What is the sales tax rate in Milwaukee?

Inside the City of Milwaukee the general rate is 7.9%: 5% state, 0.9% Milwaukee County and 2% city tax, all in effect since January 1, 2024. Suburbs in Milwaukee County such as Wauwatosa and West Allis are at 5.9%. Restaurants anywhere in Milwaukee County also add a 0.5% food and beverage tax.

How much does a Wisconsin seller's permit cost?

There's no separate charge for the permit itself. You pay the Business Tax Registration fee of $20, which covers two years and all your locations, then a $10 renewal fee every two years. The department may also ask for a security deposit of up to $15,000 if you have a history of unpaid taxes. Apply online at least three weeks before you open.

Is clothing taxed in Wisconsin?

Yes. Wisconsin has no general clothing exemption and no annual back-to-school sales tax holiday, so clothing and shoes are taxed at the full state and local rate. A $50 pair of jeans bought in Madison carries $2.75 in tax at 5.5%, and the same pair bought in the City of Milwaukee carries $3.95 at 7.9%.

Is food taxed in Wisconsin?

Food for home consumption is exempt. Candy, soft drinks, dietary supplements and prepared food are taxable, as are alcoholic beverages. Restaurant meals, hot food and food sold with utensils count as prepared food. In Milwaukee County, restaurant food and drinks also carry the 0.5% exposition food and beverage tax on top of the general rate.

What is Wisconsin's retailer's discount?

If you file and pay on time, you keep part of the sales tax you collected. For tax payable on or after October 1, 2023, it's 0.75% of the tax, capped at $8,000 per return. Returns with $10 to $1,333 of tax get a flat $10, and returns under $10 keep the whole amount. The discount is lost on late payments and doesn't apply to use tax.

Sales tax

Wisconsin Sales Tax in 2026: County Rates, Milwaukee's City Tax, the Seller's Permit and Filing

Wisconsin sales tax 2026: the 5% state rate, 0.5% county taxes, Milwaukee's 7.9% city rate, resort area taxes, the $20 seller's permit, filing and the discount.

Edited by Sumeet YadavFounder & editor, MSMETOOLS · fact-checked against official sources

Updated October 2026 Verified against official sources 9 October 2026 15 min read

Wisconsin sales tax — MSMETOOLS guide cover

Contents (10)

1. How Wisconsin's sales tax rate is built
2. Milwaukee, Madison and county rates in 2026
3. What's taxable in Wisconsin
4. Worked examples in dollars
5. Which rate to charge
6. Getting a seller's permit
7. Out-of-state sellers and marketplaces
8. Filing, paying and the retailer's discount
9. Common mistakes and how to fix them
10. What to do next

If you sell in Wisconsin, whether you run a shop in Milwaukee, a restaurant in Madison or an online store shipping to Green Bay, this guide gives you the 2026 sales tax rates and the rules for charging and paying them. It covers the 5% state rate, the county taxes, the City of Milwaukee's new city tax, resort and exposition taxes, the seller's permit, filing deadlines and the retailer's discount you keep for paying on time. The rates come from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue's current rate chart and guidance.

Quick answer

Wisconsin's state sales tax rate is 5%. Most counties add 0.5%, for 5.5%. Since January 1, 2024, Milwaukee County charges 0.9% and the City of Milwaukee adds 2%, so Milwaukee's rate is 7.9%. Groceries are exempt; clothing is taxable.

A seller's permit comes with a $20 registration fee that covers two years
Returns are due by the last day of the following month (the 20th for early monthly filers)
Paying on time earns a 0.75% retailer's discount, capped at $8,000 per return
Remote sellers register after more than $100,000 in Wisconsin sales in the current or previous year
Waukesha and Winnebago counties have no county tax, so the rate there is 5%

How Wisconsin's sales tax rate is built

Wisconsin's rate structure is one of the simplest in the Midwest. The state charges 5% on the sales price of taxable goods and services. The same 5% applies as use tax when you buy something taxable without paying Wisconsin tax, for example from an out-of-state supplier.

Counties can add a 0.5% county sales and use tax, and 70 of the state's 72 counties have done so. Only two counties, Waukesha and Winnebago, have no county tax, so purchases in Waukesha, Brookfield, Oshkosh, Appleton's Winnebago County side and Neenah carry only the state's 5%. The two most recent counties to join were Manitowoc, from January 1, 2025, and Racine, from April 1, 2025.

