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UNDERSTANDINGS YOUR TAX BILL

HOW TO READ YOUR TAX BILL

Tax bills are mailed annually in mid-December. The following information will help to understand the different sections of the tax statement.There are three taxing municipalities within Whitnall School District boundaries. The image below shows a tax statement from 2023. Each municipality bill might look a little different, but the same general information is provided. Each blue letter corresponds to a description below the image.Please note an important piece of information is not included on your property tax bill – the mill rate. The mill rate is the tax rate per $1,000 of estimated fair market value. Whitnall School District’s 2023 mill rate was the lowest it has ever been at $7.15. With the passing of the referendum, it is now $7.18.

If you would like to get an ESTIMATE of your 2024 property tax for the Whitnall School District portion ONLY. Take your Total Est Fair Mkt value (Line D) and multiply it by the 2024 mill rate (.00718).  Subtract off the School Levy Tax Credit amount (item G). 

SAMPLE TAX BILL

 

(A) Assessed Value of Land: This is the value of the land on your property, determined by an assessor.

(B) Assessed Value of Improvements: This is the value of buildings or other structures on your property, determined by an assessor.

(C) Total Assessed Value: This combines the value of your land and buildings. It may differ from current fair market value and is used to determine your property tax based on the tax rate(F).

(D) Total Estimated Fair Market Value: This reflects the estimated selling price of your property under current market conditions, including both land and buildings.

(E) Average Assessment Ratio: This is a comparison of your assessed value to the fair market value. It usually falls between 0.9 and 1.1. If it goes outside this range, a reassessment may be needed to keep values fair.

(F) Net Assessed Value Rate (Tax Rate): This rate combines the tax rates of all taxing bodies, like your city, county, and school district. It’s multiplied by your total assessed value to determine your property tax.

(G) School Levy Tax Credit: This is a credit that helps reduce property taxes, applied to all eligible properties. Though it doesn’t go directly to schools, the state counts it as part of its support for education.

(H) Taxing Jurisdiction: This includes all entities that can levy taxes on property, such as the state, city, county, school district, local technical colleges, and in some cases, special districts like the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District(MMSD).

I) State Aid: This shows how much revenue each taxing jurisdiction received from the state compared to the previous year. It helps see if funding has increased or decreased year over year.

(J) Net Tax: This is the total tax amount for each taxing body, with last year’s figures included to show any change.

(K) First Dollar Credit and Lottery and Gaming Credit: These are credits that help lower property taxes.

(L) Net Property Tax: This is your total property tax after applying credits like the lottery and gaming credit.

(M) Voter-Approved Temporary Tax Increases: These are additional taxes approved by community vote to fund specific school or municipal projects. This item shows who requested it, the total amount left to pay, and what amount applies to this year’s taxes. It is included in your Net Tax (J)

HOW TO CALCULATE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT PORTION OF YOUR TAX BILL

With the arrival of tax bills, we’d like to provide some helpful information to clarify how the school district portion of your overall tax bill is calculated.

Here’s a breakdown using an example of the same property’s tax bills from 2023 and 2024:

  • Wisconsin school districts use Equalized Value for tax purposes. This value is determined by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue and closely aligns with the Total Estimated Fair Market Value listed on your tax bill.
  • Unlike other portions of your bill, the school tax portion does not use the Total Assessed Value.
  • If you compare your current tax bill to last year’s, you may notice an increase in your Total Estimated Fair Market Value (generally between 7–12%). For example, the property used in this example saw a $36,200 increase in value—nearly 9%.

This increase in Fair Market Value translates to an approximate percentage increase in the school’s tax portion of your bill compared to last year. Any increase in your Fair Market Value is going to increase your school’s tax portion by at least the same percentage compared to your prior year’s taxes. 

SAMPLE 2023 PROPERTY TAX BILL

 

SAMPLE 2024 PROPERTY TAX BILL

 

To better understand how the mill rate and Fair Market Value impacts your taxes, please consider the scenarios below based upon the tax bills from 2023 and 2024 above:
  • Multiply your Total Estimated Fair Market Value by the school district’s mill rate. For reference, last year’s mill rate was $7.15 per $1,000 of value.

 

  • If your home value stayed the same this year (it did not, but if it had) and we used the new Mill Rate of $7.18, the following happens to your taxes this year:

 

You’ll see that the difference between your Tax Subtotals is $13. As we shared throughout the referendum process, the referendum was expected to increase your taxes by approximately $0.03 per $1,000 of property value. For a $400,000 home, this would amount to about $12.

Here’s an important point to keep in mind:

  • If your property value stayed the same this year, your taxes would actually be slightly lower even with the referendum in place.
  • However, property values across the area increased significantly, which means the following happens:

 

So, while there was a slight increase ($13) due to the referendum, the remaining increase in the Whitnall School District portion was mostly due to the significant increase in your property values (which the District can’t control). The District also did slightly increase the overall tax levy to account for the difference in referendum payment and we did also see a reduction in state aid.

 

If everything from the District’s perspective stayed exactly the same as last year and we had a mill rate of $7.15, your taxes would still have gone up by nearly the same amount due to increased property values. 

We know these changes can sometimes be confusing, and we’re here to ensure you understand how these adjustments are calculated and what they mean for your tax bill. If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Jon Duhr, Business Manager, at jduhr@whitnall.com.