Law Changes Impacting State and Local Finance

​​​​April 29, 2026

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

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR), State and Local Finance Division, would like to inform you of local government bills recently signed into state law. Below, we are providing each act, the area it relates to, the state laws impacted with a summary of the change, the effective date, and the applicable contact information.

Grants to Municipalities

• Creates Levy Adjustment Grants for Three Municipalities in Dane County
  1. Creates secs. 20.566 (2) (x), 20.566 (2) (y), 20.566 (2) (z), and 73.50, Wis. Stats.  
  2. DOR provides the following grants from the local government fund to three municipalities each year by June 30:
     • $172,400 for a grant to the village of Oregon
       
     • $51,100 for a grant to the town of Oregon
     • $1,100 for a grant to the town of Rutland
• Effective date – ​ March 8, 2026 with the first payments made in 2027
• Questions – contact lgs@wisconsin.gov

Property Tax Exemption for Prefabricated Structures and Aid Payment

• Exemption
  1. Amends sec. 66.0435 (3) (c) 1., Wis. Stats. – to exclude recreational prefabricated structures described under sec. 70.11 (49), Wis. Stats., from the monthly municipal permit fee
     • Note: Sec. 70.11 (49), Wis. Stats. requires location in a licensed campground under sec. 97.67, Wis. Stats., to qualify as a recreational prefabricated structure
  2. Creates sec. 70.11 (49), Wis. Stats. and the exemption of Recreational Prefabricated Structures from general property taxes
     • Exemption requirements:
       1. ​Recreational prefabricated structure owners must file the PR-230 with the assessor by March 1, 2027, for the 2027 assessment year
       2. Prefabricated structure (Note: The dictionary definition of prefabricated, "to fabricate the parts of at a factory so that construction consists mainly of assembling and uniting standardized parts")
       3. Originally designed to be towed upon a highway by a motor vehicle (see the DOT website for towing requirements)
       4. Used primarily as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal purposes
       5. Located in a licensed campground under sec. 97.67, Wis. Stats.
          • See the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) website for a list of campgrounds licensed under sec. 97.67, Wis. Stats. Under "Currently Licensed Facilities" at the bottom of the page, select "Campgrounds" for a CSV file.
          • Contact DATCP with questions on licensed campgrounds 
       6. Upon land not owned by the owner of the prefabricated structure
     • Exemption also applies to a prefabricated structure's accessory decks, sheds and porches
  3. Amends sec. 70.17 (3), Wis. Stats. – to include recreational prefabricated structures exempt under sec. 70.11 (49), Wis. Stats. as not subject to assessment as real property
• Aid Payment
  1. Creates sec. 79.0965 (1m), Wis. Stats. – beginning in 2027, the state must pay each taxing jurisdiction, as defined in sec. 79.095 (1) (c), an amount equal to the property taxes levied on recreational prefabricated structures exempt under sec. 70.11 (49), Wis. Stats. for the property tax assessments as of January 1, 2025.
  2. Creates sec. 79.0965 (2m), Wis. Stats. – each municipality must report to DOR, in the time and manner determined by DOR, the amount of the property taxes levied on recreational prefabricated structures exempt under sec. 70.11 (49), Wis. Stats. for the property tax assessments as of January 1, 2025, on behalf of the municipality and the other taxing jurisdictions
  3. Amends sec. 79.0965 (3), Wis. Stats. – requires each taxing jurisdiction to attribute to each tax incremental district (TID) within the taxing jurisdiction the TID's proportionate share of the aid the taxing jurisdiction receives. When a TID terminates, starting in the following year, the aid amount that would have been paid to the TID will be distributed to the municipality and applicable taxing jurisdictions.
  4. Creates sec. 79.0965 (5), Wis. Stats. – DOR must certify the aid amount due to each taxing jurisdiction to the department of administration (DOA), and DOA must make the payment on or before the first Monday in July

  Note: Act 117 did not allocate additional funds to the personal property aid appropriation for the new aid payments. Aid payments for exemption of recreational prefabricated structures will not be possible until legislation is enacted that provides additional funding to the personal property aid appropriation.