Until 2024, no Wisconsin city could levy a general sales tax. That changed with a 2023 state law that overhauled local government funding and gave Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee new sales tax powers. From January 1, 2024, Milwaukee County's tax rose from 0.5% to 0.9%, and the City of Milwaukee started its own 2% sales and use tax. Milwaukee remains the only municipality in Wisconsin with a city sales tax.

On top of the general rates, some places levy narrow taxes on particular businesses. Milwaukee County's exposition district taxes food and beverages, hotel rooms and rental cars. A handful of tourist towns charge a premier resort area tax on tourism-related sales. These are collected through the same Department of Revenue system but only by the businesses they cover.

Two older stadium taxes have ended. The 0.5% football stadium tax in Brown County, which paid for Lambeau Field renovations, ended on September 30, 2015. The 0.1% baseball stadium tax in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Washington and Waukesha counties ended on March 31, 2020. If your till still adds 0.1% for the stadium, remove it.

The Milwaukee skyline seen beyond the Holton Street Viaduct — The City of Milwaukee has charged a 2% city sales tax since January 1, 2024, the only municipal sales tax in Wisconsin, bringing its combined rate to 7.9%.· Image: compujeramey (CC BY 2.0)

Milwaukee, Madison and county rates in 2026

Here are the combined general rates for the places most readers ask about. The Department of Revenue's rate chart lists every county and its start date.

Place	County tax	City tax	Combined general rate
City of Milwaukee (Milwaukee County part)	0.9%	2%	7.9%
City of Milwaukee (Washington County part)	0.5%	2%	7.5%
City of Milwaukee (Waukesha County part)	none	2%	7%
Wauwatosa, West Allis and other Milwaukee County suburbs	0.9%	none	5.9%
Madison (Dane County)	0.5%	none	5.5%
Green Bay (Brown County)	0.5%	none	5.5%
Racine (Racine County, from April 2025)	0.5%	none	5.5%
Kenosha (Kenosha County)	0.5%	none	5.5%
Waukesha and Brookfield (Waukesha County)	none	none	5%
Oshkosh (Winnebago County)	none	none	5%

The City of Milwaukee crosses into small parts of Washington and Waukesha counties, which is why there are three city rates. The 2% city tax applies in all of them; only the county piece changes. For an exact address, use the department's state and local tax rate lookup, which returns the rate for a street address.

Resort and exposition taxes

The premier resort area tax applies to taxable sales by tourism-related retailers, such as hotels, restaurants, gift shops and attractions, in towns that adopt it. The City of Wisconsin Dells and the Village of Lake Delton charge 1.25%. Bayfield, Eagle River, Rhinelander, Ephraim, Sister Bay and Stockholm charge 0.5%. Two new areas started on July 1, 2026: the City of Sturgeon Bay and the Town of Minocqua, both at 0.5%, after a 2025 law let more mid-sized tourist towns adopt the tax.

In Milwaukee County, the Wisconsin Center District levies exposition taxes to fund its convention facilities. Restaurants, bars and other food and beverage sellers add a 0.5% tax. Hotels charge a 3% basic room tax, plus a 7% additional room tax inside the City of Milwaukee, and car rental companies charge a 3% rental car tax. A food seller whose food and beverage tax would be less than $5 for the year is exempt.

What's taxable in Wisconsin

Wisconsin taxes the sale, lease, license and rental of tangible personal property, which includes electricity, gas, water and prewritten software however it's delivered. Digital goods such as downloaded music, movies, e-books, video games and digital newspapers are taxable, as are collectible U.S. coins and stamps sold above face value.

Only services listed in the statute are taxable, but the list is broad. It includes admissions to amusement, athletic and entertainment events, hotel and short-term lodging, parking, telecommunications and cable TV, laundry and dry cleaning, landscaping and lawn maintenance, and the repair, maintenance, cleaning and installation of tangible personal property. Professional services such as legal, accounting and consulting aren't taxed.

Clothing is taxable. Wisconsin has no general clothing exemption and doesn't hold an annual back-to-school sales tax holiday, so shoppers moving from Minnesota, where clothing is exempt, often notice the difference.

Food, candy and restaurant meals

Food sold for home consumption is exempt. The department lists four exceptions that stay taxable: candy, dietary supplements, prepared food and soft drinks. Alcoholic beverages are taxable too, because they don't count as food.

Prepared food covers food the seller heats, mixes or combines into a single item, and food sold with utensils such as plates, forks or straws. A grocery store's hot rotisserie chicken and made-to-order sandwiches are taxable, while a raw chicken and a loaf of bread aren't. A soda is taxable whether it's sold at a restaurant or a supermarket.

