The Wisconsin sales tax rate is 5% at the state level, and 70 of the state’s 72 counties add a 0.5% local tax that brings the combined rate to 5.5%. Milwaukee County sits higher at 5.9% after a county increase on January 1, 2024. Waukesha and Winnebago counties charge only the 5% base because they have not adopted a local tax. A few tourist-heavy communities add more on top, so what you actually pay at the register depends on where the sale happens.1Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Tax Rates
The 5% Statewide Base
Every retail sale in Wisconsin is presumed taxable at 5% unless a specific exemption applies.1Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Tax Rates The tax reaches sales, leases, rentals, and licenses of tangible personal property, certain digital goods, and a defined list of services. Retailers collect it at the point of sale and hold it in trust for the state. The 5% rate is set by statute and applies uniformly across Wisconsin before any local additions.
County Rates and the Milwaukee Exception
Seventy counties have adopted a 0.5% county sales and use tax, making the combined rate 5.5% in most of the state.1Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Tax Rates Waukesha County and Winnebago County are the two that have not, so buyers there pay only the 5% state rate.
Milwaukee County runs in the opposite direction. Its county tax rose from 0.5% to 0.9% on January 1, 2024, bringing the combined state-and-county rate there to 5.9%.2Wisconsin Department of Revenue. County and City Sales and Use Taxes If you’re buying in Milwaukee County, that is the rate you should expect to see at checkout.
Resort Areas and Special District Taxes
A handful of tourism-driven communities add a premier resort area tax on top of the state and county rates. The rate is 0.5% in most qualifying places, but the Village of Lake Delton and the City of Wisconsin Dells charge 1.25%.3Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Premier Resort Area Tax A community qualifies only when at least 40% of its taxable property value comes from tourism-related retailers, and the revenue goes to local infrastructure like roads, water and sewer, parks, and public safety equipment.4Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Premier Resort Area Tax – Q&A for Municipalities and Counties
Milwaukee County also carries a 0.5% food and beverage tax inside the Milwaukee Exposition District. It applies to prepared food and drinks that are already subject to the state sales tax when the buyer takes possession in Milwaukee County. Stack that on the state rate and the 0.9% county rate, and a restaurant meal in Milwaukee County effectively carries a 6.4% tax load.
What the Rate Applies To
Most physical goods you can touch, weigh, or measure are taxable. Clothing, electronics, furniture, computers, office equipment, and prewritten computer software all fall inside the tax.5Wisconsin Department of Revenue. What Is Taxable Unlike some neighboring states, Wisconsin does not exempt clothing.
Services
Wisconsin taxes a specific list of services rather than services across the board. The ones most consumers run into are telecommunications (mobile phone plans, data services, prepaid calling cards), landscaping and lawn maintenance, laundry and dry cleaning, and admissions to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts, and other entertainment or recreation.
If a service isn’t on the statutory list, it generally isn’t taxable. Common services like haircuts and legal fees are not subject to Wisconsin sales tax.5Wisconsin Department of Revenue. What Is Taxable
Digital Products
Downloaded and streamed digital products are taxable at the same 5% state rate plus any local tax. Wisconsin splits them into two groups. “Specified digital goods” covers digital audio, audiovisual works, and ebooks. “Additional digital goods” picks up video games, digital periodicals and newspapers, greeting cards, and finished artwork delivered electronically.6Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Digital Goods A digital product is exempt if the physical version would be exempt. Cloud software where a provider processes your data under its own control is generally not taxed as a digital good.
Exemptions That Change What You Pay
Groceries and Food
Food and food ingredients for home consumption are exempt, but the carve-outs matter. Candy, soft drinks, and dietary supplements are taxable even though they are technically food.7Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code Tax 11.51 – Grocers Prepared food is taxable too, and Wisconsin defines it broadly: food sold heated, food heated by the retailer, food where the retailer combines two or more ingredients into a single item, and food sold with eating utensils provided by the seller.8Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code Tax 11.51 – Grocers Bakery items made by the retailer, like bread, donuts, and cookies, stay exempt as long as they are sold unheated.
Prescription Drugs and Medical Items
Prescription drugs dispensed by a licensed pharmacist for human treatment are exempt. The exemption also covers insulin furnished by a pharmacist for diabetes treatment without a traditional prescription, and drugs supplied directly by a licensed physician, surgeon, dentist, or hospital to a patient.9Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code Tax 11.09 Over-the-counter drugs bought without a prescription are generally taxable. Prosthetic devices and certain other medical appliances are exempt under separate provisions.
Occasional Sales by Individuals
If you sell personal items and you aren’t in the business of selling, your sales may qualify as “occasional sales” and avoid the tax entirely. Wisconsin presumes you are not a vendor as long as your total taxable sales stay under $2,000 in a calendar year.10Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Occasional Sale Exemption Cross that $2,000 line and you owe tax on everything you sold that year, including the first $2,000. If you already hold a seller’s permit, the occasional-sale exemption does not apply to you at all, even if your sales are small.
Use Tax When No Wisconsin Tax Was Charged
Use tax is the mirror of sales tax. It applies at the same 5% rate, plus any county tax, whenever you buy a taxable item and the seller does not charge Wisconsin sales tax. The common trigger is an online purchase from an out-of-state retailer that has no Wisconsin collection obligation. Both businesses and individuals owe it.
Anyone who regularly buys taxable goods without paying sales tax should apply for a Consumer’s Use Tax Certificate and file periodic returns through the Department of Revenue’s My Tax Account portal.11Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax – Common Questions Individual consumers who owe smaller amounts can file Form UT-5.12Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax One practical note for online shopping: if you buy through a large marketplace like Amazon or Etsy, the platform has been responsible for collecting Wisconsin sales tax on your behalf since January 1, 2020, so in most of those cases the tax is already handled at checkout.13Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Marketplace Providers and Sellers