Wisconsin

The county keeps the certificate

Real property taxes are paid in full by January 31 or in two installments, on January 31 and July 31. If the first installment is late, the whole unpaid amount is delinquent as of February 1; if the second is late, it is delinquent as of August 1 (Wis. Stat. § 74.11(2), (7)–(8)). Delinquent taxes bear interest of 1% a month, and a county board can add a penalty of up to 0.5% a month by ordinance (§ 74.47(1)–(2)). The county keeps that interest and penalty (§ 74.47(3)(a)).

Every year on September 1, the county treasurer issues a single tax certificate to the county, covering every parcel with taxes still unpaid at the close of business on August 31 (§ 74.57(1)). Within 90 days, the treasurer mails each owner a notice warning that the property can pass to the county no earlier than two years later (§ 74.59(1)). The county may not sell, assign or otherwise transfer a tax certificate (§ 74.57(3)). This is the fact that defines Wisconsin for investors: there is no certificate to buy and no interest rate to earn.

The one exception is narrow. A county can sell to anyone its right to receive the money paid on its tax certificates, and let the buyer resell that right (§ 74.635). That is a bulk sale of revenue. The certificate, and the right to take the property, stay with the county.

Redemption: until the county records its deed

Issuing the certificate starts the redemption period (§ 74.57(2)(a)). Any person can redeem at any time before a tax deed is recorded, by paying the county treasurer the unpaid taxes on the certificate plus the interest and penalty under § 74.47 and any other charges added since (§ 75.01(1)(b)). Partial payments of at least $20 are allowed, but they do not stretch the deadline (§ 75.01(4)(a)). Minors and people adjudged incompetent get extra time unless the land has been delinquent for five or more consecutive years (§ 75.03).

Between 6 and 10 months before the redemption period runs out, the treasurer publishes a list of the unredeemed land, with the amount due on each parcel and a warning that it will be conveyed to the county unless redeemed by the last day (§ 75.07(1)). Redemption money for general property taxes, with its interest and penalties, stays with the county (§ 75.05(2)).

Three ways the county takes the land

Two years after the certificate, the county can take the property in one of three ways: a tax deed under § 75.14, a foreclosure of the certificate run like a mortgage foreclosure under § 75.19, or a foreclosure in rem under § 75.521 (§ 74.57(2)(b)). Certificates expire 11 years after December 31 of the year they are dated, and nothing can be done on them after that (§ 75.20(1)–(2)).

For a tax deed, the county first serves a notice of application on the owner of record, on the occupant if the property has been occupied for 30 days, and on at least one mortgagee for each recorded mortgage. Service is personal or by certified mail, with publication as a last resort, and the deed can be issued three months later (§ 75.12(1)–(3)). The county board must order the deed by resolution, and the county clerk executes it to the county, vesting an absolute estate in fee simple subject only to recorded restrictions (§ 75.14(1)).

The third route, foreclosure in rem, is open to any county whose board adopts it by ordinance (§ 75.521(2)(a)). The treasurer files a list of the delinquent parcels with the circuit court, two years after the certificate or one year in the City of Milwaukee and in any county of 750,000 people or more (§ 75.521(3)(a)). Each owner and mortgagee of record gets the petition by registered or certified mail (§ 75.521(3)(c)), and the list is published as a class 3 notice that sets a last day for redemption at least 8 weeks out (§ 75.521(6)). Anyone with an interest can redeem until that day or answer within 30 days after it, but the only defenses are that the land was not taxable, the tax was paid or the lien is barred by limitations (§ 75.521(5), (7)). In default, the court enters judgment vesting the county with a fee simple absolute that bars every prior right, title, lien and equity of redemption, including the State's (§ 75.521(8)).

Milwaukee can slow this down for homeowners: the city may defer foreclosure on owner-occupied one- and two-family homes for up to two more years (§ 75.521(3m)).

Since 2024, the county must sell

Before 2024, the statutes gave a county the power to sell tax-deeded land but no deadline to do it. 2023 Wisconsin Act 207, in force since March 24, 2024, changed that for land acquired on or after April 1, 2022. Property a county takes by tax deed must now be disposed of under §§ 75.35, 75.36 and 75.69 (§ 75.36(2k)), and the county is required to arrange for its sale (§ 75.35(2)). While the county owns it, the land is exempt from property tax (§ 75.32).

The sale and the appraised value have to be advertised on the county's website and either in a class 1 newspaper notice or on a multiple listing service no later than 240 days after the county acquires the property or, beginning in 2026, no later than 180 days (§ 75.69(1)). The appraised value is set by the county board, a committee or a certified appraiser. At the first attempt to sell, every bid below it must be rejected. After that, the county can sell for any amount after a new notice, but a sale below appraised value needs board or committee approval, and taking less than the highest bid needs a written public explanation (§ 75.69(1)). Milwaukee County has up to 36 months for some kinds of property, such as vacant lots and buildings that qualify for a raze order (§ 75.69(1m)). A county can sell by open or closed bid, must notify the municipal clerk three weeks ahead and can hire real estate brokers (§§ 75.69(4), 75.35(2)(d)).