Bunches of freshly harvested radishes at the Dane County Farmers' Market in Madison — Produce sold for home use, like these radishes at Madison's Dane County Farmers' Market, is exempt; a hot meal or a soda from the next stall is taxed at Dane County's 5.5%.· Image: exit78 (CC0 1.0)

Worked examples in dollars

A Milwaukee furniture store. A customer in the City of Milwaukee buys an $800 sofa. Tax at 7.9% is $63.20. In 2023 the same sale was taxed at 5.5%, or $44, so the 2024 city and county increases added $19.20 to this one receipt.

A Milwaukee restaurant. A table's $60 dinner check in the city is taxed at 7.9% plus the 0.5% food and beverage tax, 8.4% in total, or $5.04. The same meal in Waukesha, outside Milwaukee County, is taxed at 5%, or $3.

A Madison clothing shop. A $50 pair of jeans is taxable at Dane County's 5.5%: $2.75. In Minneapolis, across the state line, the same jeans would be tax-free.

A gift shop in Wisconsin Dells. A tourist spends $200 on souvenirs. The shop charges 5% state, 0.5% county and the 1.25% premier resort area tax, 6.75% in total, or $13.50.

The retailer's discount. A Green Bay shop on quarterly filing collects $9,000 in sales tax for the quarter and pays on time. Its discount is 0.75% of $9,000, or $67.50, so it sends $8,932.50. A small seller with $800 of tax for a quarter falls in the $10 to $1,333 band and keeps a flat $10.

Try it — City of Milwaukee sales tax on $800

Purchase AmountState

Local / County Rate

Purchase Amount$800.00

State Tax (6.25%)$50.00

Local Tax (2%)$16.00

Combined Rate8.25%

Total Amount (Including Tax)$866.00

Open the full Sales Tax Calculator (PDF, save, compare)

Which rate to charge

Wisconsin uses destination sourcing. A sale made at your store is taxed where the store is. When you ship or deliver, the sale takes place where the customer receives the goods, and you charge that location's county and city tax, even if your own business is elsewhere. A Madison retailer delivering a sofa to an address in the City of Milwaukee charges 7.9%, not Dane County's 5.5%.

The department is explicit that any retailer registered to collect Wisconsin tax must also collect county and city tax on sales sourced to a county or city that has adopted one, wherever the retailer is located. Vehicles, boats, RVs and aircraft follow a different rule: the county and city tax depends on where the item will be customarily kept.

Use tax works the same way. If your business buys a taxable item without paying Wisconsin tax, you owe use tax at the rate where you use it, including any county and city use tax. A business that regularly buys taxable items this way and doesn't hold a seller's permit registers for a consumer's use tax certificate.

Picking the right Wisconsin rate

Step 1

Sold over the counter → rate where your store is

Step 2

Shipped or delivered → rate at the customer's address

Step 3

City of Milwaukee address? Add the 2% city tax

Step 4

Restaurant in Milwaukee County? Add 0.5% food and beverage tax

Step 5

Report county and city tax by location

On the same state return

Getting a seller's permit

You need a seller's permit if you have a Wisconsin location and sell, lease, license or rent taxable products or services, unless all your sales are exempt. Wholesalers and manufacturers that don't make taxable retail sales don't need one, and neither do marketplace sellers whose only Wisconsin sales go through a marketplace provider that collects the tax. Out-of-state sellers without a Wisconsin location that must collect register for a use tax certificate instead.

You apply through the department's online Business Tax Registration system. There's no separate charge for the permit itself, but you pay a $20 Business Tax Registration fee, which covers two years and all your permits and locations. After two years, a $10 renewal fee covers the next two years, and the department mails a new certificate that shows your permit's new expiration date. You must post your seller's permit at your place of business.

Apply at least three weeks before you open. If your permit hasn't arrived by opening day, you can still make taxable sales, but you're responsible for tax and records from the first sale. Permits can't be transferred, so if you buy an existing business you need a new permit in your own name. The department can require a security deposit of up to $15,000 before or after issuing a permit, usually when there's a history of unpaid tax, and returns it after 24 months of compliance.

Before your first Wisconsin sale

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Out-of-state sellers and marketplaces

A remote seller with no physical presence in Wisconsin must register and collect once its gross sales into the state exceed more than $100,000 in the previous or current calendar year. The threshold counts all sales into Wisconsin, including sales for resale and exempt sales. Wisconsin dropped its 200-transaction test on February 20, 2021, so a seller with many small orders but under more than $100,000 in total no longer has to register.

