The Wisconsin Homestead Credit is a refundable state tax credit worth up to $1,168 a year for lower-income renters and homeowners who paid rent or property tax on a Wisconsin primary residence. You claim it by filing Schedule H (or the shorter Schedule H-EZ) with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, either with your state income tax return or on its own. Because the credit is fully refundable, you can receive the money even if you owe no Wisconsin income tax.
Who Qualifies
To claim the credit for a given year, you must have been a legal Wisconsin resident for the entire calendar year, lived in a home or apartment subject to Wisconsin property taxes for at least part of that year, and been at least 18 by December 31.1Wisconsin State Legislature. Homestead Tax Credit Informational Paper 13 – January 2025
You also need to meet one of three further conditions: you or your spouse had net earned income during the year, you or your spouse were at least 62 by year-end, or you or your spouse were disabled.1Wisconsin State Legislature. Homestead Tax Credit Informational Paper 13 – January 2025 If none of those fit, you cannot claim the credit no matter how low your income is.
Someone else cannot have claimed you as a dependent on their federal return for the claim year. That restriction is waived if you were 62 or older.1Wisconsin State Legislature. Homestead Tax Credit Informational Paper 13 – January 2025
The Income Cap and What Counts as Income
Your total household income for the claim year cannot exceed $24,680.2Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 71.54 – Homestead Credit This is where many people miscount. “Household income” is much broader than wages. It includes Wisconsin adjusted gross income plus Social Security benefits, pensions, veteran’s disability payments, worker’s compensation, unemployment insurance, nontaxable interest, capital gains, and more. If you are married and living with your spouse, both incomes count. You can subtract $500 for each qualifying dependent who lived with you more than six months of the year.3Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 71.52 – Definitions
When You Can’t Claim It
Certain public assistance blocks the credit for the months you received it. You cannot claim the credit for any month you got $400 or more in cash benefits under a county relief program, participated in a Wisconsin Works (W-2) community service job or transitional placement, or received a W-2 custodial parent infant grant.4Wisconsin State Legislature. Homestead Tax Credit Informational Paper 22 A prorated credit is still available for the months not affected.
Nursing home residents who are receiving Medical Assistance (Medicaid) at the time they file cannot claim the credit at all.5Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code Tax 14.05(14)(b)
Your Home Has to Qualify Too
The credit applies only to your primary residence. If part of the property is used for business or rental, you have to allocate the taxes and claim only the personal-use share. Someone who owns a triplex and lives in one of three equal units, for example, claims one-third of the property taxes.6Wisconsin Department of Revenue. 2021 Schedule H and H-EZ Instructions On a non-farm property larger than one acre, only the taxes on one acre plus the buildings count. Farm homesteads can include taxes on up to 120 adjoining acres.7Wisconsin Department of Revenue. 2025 Schedule H Wisconsin Homestead Credit Municipal permit fees on a mobile or manufactured home count as property taxes, and lot rent is treated as rent.8Wisconsin State Legislature. Homestead Tax Credit Informational Paper 13 – January 2021
How Much You Can Get
The maximum credit is $1,168. The formula uses up to $1,460 of qualifying property costs, and your household income determines how much of that becomes a refund.2Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 71.54 – Homestead Credit
Renters don’t plug in their full rent. Wisconsin converts rent to a “rent constituting property taxes” figure: 25% of gross rent if heat is not included, 20% if heat is included.1Wisconsin State Legislature. Homestead Tax Credit Informational Paper 13 – January 2025 So $800 a month in rent without heat works out to $9,600 a year, which converts to $2,400 in property tax equivalents, though only $1,460 counts in the formula.
From there the calculation has two tiers:2Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 71.54 – Homestead Credit
- If your household income is $8,060 or less, your credit is 80% of your qualifying property costs (up to $1,460), which maxes out at $1,168.
- If your income is between $8,061 and $24,680, multiply the amount over $8,060 by 8.785%, subtract that from your qualifying property costs, and take 80% of what’s left. The credit shrinks as income rises and reaches zero at $24,680.
Here’s how that works in practice. Say your household income is $15,000 and your qualifying property taxes are $1,460. Your income exceeds $8,060 by $6,940. Multiply $6,940 by 8.785% to get $610. Subtract $610 from $1,460, leaving $850. Eighty percent of $850 is $680, which is your credit.
