In the Dirt: A Real Estate Legal Update

The City of Milwaukee (and various other municipalities) has sent its Biennial Property Tax Exemption Report and Filing Fee Notices. Owners of tax-exempt real property in Wisconsin must file a Form PC-220 Tax Exemption Report (the “Report”) by March 31, 2024, to ensure their property is properly classified and continues to be recognized as tax-exempt. The Report must be filed with the clerk of the town, village, or city in which the property is located biennially of each even numbered year.

Information provided in the Report is used by municipalities to determine whether property continues to meet the statutory criteria for tax exempt status. At a minimum, the Report must provide:

• The name and address of the owner of the property and, if applicable, the type of organization that owns the property.
• The legal description and parcel number of the property as shown on the assessment role.
• The date of acquisition of the property.
• A description of any improvements on the land.
• A statement indicating whether or not any portion of the property was leased to another person during the preceding 2 years. If the property was leased, the statement must identify the portion of the property that was leased, identify the lessee and describe the ways in which the lease payments were used by the owner of the property.
• The owner’s estimate of the fair market value of the property on January 1 of 2024.

Except in some limited circumstances, a Report must be filed for all tax exempt property types. Wisconsin Stat. § 70.337(7) provides a list of property types exempt from filing the Report. Some of the most common types of tax exempt properties that must file a Report include churches and other religious properties, private educational institutions, medical facilities, housing facilities (such as nursing homes and retirement homes), and public benefit facilities (such as YMCAs and YWCAs).

Failure to timely file a Report may result in the taxing municipality appraising the property, or hiring an outside assessor to appraise the property, at the property owner’s cost. More importantly, a failure to timely file a Report may lead to the property losing its tax exempt status.

New for 2024 in the City of Milwaukee, there is a $50 administrative fee for one parcel, and a $15 fee for each additional parcel. Check with the municipality in which your property is located to determine whether there is a filing fee for your Report. The filing fee does not apply to churches that qualify for property tax exemption. 

If you are seeking a new property tax exemption for 2024, requests are due on or before March 1, 2024.

If you received a Biennial Property Tax Exemption Report and Filing Fee Notice, legal counsel can provide assistance in completing it.