A seller with any physical presence in Wisconsin, such as inventory in a Wisconsin warehouse, employees or property, must register regardless of sales volume. Marketplace providers collect and remit tax on the sales they facilitate, so a seller whose only Wisconsin sales go through Amazon or Etsy doesn't need its own permit. Marketplace providers also collect Milwaukee County's exposition taxes on lodging, food and rental cars they facilitate.

Wisconsin is a full member of the Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement, so out-of-state sellers can register through the Streamlined Sales Tax Registration System and use a certified service provider.

Filing, paying and the retailer's discount

You file sales and use tax returns electronically, through My Tax Account, Telefile or approved software. The department assigns your filing frequency and reviews it every November, using your remittances for the 12 months ending October 31. The thresholds are:

Early monthly: $3,601 or more a quarter, due by the 20th of the following month.
Monthly: $1,201 to $3,600 a quarter, due by the last day of the following month.
Quarterly: $601 to $1,200 a quarter, due by the last day of the month after the quarter.
Annual: $600 a year or less, due by the last day of the month after the year ends (January 31 for calendar-year filers).

Changes take effect for periods starting January 1, and the department mails letters to affected filers. You can ask to keep a more frequent schedule, but requests to file less often are generally refused. You must file a return for every period, even if you had no sales. If a due date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day, and electronic payments must arrive by 4:00 p.m. Central time on the due date.

The retailer's discount rewards on-time payment. Under 2023 Wisconsin Act 19, for tax payable on or after October 1, 2023, the discount rose from 0.5% to 0.75% and the cap rose from $1,000 to $8,000 per reporting period. Returns with up to $10 of tax keep the full amount, and returns with $10 to $1,333 of tax keep a flat $10. The discount isn't allowed on use tax, on tax paid late, or when a certified service provider files for you and is compensated separately.

A filer's calendar for late 2026

October 20

September return due for early monthly filers

November 2

September monthly and July–September quarterly returns due (October 31 is a Saturday)

Late November

Department completes its annual filing-frequency review and mails letters

November 30

October monthly return due

January 1, 2027

New filing frequencies take effect

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Still using 5.5% or 5.6% in Milwaukee. The baseball stadium tax ended in 2020, and the county and city rates changed in 2024. City of Milwaukee sales are at 7.9%. If you've under-collected, update the rate and pay the difference; you can't recover it from past customers.

Charging Milwaukee's city tax in the suburbs. The 2% city tax applies only inside the City of Milwaukee. Wauwatosa, West Allis and other suburbs are at 5.9%. Look up delivery addresses rather than relying on a Milwaukee mailing address.

Missing the new county taxes. Sellers who set up their rates before 2025 may still be charging 5% in Manitowoc and Racine counties. Both now add 0.5%.

Treating clothing as exempt. Sellers based in Minnesota or Pennsylvania sometimes carry their home state's clothing exemption into their Wisconsin settings. Clothing is fully taxable in Wisconsin.

Paying a day late. Late payment costs you the retailer's discount on that return, plus interest and possible penalties. Schedule payments a few days before the due date.

Forgetting the exposition tax on restaurant sales. Restaurants in any municipality wholly or partly in Milwaukee County owe the 0.5% food and beverage tax, and need a separate local exposition tax registration.

Official links

What to do next

Register and pay the $20 fee at least three weeks before you open, load the county and city rates for every place you sell or deliver, and diarize your due dates so you keep the retailer's discount. Use the sales tax calculator to check receipts and our how to calculate sales tax guide for backing tax out of a tax-included price. Selling into neighboring states too? Compare our Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan sales tax guides.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

The state rate is 5%. 70 of Wisconsin's 72 counties add a 0.5% county tax, for 5.5%. Milwaukee County's tax is 0.9%, and the City of Milwaukee adds its own 2%, for 7.9%. Waukesha and Winnebago counties have no county tax, so sales there are taxed at 5%.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 9 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1.Tax Rates — Sales and Use Tax (rate chart) — Wisconsin Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
2.County and City Sales and Use Tax — Common Questions — Wisconsin Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
3.Premier Resort Area Tax — Common Questions — Wisconsin Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
4.Local Exposition Taxes — Common Questions — Wisconsin Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
5.Business Tax Registration — Common Questions — Wisconsin Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
6.Permits for a New Business — Common Questions — Wisconsin Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
7.Remote Sellers — Wisconsin Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
8.Retailer's Discount — Common Questions — Wisconsin Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
9.Annual Filing Frequency Scan — Wisconsin Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
10.Sales and Use Tax — Common Questions (due dates; taxable food) — Wisconsin Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
11.Publication 201 — Wisconsin Sales and Use Tax Information — Wisconsin Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026

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We provide tools, guides and information for general educational purposes only. Always refer to official government websites for the latest and most accurate information.