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When does a tax amount due become "delinquent"?
The Wisconsin Department of Revenue considers a tax "delinquent" when the due date of an assessment has passed and any statutory appeal rights have expired. Once delinquent, the debt is subject to collection action.
To avoid collection action, pay the liability immediately or, if unable to pay in full, contact the Department of Revenue to request assistance in resolving your balance.
Contact the Wisconsin Department of Revenue to request assistance in resolving your delinquent taxes:
| By Mail: | In Person: | By Email: | By Telephone: |
|---|
Wisconsin Department of Revenue
PO Box 8901
Madison, WI 53708-8901 | (or for Overnight Delivery)
Wisconsin Department of Revenue
2135 Rimrock Road
Madison, WI 53713 |
DORCompliance@wisconsin.gov | (608) 266-7879
(7:45 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. weekdays) |
When requesting information regarding a delinquent account, please provide the following information:
- The name and mailing address of the debtor.
- A telephone number where you may be contacted between the hours of 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. CST.
- A social security number (SSN), federal employer identification number (FEIN), or account number from a Department of Revenue notice.
- Copies of all supporting documentation or records related to your inquiry.
When making a payment, make your check or money order payable to "Wisconsin Department of Revenue" and include your identification number or a copy of a department notice with your payment.
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Are there additional costs that may be added if a tax liability becomes delinquent?
A delinquent tax collection fee is added to the total amount due when it becomes delinquent. The fee is the greater of 6 1/2% of the amount due or $35.
Interest at the rate of 18% per year is charged on the balance of tax due.
If you enter into a payment plan with the department to pay your delinquent taxes in installments, a $20 payment plan fee is charged.
Expenses incurred with any legal collection actions taken by the department are added to the amount due. Some examples of expenses are lien fees, garnishment fees, supplemental hearing fees, and other court costs.
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How do I pay?
Pay online.
Send a payment using the mailing address provided on the notice you received from the department along with the payment voucher. If you do not have a notice or payment voucher please mail your payment to:
Compliance Bureau
Wisconsin Department of Revenue
PO Box 8901
Madison, WI 53708-8901
Be sure to include your Wisconsin Tax Number on all payments. If you have additional questions regarding making payments, please call the Compliance Bureau at (608) 266-7879.
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Can I use my credit card to make a payment on my delinquent tax liability?
The Department of Revenue, in cooperation with Official Payments Corporation, allows you the option of making a full or partial payment on your delinquent tax liability by credit card. For more information, please go to our
Pay by Credit Card page.
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How do I request a payment plan to pay my taxes?
If you cannot pay the full amount due with your tax return, file the completed Wisconsin tax form on time and pay as much as possible. You will receive a bill for the balance. By filing on time, you avoid late fees and late filing negligence penalties.
If you enter into a payment plan with the department to pay your delinquent debt in installments, a $20 fee is charged.
Request a payment plan by doing one of the following:
- Register for a
My Tax Account. Add access to your accounts and request a payment plan by selecting Manage My Collection. Using
My Tax Account allows you to track your collection balance.
- Complete a
Payment Plan Request form and submit it by mail, fax or email to the contacts below.
The terms of the payment plan require that you file and pay all tax returns on time in addition to making the expected payments. If you meet these terms, the department will not take other collection action. However, the department will intercept any refunds or payments due to you from the federal government, Wisconsin and other states and may issue a tax warrant to secure the debt.
It is to your advantage to pay your liability in full rather than through a payment plan. If your bill is not paid in full by the due date, you become liable for interest of 18% per year and a delinquent collection fee of the greater of $35 or 6 1/2% of the unpaid amount. Private loans generally offer more favorable terms.
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Can I use automatic withdrawals from my bank account to pay my delinquent taxes?
Submit one-time payments online.
To consider a reduction of the current wage attachment, you must complete the Wage Attachment Reduction Request form by doing one of the following:
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What is a wage attachment?
When you have not taken steps to voluntarily resolve your debt, the Department of Revenue can require your employer to withhold from your paycheck. This amount is not to exceed 25% of your gross pay. This action remains in place until your account has been paid in full.