Before any of this, the former owner gets a chance to buy the property back. Each county must, for single-family owner-occupied homes, adopt an ordinance letting the former owner, heirs or beneficiaries repurchase before the sale by paying the county's costs, the current year's taxes and the other liens that existed at foreclosure (§ 75.35(3)). Dane County, for example, allows repurchase up to two weeks before the bid due date.

How the county sales work

Each county sets its own procedure within § 75.69. Dane County holds sealed-bid auctions, usually in October or November and sometimes in April or May. Bids are due on a Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. with a 10% earnest deposit in cash or a cashier's check, and they are opened the next morning. Only bids at or above the appraised value count, and only from bidders, including any member or owner of a bidding company, with no delinquent real estate taxes in the county. The winner has 10 days to pay the balance and receives a quitclaim deed. As of July 2026, its list showed 18 parcels with minimum bids from $100 to $335,700. Parcels that do not sell can be bought later by any offer at or above the appraised value.

Walworth County took sealed bids until 10:00 a.m. on August 25, 2026 for eight parcels with appraised values from $650 to $20,575, one of them a one-fifth interest. It required 20% earnest money by money order or certified check, the balance within 15 days, and a quitclaim deed, with no abstract, title insurance or survey. Marathon County sells at no less than the appraised value through the Wisconsin Surplus online auction site.

Investors have one way to step in before the county takes title. For a brownfield, the county board can assign its right to the judgment or the tax deed to a private party who agrees to an environmental assessment and, if the land is contaminated, a cleanup agreement with the Department of Natural Resources (§ 75.106).

What a county sale gives you

An in rem judgment gives the county a fee simple absolute, subject only to taxes and charges after the latest certificate on the list and to recorded restrictions, and it has the effect of a tax deed plus a judgment barring former owners and quieting title (§ 75.521(8)). A former owner who claims the foreclosure was wrong can sue the county for the property's fair market value within two years, or six for fraud, but cannot get the land back (§ 75.521(14a)). Under a tax deed, the former owner has three years after recording to sue for the land (§ 75.27), and restrictions and covenants in the chain of title, such as use restrictions and road maintenance covenants, survive (§ 75.14(4)). Severed mineral rights are not extinguished (§ 75.115), and adverse possession claims can survive unless the county surveyed the land and notified the neighbors (§ 75.144).

Counties pass that title on without promises. Walworth and Dane convey by quitclaim deed, as is, with or without occupants, and Walworth limits its liability to refunding the price if a court sets the sale aside. Absent fraud, a county is not liable for its acts or omissions in a sale (§ 75.35(7)). Expect to pay the current year's taxes, any special assessments or charges the municipality is still collecting, and condominium fees. Dane splits the current year's taxes between the county and the buyer depending on the month of purchase, and tells buyers to check with the municipality for charges that are not on the tax bill.

The former owner gets the net proceeds

2021 Wisconsin Act 216, effective April 2, 2022, first required counties to share sale proceeds with former owners, for tax deeds acquired from that date. Act 207 then rewrote the rule. When the county takes a tax deed, the treasurer must tell the former owner, by registered or certified mail, that a share of a future sale may be theirs (§ 75.36(2m)(a)). After a sale, the county subtracts its foreclosure, legal, advertising, title, maintenance, cleanup and demolition costs, any broker's fee and all the unpaid taxes, interest, penalties and special assessments, then pays the special assessments and charges owed to other taxing jurisdictions (§ 75.36(3)(a)–(b)). The rest goes to the former owner, minus any other delinquent taxes the owner owes the county and the taxes the property would have owed in the year of sale (§ 75.36(2m)(a), (3)(c)).

Act 207 also repealed the provision that paid off mortgages and other liens from the proceeds (former § 75.36(3)(bm)), so the statute now sends the net to the former owner. If the payment comes back or goes unclaimed for a year after it is mailed, it is treated as unclaimed funds, and no one is owed interest (§ 75.36(2m)(b)). Owners who lost property before April 2022 are outside these rules. For the history and the open questions, see Wisconsin tax foreclosure surplus and Act 216.

Six ways people lose money here

1. 1. Looking for a Wisconsin tax lien sale

   There is none. The certificate is issued to the county and cannot be sold or assigned (§ 74.57(3)); the 1% a month goes to the county.

2. 2. Bidding below the appraised value

   At the first attempt to sell, the county must reject every bid under the appraised value (§ 75.69(1)). Dane counts only bids at or above it.

3. 3. Bidding while you owe taxes in the county

   Dane rejects bidders, and companies whose owners, have unpaid real estate taxes in the county. Clear them before you bid.

4. 4. Expecting title insurance or a warranty deed

   Walworth and Dane convey by quitclaim, as is; Walworth provides no abstract, title insurance or survey, and the county is not liable absent fraud (§ 75.35(7)).

5. 5. Forgetting the costs that come with the land

   Current-year taxes, special assessments and charges still being collected, and condominium fees can fall on the buyer.

6. 6. Assuming a listed parcel will be sold

   Former owners of homes can repurchase before the sale (§ 75.35(3)); Dane allows it until two weeks before the bid due date.