If your calculated credit is more than $0 but less than $10, the Department of Revenue rounds it up to $10. Anything above your Wisconsin tax liability comes to you as cash.
What to Gather Before You File
You’ll use Wisconsin Schedule H, or the shorter Schedule H-EZ if your situation is straightforward.9Wisconsin Department of Revenue. 2025 Schedule H-EZ Wisconsin Homestead Credit The full Schedule H handles mixed-use property, shared ownership, and other complications.
Homeowners need the property tax bill for the claim year showing net taxes levied on the homestead. Special assessments and service charges don’t count. If the property is over an acre (and not a farm) or has non-personal use, you’ll complete the allocation schedules inside Schedule H.7Wisconsin Department of Revenue. 2025 Schedule H Wisconsin Homestead Credit
Renters need an original Rent Certificate signed by the landlord. The certificate confirms rent paid, whether heat was included, and whether the property is subject to property taxes.10Wisconsin Department of Revenue. 2025 Rent Certificate Stamped, typed, or electronic signatures aren’t accepted. If your landlord refuses to sign, fill out the certificate yourself, write “Landlord Refuses to Sign” on it, and attach cancelled checks, money orders, or receipts for the rent you paid.11Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code Tax 14.05(12) The certificate still has to show whether heat was included and whether food or services were provided. Any rent you can’t document won’t be allowed.
Because household income reaches so broadly, pull all your 1099s, your SSA-1099, pension and annuity statements, unemployment records, and any documentation of nontaxable income like veteran’s disability or worker’s compensation. A missing income source can get your claim rejected or delayed.
How to File
You can e-file Schedule H with your Wisconsin return through the Department of Revenue’s My Tax Account portal or commercial tax software. When you e-file, you still have to submit your supporting documents (property tax bill, Rent Certificate, W-2s, 1099s) separately using Form W-RA within 48 hours of your Wisconsin acknowledgement.12Wisconsin State Legislature. Homestead Credit Electronically Filed Claims – Common Questions Form W-RA can go through My Tax Account, through your tax software if it supports attachments, or by mail to:
Wisconsin Department of Revenue
PO Box 8977
Madison, WI 53708-8977
If you’re paper filing Schedule H or H-EZ with your Wisconsin return, send it instead to:13Wisconsin Department of Revenue. 2025 Schedule H and H-EZ Instructions
Wisconsin Department of Revenue
PO Box 34
Madison, WI 53786-0001
You can file Schedule H or H-EZ on its own if you don’t otherwise need to file a Wisconsin return, though filing it separately from your return will slow processing.
You have four years from the original due date of the Wisconsin income tax return for the claim year to file. There’s no advantage to waiting; earlier filing means a faster refund and less chance of losing paperwork.
After You File
E-filed returns with direct deposit are usually fastest, often under three weeks. The Department of Revenue’s fraud and error review can hold any return, e-filed or paper, for up to 12 weeks.14Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Electronic Filing – Paying Your Taxes or Receiving Your Refund Paper claims can take up to 12 weeks depending on the season.15Wisconsin State Legislature. Homestead Credit Paper Filed Claims – Common Questions
You can check status using the department’s “Where’s My Refund?” tool with your Social Security number and the expected refund amount. Delays past the normal window usually mean the claim was flagged for review or identity verification, and the department may ask for more documentation before releasing the payment.
Penalties for a Bad Claim
Mistakes and dishonesty both carry consequences on top of repaying the overclaimed amount:16Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 71.83 – Penalties
- Negligent claim: 25% of the difference between what you claimed and what you should have claimed.
- Reckless claim: a 2-year ban from claiming the credit, starting the year after the department’s determination.
- Fraudulent claim: 100% of the overclaimed amount, plus a 10-year ban from filing any homestead credit claim.
Inflated rent figures are a common target because the department can cross-reference landlord records.
Pending Changes to Watch
The $24,680 income cap, $8,060 threshold, 8.785% phase-out rate, and $1,460 property cost cap have been frozen since 2010. A bill introduced in Wisconsin’s 2025 legislative session would raise the maximum income to $35,000, drop the phase-out rate to 5.614%, and index all formula parameters to inflation starting with 2026 claims. Check the current Schedule H instructions on the Department of Revenue website before filing, since the numbers for your claim year may have shifted.