• Effective date –​​ March 29, 2026
• Exemption Implementation
  1. General
     • Under sec. 70.11, Wis. Stats. – property owners must file a Property Tax Exemption Request (PR-230) with the assessor by March 1 to request the exemption of property previously taxable. State laws specify a few automatically exempt categories of property, such as municipal property, which do not require the filing of a request
     • Property owners must complete the form; provide what specific law the property qualifies for exemption and include information on how the property qualifies as exempt under that law
     • Assessors review the requests and determine if property qualifies for exemption
     • Assessors may determine the property qualifies as exempt and is not subject to taxation – the assessor lists the property on that year's assessment roll as exempt and the property is not subject to the general property tax
     • Assessors may determine the property does not qualify for exemption and is subject to taxation – the assessor lists the property on that year's assessment roll as taxable with the classification and assessed value subject to tax
  2. 2026 assessment year
     • Recreational prefabricated structures are taxable for 2026
     • The new exemption under sec. 70.11 (49), Wis. Stats. – requires the filing of an exemption request with the assessor by March 1 as provided under sec. 70.11, Wis. Stats.
     • The act provided an application to the property tax assessments as of January 1, 2026. However, the bill was signed into law on March 28, 2026 and after the March 1 exemption request filing due date provided by state law. Property owners can no longer timely file an exemption request for 2026.
  3. 2027 assessment year
     • Recreational prefabricated structure owners have the opportunity to file the PR-230 with the assessor by March 1, 2027, for the 2027 assessment year
     • Assessors review the requests and determine if the property qualifies for the recreational prefabricated structures exemption under the requirements of sec. 70.11 (49), Wis. Stats.
     • If the assessor determines the property meets the requirements, the property is exempt from the general property tax for 2027
• Aid Payment Implementation
  1. March-April 2027 – assessors determine the property exempt from general property tax
  2. By July 2027 – municipalities report to DOR the value of the exempt property (as of January 1, 2025) by taxing jurisdiction
  3. Further steps pending legislative action to fund the aid payments
• Questions

Exemption – contact bapdor@wisconsin.gov
Aid payment – contact lgs@wisconsin.gov

Competitive Bidding

• County Public Works Notice and Competitive Bidding Thresholds

Creates sec. 59.52 (29m), Wis. Stats. – provides an exception from competitive bidding and notice requirements for a county's purchase of used mobile homes and park model homes for the purpose of providing housing for persons placed on supervised release under ch. 980, Wis. Stats.

• ​ Effective date –​ March 29, 2026
• Questions – contact Wisconsin Counties Association

Department of Revenue Remedial Legislation

• Taxable Property in a Tax Incremental District (TID)

Amends sec. 66.1105 (2) (L), Wis. Stats. and removes personal property from the definition of taxable property in a TID.

• ​ Other Changes
  1. Renumber and amends sec. 77.94 (1), Wis. Stats., and repeals secs. 77.94 (2), Wis. Stats. – eliminates a provision that prorates the economic development surcharge for businesses that begin or cease doing business in Wisconsin during the taxable year based on the number of days they do business in the state
  2. Amends secs. 71.10 (4) (i) and 71.30 (3) (f), Wis. Stats. – for purposes of determining the order in which liability for the individual and corporate income taxes are computed, the act places tax withholdings from nonresident members of pass-through entities and deposits made with DOR by nonresident entertainers or entertainment corporations towards the end of the computation order
  3. Repeals sec. 565.01 (5), Wis. Stats. – eliminates the definition of “relative" for the Wisconsin Lottery
• Effective date ​– March 29, 2026
• TID questions –​ contact tif@wisconsin.gov

