Wisconsin state income tax rates run from 3.50% to 7.65%, spread across four progressive brackets that apply to your taxable income after deductions. The rate percentages are the same for every filing status; what changes is the income level where each bracket starts. The top rate kicks in only at very high incomes, so most Wisconsin filers top out in the 4.40% or 5.30% bracket.
2025 Wisconsin Tax Brackets
The brackets below apply to the return you’ll file in 2026 for tax year 2025. “Taxable income” here means your income after subtracting your standard or itemized deduction, not your gross wages.1Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Tax Rates
Single and Head of Household
- 3.50% on taxable income up to $14,680
- 4.40% on taxable income from $14,680 to $50,480
- 5.30% on taxable income from $50,480 to $323,290
- 7.65% on taxable income above $323,290
Married Filing Jointly
- 3.50% on taxable income up to $19,580
- 4.40% on taxable income from $19,580 to $67,300
- 5.30% on taxable income from $67,300 to $431,060
- 7.65% on taxable income above $431,060
How the Brackets Actually Work
The rates are marginal. Moving into a higher bracket does not retax the income below it. A single filer with $60,000 of taxable income pays 3.50% on the first $14,680, 4.40% on the next slice up to $50,480, and 5.30% only on the remaining $9,520.1Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Tax Rates The result is an effective rate well below the top bracket you touch.
Wisconsin’s Sliding-Scale Standard Deduction
Wisconsin does not use a flat standard deduction. Instead, the deduction shrinks as your Wisconsin adjusted gross income rises and eventually disappears. That matters because the brackets apply to income after this deduction, so the deduction phase-out quietly raises what you actually pay.
For tax year 2025, the maximum deduction and the WAGI range over which it phases out are:
- Single: $13,560 maximum, phasing out from $19,550 to $132,550
- Married filing jointly: $25,110 maximum, phasing out from $28,210 to $155,169
- Head of household: $17,520 maximum, phasing out from $19,550 to $57,210, after which the single deduction applies
- Married filing separately: $11,930 maximum, phasing out from $13,390 to $73,710
A single filer earning $80,000 has already lost a large share of the $13,560 maximum. A single filer above $132,550 of WAGI gets no standard deduction at all and must itemize to reduce taxable income. The thresholds adjust for inflation each year.
Who Pays Wisconsin Tax on What
The rates apply to different pools of income depending on your residency.2Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Tax Information for Part-Year Residents and Nonresidents
A full-year Wisconsin resident, meaning someone domiciled in the state for the whole calendar year, owes Wisconsin tax on all income regardless of where it was earned.3Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Legal Residence/Domicile A part-year resident pays on everything received while domiciled in Wisconsin, plus any Wisconsin-source income earned during the nonresident portion of the year. A nonresident pays only on Wisconsin-source income such as wages from a Wisconsin employer or rent from Wisconsin property.
Reciprocity With Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Michigan
If you live in one of those four states and work in Wisconsin, or live in Wisconsin and work in one of them, your wages are taxed only by your home state under reciprocity agreements.4Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Reciprocity Reciprocity covers salaries, wages, and commissions earned as an employee. It does not cover self-employment income, rental income, investment gains, lottery winnings, or income from pass-through entities. A Wisconsin resident running a sole proprietorship in Indiana still files an Indiana return on that business income.
Income Wisconsin Treats Differently From the Federal Government
Your Wisconsin return starts from federal adjusted gross income and then adds or subtracts items specific to the state. Several of these change how much income actually hits the brackets.
Social Security benefits are fully exempt from Wisconsin income tax, with no income cap or phase-in.5Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Individual Income Tax – Retired Persons Military and uniformed services retirement pay is also fully exempt.6Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Wisconsin Tax Information for Military Personnel and Veterans Certain federal, state, and local government pensions earned before specific historical dates qualify for the same exemption, as do railroad retirement benefits. Most private pensions, 401(k) distributions, and traditional IRA withdrawals are taxed much as they are federally, though a limited retirement income subtraction of up to $5,000 is available to qualifying lower-income taxpayers.
On the addition side, interest from out-of-state municipal bonds is tax-free federally but taxable in Wisconsin, and certain nonqualified 529 plan distributions must be added back. On the subtraction side, U.S. government bond interest and state tax refunds already picked up federally come out. Schedules AD and SB on Form 1 walk through these line by line.
Credits That Reduce the Tax Itself
Deductions shrink the income the brackets apply to. Credits come off the tax you owe, dollar for dollar, which generally makes them more valuable.
Wisconsin Earned Income Credit
Wisconsin’s EITC piggybacks on the federal credit but only for workers with qualifying children. Childless workers who qualify federally get nothing from Wisconsin. The state credit equals a percentage of your federal EITC: 4% with one qualifying child, 11% with two, and 34% with three or more.7Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Individual Income Tax – Earned Income Credit Claimants must be full-year Wisconsin residents, and married couples generally must file jointly.
Homestead Credit
The Homestead Credit offsets property taxes or rent for lower-income Wisconsinites. For a 2025 claim, you must be a full-year resident, 18 or older by year-end, with household income under $24,680.8Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Claiming Homestead Credit It’s claimed on Schedule H or H-EZ.
Edvest 529 Deduction
Contributions to Wisconsin’s Edvest or Tomorrow’s Scholar 529 plans are deductible. For 2026, the ceiling is $5,280 per beneficiary for single filers or joint filers, and $2,640 per beneficiary for married filing separately.9Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions. Wisconsin 529 College Savings Program Excess contributions carry forward. Nonqualified distributions may need to be added back on a later return.
Filing Deadline and the Cost of Being Late
Your 2025 Wisconsin return is due April 15, 2026.10Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Individual Income Tax Deadlines and Late-Filed Returns Wisconsin honors a federal extension; file IRS Form 4868 and attach a copy to your Wisconsin return for an additional six months.11Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Tax Filing Extensions for Paper and Electronically Submitted Returns
An extension buys time to file, not time to pay. If you owe, interest runs from April 15 at 1% per month (12% annually) during the extension window. Blow past both deadlines and the cost jumps: a $50 late-filing fee plus delinquent interest of 1.5% per month, or 18% annually, on unpaid tax.10Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Individual Income Tax Deadlines and Late-Filed Returns If you think you’ll owe, send a payment by April 15 even if the return isn’t finished.
Full-year residents file Form 1 and can use the DOR’s free WisTax e-filing system, which generally issues refunds in under three weeks.12Wisconsin Department of Revenue. WisTax2025 Individual Income Tax Forms