Sales tax · WI
Wisconsin Sales Tax Rate
The state takes 5% of every taxable purchase in Wisconsin, and local governments add between 0% and 2.9% depending on where you buy, so the rate at the register runs from 5% to 7.9%.
On a $100.00 purchase in Wisconsin (state portion only) you pay $5.00 in sales tax, 5% in all, for a total of $105.00.
| Levied by | Rate | Tax on $100.00 | In effect since |
|---|---|---|---|
| State of Wisconsin · state | 5% | $5.00 | 2026-10-08 |
| Combined rate | 5% | $5.00 |
Local sales tax in Wisconsin
Most counties levy a 0.5% county sales tax (Milwaukee County 0.9%), and the City of Milwaukee levies 2%; the Department lists each county and its adoption date.
County and city pages for Wisconsin are not published here yet: The county and city table is rendered by script on the page. They are added one state at a time as each revenue department's file is scoped; see Wisconsin Department of Revenue, County and City Sales and Use Taxes for the current local rates.
Methodology
How the combined rate is built
A sales tax rate is a sum. The state sets one rate for every sale in the state; the county, the city and any special district (transit authority, hospital district, improvement district) the address sits in each add their own. The combined rate is those components added together, and the page lists every one with the authority that levies it and the date it took effect, so the total can be checked line by line.
Combined rate = state rate + county rate + city rate + district rates Tax = purchase amount × combined rate ÷ 100
Source and effective date
Every rate on this page comes from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, County and City Sales and Use Taxes. Most counties levy a 0.5% county sales tax (Milwaukee County 0.9%), and the City of Milwaukee levies 2%; the Department lists each county and its adoption date. Sales tax rates are not tax-year figures: they change on the first day of a quarter, most often January, April, July and October 1. The snapshot behind these pages is rebuilt from the DOR file on the fifth of those months.
Limitations
- General merchandise only. Groceries, prepared food, lodging, motor vehicles, fuel, alcohol and services are taxed at different rates or not at all, and that differs by state and within Wisconsin.
- A ZIP code is not a jurisdiction. ZIP codes cross county, city and district lines, so a receipt's ZIP does not set the rate; the taxing jurisdictions the address sits in do. That is why there are no ZIP pages here.
- Where the rate is measured. Wisconsin is a destination-based state: the rate at the address the goods are delivered to applies.
- Special districts that cover part of a jurisdiction (an address-range improvement district, a transit area that stops at a road) are listed under "other rate areas" where the DOR lists them and left out where it lists them only by address.
- Caps and thresholds (a surtax that applies only to the first $5,000 of an item, a maximum tax per sale) are not modeled; the split assumes the full rate on the full amount.
Last reviewed: October 2026. The state table was checked against each revenue department's page on October 8, 2026; the local snapshots are refreshed from the DOR files every quarter and checked by scripts/check-sales-tax.mjs before each deploy.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Wisconsin state sales tax rate?
5%, as stated by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, County and City Sales and Use Taxes. Local governments add up to 2.9% on top, so the combined rate reaches 7.9% in the highest-taxed places.
Why do two Wisconsin cities have different sales tax rates?
The state rate is the same everywhere; counties, cities and special districts add their own rates, and each city sits in a different set of them. Most counties levy a 0.5% county sales tax (Milwaukee County 0.9%), and the City of Milwaukee levies 2%; the Department lists each county and its adoption date.
Does a ZIP code tell me the Wisconsin sales tax rate?
No. ZIP codes cross county, city and district lines; the rate depends on the taxing jurisdictions the address sits in. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue publishes the local rates.
When do Wisconsin sales tax rates change?
Local rate changes almost always take effect on the first day of a quarter (January, April, July or October 1), after a local vote or ordinance. The state table here was reviewed October 2026.
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