Utility Aid

• Creates Utility Aid Payments for Energy Storage Facilities
1. Amends secs. 79.04 (4) (a), 79.04 (4) (b), 79.04 (8) (intro.), 79.04 (8) (a) and 79.04 (8) (b), Wis. Stats.; creates secs. 79.005 (1j), 79.005 (1L) and 79.04 (7m), Wis. Stats.
2. Creates utility aid payments to municipalities and counties for energy storage facilities and liquified natural gas storage facilities
   • Utility aid for:
     1. An energy storage facility is calculated at a rate of $1,000 per megawatt of the facility's capacity and is allocated between municipalities and counties as specified for power production plants
     2. A liquefied natural gas storage facility is set at nine mills ($9 per $1,000) of the net book value of the facility and is allocated between municipalities and counties as specified for other structures
3. Act 163 defines “energy storage facility" to include – hydroelectric pumped storage, compressed air energy storage, regenerative fuel cells, batteries, superconducting magnetic energy storage, flywheels, thermal energy storage systems, and hydrogen storage, or a combination thereof, or any other similar technologies as determined by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
   • “Energy storage facility" is a property that meets all of the following:
     1. The property is:
        • Interconnected to the electrical grid
        • Designed to receive electrical energy, to store the electrical energy as another form of energy, and to convert that other form back into electrical energy
        • Owned by a light, heat, and power company assessed under secs. 76.28(2), or 76.29(2), Wis. Stats., with certain exclusions outlined in sec. 79.005 (1j) (a), Wis. Stats.
     2. The property delivers the electrical energy converted from some other form, as described in the bill, for sale or to use for providing reliability or economic benefits to the electrical grid
4. Act 163 defines “liquefied natural gas storage facility” to mean a liquefied natural gas storage facility owned by a light, heat, and power company assessed under secs. 76.28(2), or 76.29(2), Wis. Stats., with certain exclusions ​
   
• Effective date –​ April 4, 2026, for payments after January 1, 2027
• Implementation
  1. Utilities will start reporting for these storage facilities on their 2027 Utility Company Annual Report (UCAR)- Form UT-144
  2. DOR will inform municipalities and counties of their related utility aid payment amounts on the 2027 Revised Estimate in September, 2027
  3. Initial utility aid payments will be first distributed to municipalities and counties in November 2027
• Questions – contact lgs@wisconsin.gov

Tax Incremental Finance, Zoning Classification Change and Comprehensive Plans

• Tax Incremental Finance: Defines Newly Platted Residential and Extends Housing Extension from 1 Year to 2 Years
  1. Creates sec. 66.1105 (2) (cs), Wis. Stats. – defines newly platted residential development as residential development on a parcel that has not previously been the site of permanent structures other than structures used solely for agricultural purposes.
  2. Amends sec. 66.1105 (6) (g) 1. (intro.), Wis. Stats. – allows a two-year extension of a TID for housing
• Zoning Classification Change and Comprehensive Plans
  1. Repeals sec. 66.1001 (3m), Wis. Stats., renumbers sec. 66.1001 (1) (am), Wis. Stats., renumbers and amends secs. 66.1001 (2) (h), 66.1001 (3), 66.10016 (3) and 66.10016 (4), Wis. Stats.; amends secs. 59.69 (3) (a), 62.23 (3) (b), 66.1001 (2m) (title), 66.1001 (2m) (a), and 66.1002 (2) (intro.), Wis. Stats.; repeals and recreates sec. 66.1001 (3) (title), Wis. Stats.; creates secs. 66.1001 (1) (am) 2., 66.1001 (2) (h) 4., 66.1001 (3) (b), 66.1001 (3) (c), 66.10016 (3) (b), 66.10016 (4) (b) and 66.10016 (5), Wis. Stats.
  2. Zoning Classification Change – Act 173 requires a city or village to approve a residential zoning change within 90 days when the following are satisfied:
     • The proposed change is for:
       1. A residential area on the political subdivision's comprehensive plan
       2. An area adjacent or close in proximity to existing development
     • Either the proposed net density range of residences in the development is within the comprehensive plan's net density range, or the political subdivision has not added density to the comprehensive plan by the 180-day deadline
     • Current housing supply in the political subdivision does not meet existing or forecasted demand within the next five years, as provided in the comprehensive plan
     • Certification that the proposed change is for an area that is not – (1) located with a farmland preservation zoning district or agricultural enterprise area; (2) subject to a farmland preservation agreement

     Note: The 90-day deadline may be extended. The request is not applicable to towns, counties or a city or village's extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction.

