December 6, 2018

To: Certified Assessors, Public Assessor List, County Real Property Listers, Treasurers, Clerks, Registers of Deeds, Municipal Clerks and Treasurers

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue posted the 2019 Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual (WPAM) and 2019 Property Tax Guides.

2019 Property Tax Guides

• Agricultural Assessment Guide for Wisconsin Property Owners and Chapter Tax 18 publication
• Property Assessment Appeal Guide for Wisconsin Real Property Owners
• Guide for Property Owners
• Property Tax Guide for Wisconsin Manufactured and Mobile Home Owners
• Guide to the Property Assessment Process for Wisconsin Municipal Officials

2019 WPAM Updates

Chapter 1 – Overview of the Property tax

• No change

Chapter 2 – Assessor Certification

• Pages 2-3, 2-5, 2-6: Updated assessor certification list – Town of Menasha now Village of Fox Crossing

Chapter 3 – Staffing Recommendations

• No change

Chapter 4 – The Assessment Cycle and Dates Governing Assessment

• No change

Chapter 5 – Public Relations in the Assessment Office

• Page 5-11: Updated trespass information

Chapter 6 – Statutory Revaluation and Reassessment

• Page 6-6: Updated trespass information

Chapter 7 – Parcel and Information Systems

• No change

Chapter 8 – Data Collection and Reporting

• Pages 8-3 and 8-5: Updated transfer of assessment records

Chapter 9 – Real Property Valuation

• No change

Chapter 10 – Assessment/Sales Ratio Analysis

• Page 10-55: Updated trending information

Chapter 11 – Computer-Assisted Assessment

• No change

Chapter 12 – Residential Property Valuation

• No change

Chapter 13 – Commercial Valuation

• Page 13-18: Updated potential gross income definition for consistency
• Page 13-41: Updated expense form reference

Chapter 14 – Agricultural Valuation

• Pages 14-7 and 14-17: Added Thoma v. Village of Slinger – classification based on use
• Appendix 14-B: Updated use-value calculation for 2019
• Chapter Tax 18 Conservation Programs: Updated pages 2-4, 7

Chapter 15 – Residual Land Valuation

• Entire chapter: Updated residual land valuation

Chapter 16 – Real Property Assessment – Special

• Page 16-2: Removed historical law changes

Chapter 17 – Valuation of Fixed Assets

• Page 17-7: Removed "Office" from PA-003, title of Schedule D

Chapter 18 – Manufacturing and Utility Assessment

• Pages 18-1, 18-3, 18-4, 18-10, 18-11, 18-12, 18-15, 18-16, 18-25, 18-31, 18-35, 18-39: Updated Manufacturing and Utility assessment information

Chapter 19 – Personal Property Assessment

• Page 19-6: Clarified March 1 due date
• Page 19-23: Removed "Office" from PA-003, title of Schedule D

Chapter 20 – Property Tax Exemptions

• Page 20-3: Clarified March 1 due date

Chapter 21 – Board of Review and Assessment Appeals

• No changes

Chapter 22 – Legal Decisions and Attorney General Opinions

• Pages 22-20, 22-21, 22-22, 22-33, 22-34: Case summaries – Petroleum v. MKE, Metropolitan v. MKE, Kaskin v. Kenosha, Thoma v. Slinger

Appendix

• No changes

Glossary

• No changes

Contact us with any questions.