent the spread of the virus is prudent and in the best interests of both the public and my office staff. The public’s understanding and cooperation during this period is deeply appreciated.
Respectfully,
SPENCER COGGS
City Treasurer
Property Tax Payments
Just a reminder that the City of Milwaukee does offer a ten-month, interest free property tax installment plan.
To qualify, your real estate tax bill must be more than $100 and you must make the first installment payment on or before January 31st. Subsequent installments are due on or before the last day of the month from February through October.
If you decide to use your bank’s auto-pay system, please note that the monthly installments are not the same amount every month. The January installment due is usually less than the amounts due from February through July and the amounts due from August through October are less than those due from February through July. The first time an installment payment is either missed or paid short, you can be reinstated to the plan by paying one percent interest on the missed installment or the amount that was paid short, along with the next month’s installment due. However, if you miss an installment for the second time or pay short a second time, regardless of the amount, your account will go tax delinquent and interest and penalty will assessed back to the first of February, in accordance with Wisconsin State Statutes and Milwaukee Ordinances.
Taxpayers are strongly encouraged to enroll in the City Treasurer’s Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for the Property Tax Installment Payment Plan to assure monthly installments due are made in the correct amount and on time. Under the plan, the monthly installment due is automatically debited from your savings or checking account on the due date with no convenience fee assessed. You can find additional information on the plan, as well as an enrollment form, on the City Treasurer’s web site at https://city.milwaukee.gov/treasurer/eft.
Online Tax Bill / Paying Tax Bill Online / Tax Account Information / Special Improvement Bonds through Munis Self-Service Tax Information
To access property tax record information online, go to the Tax Records tab on the City Treasurer’s home page or Quick Links list in the right hand margin and select Munis Self-Service Tax Information.
On the Milwaukee Self Service Welcome! page, select Online Tax Inquiry on the right margin. On the Welcome to Online Tax Inquiry page, select either Personal Property (applies to equipment used by a business) or Real Estate (homeowners need to select Real Estate) or Special Improvements (for Special Improvement Bonds).
On the Real Estate page, enter your tax key / account number in the Parcel ID field. Note that the format of the tax key / account number has changed, as the check digit has been dropped and no hyphens are needed (i.e.: 3921261000). As an alternative, you can enter in the House Number and the Street Name including the street direction and type (200 E WELLS ST). Hit enter or click on the Search button.
On the Personal Property page, enter your tax key / account number in the Property Code field. Note that the format of the tax key / account number has changed, as no hyphens are needed (i.e.: 99999999). As an alternative, you can enter in the House Number and the Street Name including the street direction and type (200 E WELLS ST). Hit enter or click on the Search button.
On the Search Results screen, select View Bill for the tax levy year you want to review. After selecting a particular tax levy year, you can return to Search Results page to view another tax levy year by selecting Search Results in the right hand margin.
For 2019, you can access a PDF Copy of the Tax Bill by selecting View Bill Image. You can download the PDF or print it out. Do note that the 2019 tax bill is legal size, 8 ½” x 14”.
To make a Property Tax Payment Online, select the Resources Menu icon , which is the third icon from the right in the blue bar at the top of the page, and select PAY ONLINE. It is recommended that you copy and paste the tax key / account number on to the Make a Payment page at US Bank to assure accurate payment application. E-Check transactions (an ACH debit to your checking or savings account) incur no convenience fee. VISA™ and MasterCard™ Credit and Debit Card transaction incur a convenience fee of 2.75%. Tax payments made on-line are applied to the current tax levy.
To access a Property Tax Report, also known as a Tax Search, on the Real Estate page, enter your tax key / account number in the Parcel ID field. Note that the format of the tax key / account number has changed, as the check digit has been dropped and no hyphens are needed (i.e.: 3921261000). As an alternative, you can enter in the House Number and the Street Name including the street direction and type (200 E WELLS ST). Hit enter or click on the Search button.
On the Search Results screen, select View Bill for any of the tax levy years shown. On the Real Estate screen that appears next, select Property Tax Report located on the right margin. On the City of Milwaukee Property Tax Search screen, select the Print Page button to print out a PDF of the tax search.
On the Special Improvements page, enter your tax key / account number in the Parcel ID field. Note that the format of the tax key / account number has changed, as the check digit has been dropped and no hyphens are needed (i.e.: 3921261000). As an alternative, you can enter in the House Number and the Street Name including the street direction and type (200 E WELLS ST). Hit enter or click on the Search button.
On the Search Results screen, select the Account Number listed to view the Account Summary. On the Account Summary page, you may select Assessment Details to view the original amount, the interest rate, the unbilled balance, and the payoff amount. You may also select Manage Bills to get the total due by an “as of” date of your choosing. On the Manage Bills page, you may select Bill Details for billing detail. On the Bill Detail page, you may select Payments and adjustments to view payment activity.