  3. Comprehensive Plans – Act 173 requires the comprehensive plan of a city or village to identify where residential land use is projected and specify the density of residences. Zoning and local subdivision ordinances must be consistent with the comprehensive plan including incorporating residential net density. An ordinance is consistent with the comprehensive plan if the ordinance permits a land use that is expressly identified for the land in the comprehensive plan's land use map. The changes do not apply to a town or county.
• Effective date –​ January 1, 2028
• TID questions – contact tif@wisconsin.gov

Competitive Bidding

• Local Government Competitive Bidding Thresholds
  1. Renumbers and amends secs. 59.52 (29) (a), 60.47 (1) (a), 60.47 (5) and 62.15 (1), Wis. Stats.; amends secs. 60.47 (2) (a), 60.47 (2) (b), 60.47 (3), 60.47 (4), 60.47 (5) (title) and 200.47 (2) (a), Wis. Stats.; creates secs. 59.52 (29) (c) 2., 59.52 (29) (e), 60.47 (1) (ag), 60.47 (1) (as), 60.47 (2m), 60.47 (2s), 60.47 (5) (c), 62.15 (1) (b), 62.15 (1) (c) and 200.47 (2) (f), Wis. Stats.
  2. Increases the dollar thresholds for local competitive bidding and notice requirements
  3. Creates a new exception from local competitive bidding requirements for improvements that are constructed by a private entity and donated to a town or county
• Effective date –​ April 5, 2026
• Questions – contact League of Wisconsin Municipalities, Wisconsin Towns Association or Wisconsin Counties Association

Levy Limits and Expenditure Restraint Incentive Program (ERIP)

• Creates a Levy Limit Exception for Regional Emergency Medical Systems
  1. Creates sec. 66.0602 (3) (o), Wis. Stats. – provides a levy limit exception for costs of a regional emergency medical systems when a qualified district
  2. Qualified district:
     • The district:
       1. Provides first-in EMS for the member political subdivisions either directly, by contract, or both
       2. Has at least eight municipalities receiving service for their entire territory or the service area of the district is at least 232 square miles
     • A referendum is approved by a majority of the votes within the entire territory on whether the district should be a qualified district for the purpose of the levy limit exception
       1. At least 30 days before that referendum, each political subdivision must publish a Class 1 notice that notifies electors of the proposed establishment of a qualified district and provides the estimated increase in the property tax on a median-valued home
       2. A referendum is approved every five years after a district is established on whether the district continues
     • The district operates under an agreement that does all of the following:
       1. Delineates the service area of the district
       2. Requires and provides the manner of the designation of a governing board and a chief officer
       3. Designates the clerk of a member political subdivision as responsible for certification of district referenda
       4. Provides procedures for the addition and termination of member political subdivisions
       5. Specifies the method by which the district assesses costs to its member political subdivisions
  3. A district is no longer a qualified district when below the minimum number of political subdivisions or the minimum square mileage due and remains that way for more than 11 months
     • During the 11 months another political subdivision may join the qualified district if the operating agreement allows it and if the political subdivision approves a referendum
  4. In the first year a levy is imposed for costs associated with a qualified district, the exception allows for increasing the levy by the amount to pay district costs that would otherwise cause the municipality to exceed its levy limit
     • After the first year – the annual increase in the amount levied must be less than or equal to CPI for the relevant year plus 2%
     • The increase applies only to the extent that the amount levied by a municipality to pay for the costs of the qualified district that would otherwise cause the municipality to exceed its levy limit
  5. Costs of a qualified district in providing first-in EMS in the service area of the district, including any payments for debt service, are eligible for the exception. Costs associated with EMS provided by a fire department are also eligible for the levy limit exception.
  6. The levy limit exception is also subject to the following additional conditions:
     • The qualified district:
       1. Must confirm to DOR that it includes not fewer than eight municipalities receiving service for their entire territory, or the service area of the district is not less than 232 square miles
       2. Identifies to DOR, one entity as responsible for coordination of EMS across the service area of the qualified district
     • If a political subdivision utilizes this levy limit exception and levies an amount for costs associated with a qualified district, no other levy limit exception applies to that amount
• Amends ERIP Eligibility

Amends sec. 79.05 (2) (c), Wis. Stats. – excludes the expenditures of the amounts a municipality levied under sec. 66.0602 (3) (o), Wis. Stats., for purposes of eligibility for ERIP.


