Office of the City Treasurer

Tax Bill Payment Options

• Pay by Mail via U.S Postal Service - Pay by check using the return remittance envelope included with your tax bill. NO CASH PAYMENTS.  Please not that the Postal Service has changed its delivery standars, so mail early to avoid late delivery and going tax delinquent.

• Use a Drop Box - Pay by check using the return remittance envelope included with your tax bill. NO CASH PAYMENTS.

            Drop Boxes Available 24 hours a day, all year round:

     • Inside City Hall Market Street Entrance

     • Outside the Municipal Building on Market Street

            Drop Box Available when the Building is Open, all year round:

     • Broadway Entrance to Municipal Building

            Drop Box Available 24 hours a day 12/19/2022 - 02/02/2023:

               • At Police District Stations 2 to 7 (Station Location Map)

• Pay by Phone or Online – Call the Customer Services Division at 414-286-2240 or visit here to pay by credit or debit card with a 2.75% convenience fee or ACH debit checking or savings with no convenience fee.

To have your property tax account paid in full electronically prior to year-end, so it qualifies as an income tax deduction, you must authorize the payment transaction before 8:00 P.M. on Friday, December 30, 2022.

This office will mail you a tax payment receipt within ten business days of payment processing in December and January.  If a refund is due, a refund check will be mailed to you within thirty business days of payment processing in December and January. 

Installment Payment Plan

The City of Milwaukee offers a ten-month, interest free property tax installment payment plan option to those who are unable to pay their bill in full. To qualify, your real estate tax bill must be more than $100 and you must make your first installment payment by January 31.

To enroll in the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Program please call the Customer Services Division at 414-286-2240 or visit www.milwaukee.gov/treasurer/eft.

Name and Address Changes

The ADDRESS CHANGE REQUEST that is on the back of every City of Milwaukee Property Tax Bill Payment Coupon is used only for mailing out tax payment receipts, tax refund checks, installment tax bills, and delinquent tax bills through November 30.

Any permanent change in ownership or name must be recorded with the Milwaukee County Register of Deeds. Any permanent change in owners’ mailing addresses must also be reported to and recorded with the City Assessor at City Hall, Room 507. Note, too, that the address change form is also available on the Office of the City Treasurer’s web site at: https://city.milwaukee.gov/Address#

If you are a new owner and the previous owner’s name is still on the tax bill, make sure you check off the change of address box on the front of the payment coupon, and complete the change of name and address section on the back side of the payment coupon, or the refund check will be sent to the previous owner.

Special Charges and Assessments

Outstanding special charges or assessments that have not been paid by mid-November may be added to your property tax bill and then must be collected as a tax as provided by Wisconsin State Statutes. Such special charges and assessments cannot be appealed, nor negotiated or compromised.

If you have any questions regarding a special charge or assessment added to your property tax bill, you should contact the department that is responsible for adding the special to the tax bill. Here is the contact list.

Using Your Bank’s Auto-Pay System

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 1% 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 be assessed back to the first of February, in accordance with Wisconsin State Statutes and Milwaukee Ordinances.

Note, too, that your bank issues and mails out a check and does not transmit your property tax payment electronically to this office. You need to make sure that your bank’s property tax payment checks are not sent to the City’s bank tax payment lock box, which cannot process tax payments without a return remittance coupon. To assure timely payment, your bank’s property tax payment checks must be dated and mailed with a postmark no later than the last day of the month and sent directly to this office at:

City Treasurer

City Hall, Room 103

200 East Wells Street

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202

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.