March 19, 2025
To: Assessors
Municipal Clerks and Treasurers
County Treasurers, Real Property Listers and Register of Deeds
The Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR), State and Local Finance Division, is providing a reminder on pipeline assessment and taxation. Assessors need to complete the following steps to determine pipeline assessment jurisdiction, taxability, listing and valuation.
Steps
-
Determine Assessment Jurisdiction – State or Local
- Refer to your 2023 property assessment data to identify locally assessed pipelines
- If you are not sure if the pipeline is currently state assessed – contact DOR's Manufacturing & Utility Bureau district office at
utility@wisconsin.gov
- If the pipeline company is:
- State-assessed – no action is required by local assessors
- Not under state assessment – continue to step 2
-
Determine Taxability – Real or Personal Property
-
First apply state law:
- Sec.
70.03, Wis. Stats. – defines real property, in summary, as the land and all buildings, improvements and fixtures located thereon
- Sec.
70.04, Wis. Stats. – defines personal property, in summary, as goods, wares, chattels not included in real property as defined in sec.
70.03, Wis. Stats.
- Sec.
70.17(3), Wis. Stats. – requires real property assessment of buildings, improvements and fixtures on leased land, exempt land and DNR forest program land
-
Then apply state court cases that provide a three-factor test to determine real property:
- Actual physical annexation to the real estate – is the property attached to the walls and foundation of a structure, and/or built into the structure?
- Application or adaptation to the use or purpose to which the realty is devoted – is the building and property in question adapted to the same purpose of the real property?
- Intention on the part of the person creating the annexation to make the item a permanent part of the realty – would the average person under similar circumstances intend to make the property permanent?
Note: Court case information:
WPAM – Chapter 18 Personal Property
-
List and Value
-
Listing options
- Option A – list and value the total pipeline property within the municipality
- Option B – list and value the pipeline separately on a new parcel
- Option C – list and value the pipeline with the land parcel where each portion of the pipeline is located
- Option D – compel parcel creation through sec.
70.27, Wis. Stats.
-
Value – follow state law, case law and the Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual (WPAM)
- State law – sec.
70.32, Wis. Stats. provides the valuation standard for real property
- Case law –
State ex rel. Markarian v City of Cudahy, 45 Wis.2d 683, 173 N.W.2d 627 (1970)
- Markarian hierarchy requires assessors to first use a recent arm's length sale of the subject property
- If there is no such sale, the next step is to use recent comparable sales of other properties
- Only if there are no recent comparable sales of other properties should the assessor proceed to other indicators of value that include the income and cost approaches to value – consider cost manuals that provide pipeline cost information by length and diameter
- See pages 9-23 and 21-24 of the
WPAM
-
WPAM – Chapter 9 Real Property Valuation and Chapter 13 Commercial Property Valuation
Important – omitted property:
- If taxable pipeline property was not assessed in 2023 or 2024, assess the property as "omitted property" on the 2025 assessment roll (sec.
70.44, Wis. Stats.)
- Notify the property owner following statutory requirements (sec.
70.44 (3) Wis. Stats.)
- After the 2025 Board of Review (BOR) has confirmed the omitted values and adjourned, municipal clerk must:
- Review sec.
74.315, Wis. Stats.
- Review Omitted Taxes Process Summary
- Submit a separate
Form PC-205 to DOR for each omitted parcel and tax year where the omitted taxes are $250 or more
- File forms using
MyDORGov – if 2025 BOR adjourns:
- Before October 1, 2025, file by October 1, 2025
- After October 1, 2025, file by October 1, 2026
- Clerks should contact lgs@wisconsin.gov for assistance with filing
Resources
Questions?
- Property assessment – bapdor@wisconsin.gov
- State-assessed pipelines – utility@wisconsin.gov