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What is gross pay?
Generally, gross pay is the amount you earn before any deductions, including state and federal withholding, social security, health benefits, and direct deposits. However, if child support payments are being withheld from your pay, or if another creditor has a garnishment action in place prior to our action, these amounts are not part of your gross pay.
For example, if your gross pay is $1,000 and you have $250 taken for child support payments, $750 of your pay is used to determine the maximum amount that may be withheld. In this example, the maximum amount that the department can require your employer to withhold is $187.50.
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What happens if I terminate employment?
Under Wisconsin law, once your employer becomes aware that you will leave, all amounts due to you, up to the total amount you owe, are to be withheld and paid to the Department of Revenue.
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My spouse has a debt with the Department of Revenue, but I do not. Why is my pay being attached?
Under Wisconsin marital property law, tax debt is considered a marital debt and your income a marital asset. This allows the Department of Revenue to collect this debt from your pay.
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I cannot afford to have this much taken out of my check. What can I do?
Request a payment plan with automatic withdrawals by doing one of the following:
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What is a bank levy?
If you have not taken steps to voluntarily resolve a tax debt, the Department of Revenue can send a notice to your financial institution to attach or hold all funds you have access to. The Department of Revenue is entitled to receive up to the amount indicated on the levy notice.
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How long will this levy stay in place?
The department may issue either a single action levy or a continuous levy.
A single action levy allows us to take only the amount of funds you have access to at the time the financial institution receives the levy. If the funds you have access to are not sufficient to pay the amount listed in full, the Department of Revenue would have to issue another levy to attach to amounts deposited after the bank received the first levy.
A continuous levy stays in place until the amount is paid in full. If the funds that you have access to are not sufficient to pay the amount listed in full upon receipt of the continuous levy, your bank continues to hold and remit to us any deposits of funds until the amount is paid in full.
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Does this mean that if the levy does not pay my debt in full, I will be levied again?
The Department of Revenue prefers to resolve delinquent accounts by voluntary actions. If your delinquent account still has a balance and you contact us, you will be able to discuss other options to resolve your delinquent account. These options can include a
payment plan.
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Can the department levy a joint account?
If the person with the debt to the Department of Revenue has access to the funds at the bank, all funds that are accessible are generally available to the department.
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The debt is based on estimates. I know the actual amount is less. Can anything be done?
The Department of Revenue has limited time, but can make adjustments and amend a levy. If you are able to file acceptable returns and the bank has not yet transferred the funds to the Department of Revenue, we make an effort to determine your actual liability and amend our levy if you owe less than the estimates. You need to contact us at the email or phone number listed on your copy of the levy notice.
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What is a tax warrant and when does the department file a tax warrant?
All delinquent debt is subject to having a tax warrant filed. A tax warrant acts as a lien against real property you own in the county in which it is filed, and against your personal property. The warrant is filed with the Clerk of Court and is a public record of the amount you owe. It could affect your ability to obtain credit or sell real estate. The cost of filing and satisfying the warrant will be added to the delinquent tax account at the time the warrant is filed. Currently the cost is $10.
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What is a partial release of warrant?
A partial release of warrant may be issued by the department when an asset is sold and it is clear that the proceeds from the sale are insufficient to satisfy prior judgments and our warrant. The partial release removes our warrant only from the specific piece of real estate or personal property that was sold. You may request a partial release of warrant from the nearest Department of Revenue office or by calling the Madison office at (608) 266-7879.
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Why does a credit bureau show a tax warrant is open and outstanding after my delinquent tax is paid?
Within approximately 30 days of receipt of full payment, the department notifies the Clerk of Court to satisfy a delinquent tax warrant. The department waits approximately 30 days to ensure personal checks are not returned from a financial institution for insufficient funds or dishonored for some other reason.
Credit bureaus regularly search public records to look for tax warrants and warrant satisfactions. Occasionally, warrant satisfactions are missed by the credit bureaus.