• Effective date – ​​​​ April 10, 2026, and first applies to a levy imposed in December of 2027. Ability to first report on the 2027 Levy Limit Worksheet and 2028 ERIP Worksheet.
• ​ Questions – contact lgs@wisconsin.gov

Register of Deeds (ROD)

• Changes to Recording Documents and the ROD's Roles and Responsibilities

See the act for a complete list of laws repealed, created and amended.​

• ​ Summary of the Changes:
  1. Defines the terms “document" and “legal description"
  2. Provides that recording a document with a register of deeds constitutes “filing" a document for purposes of various statutes that require documents to be filed.
  3. The act prohibits a ROD from recording the following:
     • A document:
       1. Affecting real property unless the document contains certain information
       2. Containing a scrivener's error, unless the error is clearly marked and initialed
       3. The ROD determines is not authorized to be recorded or that is being recorded for an unauthorized purpose
     • Certain types of documents unless they contain document numbers for previously recorded documents
     • Certain court documents without a clerk of court certification
  4. Modifies various formatting requirements for transportation project plats and other documents for recording
  5. Defines what constitutes a “page" for purposes of ROD;s copying fees
  6. Allows RODs to limit the use of electronic devices
  7. Increases the fee for recording transportation project plats from $25 to $30
  8. Repeals certain provisions relating to the use of obsolete technology
  9. Creates a Class I felony for knowingly providing a forged document for recording
• Effective date –​ April 10, 2026
• Questions – contact ROD Association

Residential Tax Incremental Districts (TIDs)

• Allows Cities, Villages, and Certain Towns to Create a Residential TID
1. Amends secs. 66.1105 (2) (f) 3. (intro.), 66.1105 (4) (gm) 4. c., 66.1105 (6) (a) 7. and 66.1105 (7) (am) 2., Wis. Stats.; creates secs. 60.23 (32) (g) and 66.1105 (21), Wis. Stats.
2. 3% value limit – the equalized value of taxable property of the new or amended residential TID, plus the value increment of all existing residential TIDs in the municipality, cannot be more than 3% of the total equalized value of all taxable property in the municipality
3. Residential development in a residential TID must satisfy all of the following:
   • The development only consists of owner-occupied, single-family or two-family residences
   • The lot size of each:
     1. Single-family residence is less than 7,500 square feet
     2. Two-family residence is 12,500 square feet or less
   • The residential lot width for each:
     1. Single-family residence is 70 feet or less
     2. Two-family residence is 80 feet or less
   • No side setback is greater than 10 feet
   • No single-story residence is larger than 1,500 square feet
   • No two-story residence is larger than 2,000 square feet
4. Project costs – may only include costs related to the construction or improvement of infrastructure necessary for residential developments within the district (e.g., financing costs, professional services costs, imputed administrative costs, organizational costs) and can only be paid by the residential TID or financed by a developer
5. Maximum life – 20 years and can be extended by three years
6. Project plan – cannot be amended to increase project costs within 10 years of the un-extended termination date unless approved unanimously by the Joint Review Board
• Effective date – ​October 1, 2026
• Questions – contact tif@wisconsin.gov

Occupational Credentials

• Creates Eligibility to Receive Occupational Credentials for Recipients of Deferred Action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program
  1. Creates sec. 995.40, Wis. Stats. – a noncitizen is eligible to receive an occupational license when meeting all of the following requirements:
     • The individual:
       1. Has been granted deferred action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
       2. Possesses an unexpired employment authorization document issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
     • The individual's deferred action is not expired
  2. A credential issued under the act is valid for the period when the individual's employment authorization document is valid. If an individual's employment authorization is withdrawn, the individual shall cease practice under the occupational authorization and notify the authority that issued the authorization.
  3. The act applies to an individual who was granted deferred action for the first time under the DACA program that was established on June 15, 2012. It does not apply to any individual who is granted deferred action for the first time under that program after April 10, 2026.
• Effective date –​ April 10, 2026
• Assessor certification questions – contact bapdor@wisconsin.gov