If your credit bureau report shows an open tax warrant in error, for a small fee you may obtain a copy of the warrant satisfaction directly from the Clerk of Court in the county where the warrant was filed. If necessary, the Department of Revenue will write you a letter stating that the tax warrant was resolved. You can provide this letter to the credit bureau.
If you have paid or satisfied a tax warrant in full and would like the department to write a letter, you may:
Call us at (608) 266-7879
Email us at
DORCompliance@wisconsin.gov.
Write to:
Wisconsin Department of Revenue
Compliance Bureau
PO Box 8901
Madison, WI 53708-8901
You will need to provide us with the name and address of the credit bureau, your name, social security number or business account number, tax warrant number, and the approximate date of payment.
Please wait at least 30 days after payment by personal or business check before requesting a letter of satisfaction from the department. We will prepare the satisfaction letter immediately if you submit proof your payment was in the form of guaranteed funds, such as a cashier's check or money order, or if you provide the department with a copy of your cancelled check.
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How does a divorce decree affect my tax debt?
If the debt owed to the Department of Revenue is from a joint income tax return, the Department of Revenue honors the terms of the decree. However the Department of Revenue can only honor the terms of the decree
after we have received a copy of the complete divorce decree.
Taxes other than income taxes, such as sales and withholding taxes, may be assessed against individuals. For these other taxes, a divorce decree can mandate which former spouse is responsible for the payment or how the payment must be shared between the former spouses. However, the court does not have the authority to change to whom the debt is assessed or to stop the Department of Revenue from collecting from the party assessed.
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What happens to payments applied to debts based on joint income tax returns before the Department of Revenue receives a copy of the decree?
The Department of Revenue only becomes bound by the agreement upon receipt of a copy of the decree. Prior to that time, an amount due is considered owed to the Department of Revenue by both former spouses and no refunds or allocation of payments will be made.
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What happens to payments applied to debts based on other types of tax?
As mentioned above the decree does not control the collection action by the Department of Revenue. If a former spouse is not complying with the order and the Department of Revenue collects from you, your remedies are against your former spouse.
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How do I notify the Department of Revenue of my divorce decree?
Call us at (608) 266-7879
Email us at
DORCompliance@wisconsin.gov.
Write to:
Wisconsin Department of Revenue
Compliance Bureau
PO Box 8901
Madison, WI 53708-8901
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What address do I use for the Wisconsin Department of Revenue for my bankruptcy creditor mailing list?
Special Procedures Unit
Wisconsin Department of Revenue
PO Box 8901
Madison, WI 53708-8901
Please use the address above for contact regarding other bankruptcy related questions or call (608) 267-0833.
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Why is a collection agency contacting me?
The Wisconsin Department of Revenue may refer your account for collection to a private collection agency.
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I would like to discuss the details regarding the liability that I owe the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Who can I talk to about this?
Since your account has now been assigned to a collection agency you need to contact that agency directly. The department refers accounts to one of the following collection agencies:
Transworld Systems Inc.
PO Box 15110
Wilmington DE 19850
(888) 899-5923
Performant Recovery
333 North Canyons Parkway, Suite 100
Livermore, CA 94551
(800) 866-5317
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Can I have another person talk to the Collection Agency about my taxes?
Yes. You can have another person contact the collection agency. However, before the collection agency can talk to anyone other than you, you must complete
Form A-222,
Power of Attorney, in duplicate. Send one copy to the collection agency and one to the Department of Revenue at the following address.
MS 4-SPU
Wisconsin Department of Revenue
Attention: Collection Agency Specialist
PO Box 8901
Madison, WI 53708-8901
(608) 264-0332
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Can I pay the department directly, or do I need to pay through the collection agency?
Payment is to be sent directly to the collection agency. Be sure to include your identification number on any payment you remit.
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What is the Delinquent Taxpayers Internet Posting?
See the
Delinquent Taxpayer page for more information.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
Compliance Bureau
PO Box 8901
Madison, WI 53708-8901
Phone: (608) 266-7879
Fax: (608) 224-5790
Email additional questions to
DORCompliance@wisconsin.gov