Property tax in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin
In Eau Claire County, the property tax bill comes from the Eau Claire County Treasurer (outside the Cities of Eau Claire and Altoona and the Town of Ludington, your local treasurer collects the full payment or first installment). The 2026 bill is paid in 2 installments, and the next one is due January 31, 2027. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Eau Claire County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin is $3,514 a year, which is about 1.35% of the county's median home value of $261,000. That effective rate is lower than the typical Wisconsin county (1.36%) and higher than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.
Who sends the property tax bill in Eau Claire County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Eau Claire County Treasurer (outside the Cities of Eau Claire and Altoona and the Town of Ludington, your local treasurer collects the full payment or first installment). The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the assessor for your town, village or city (each municipality in Eau Claire County hires its own assessor; the county does not value property), which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
In Eau Claire County the tax bill can go to two collectors. In the Cities of Eau Claire and Altoona and the Town of Ludington, the county treasurer collects both installments. Everywhere else, the full payment or first installment goes to your town, village or city treasurer, and the second installment and any late taxes go to the county treasurer. The county's online system takes a first installment only for those three municipalities. Online payments cost $1.50 by e-check, $2.95 by debit card, or 2.5% by credit card (at least $2). The county mails a receipt only if you include a self-addressed stamped envelope.
When are property taxes due in Eau Claire County?
For the 2026 (payable 2027) bill, Eau Claire County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due January 31, 2027 and the last July 31, 2027. If the first installment is late, the installment option is lost and the whole unpaid balance becomes delinquent as of February 1. A late second installment makes the remaining balance delinquent as of August 1. Delinquent taxes are paid to the Eau Claire County Treasurer and carry interest of 1% a month plus a penalty of 0.5% a month, 1.5% a month in all, counted back to February 1 and added on the first of every month until paid.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Full payment, or first installment | January 31, 2027 | January 31, 2027 is a Sunday; Wisconsin law moves a deadline that falls on a Sunday to the next business day, Monday, February 1, 2027. State law also does not treat the first installment as late if the treasurer receives it within 5 working days after January 31, and because January 31 falls on a weekend that period ends at the close of business on Friday, February 5, 2027; the payment must arrive by then. Paying in installments is allowed only when the real estate tax on the parcel is $100 or more. Residents of the City of Eau Claire, the City of Altoona and the Town of Ludington pay the Eau Claire County Treasurer; everyone else pays the first installment to their own town, village or city treasurer. |
| Second installment (paid to the Eau Claire County Treasurer) | July 31, 2027 | July 31, 2027 is a Saturday. The Eau Claire County Treasurer's office is closed on Saturdays, and Wisconsin law then moves the deadline to the next business day, Monday, August 2, 2027. State law does not treat the second installment as late if the county treasurer receives it within 5 working days after July 31, and because July 31 falls on a weekend that period ends at the close of business on Friday, August 6, 2027; the payment must arrive by then. The county collects the second installment for every municipality in the county. |
From Eau Claire County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Eau Claire County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Eau Claire County's average effective rate of 1.35% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $3,524 / year
Property tax in Eau Claire County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $3,514 |
| Median home value | $261,000 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.35% |
| Typical Wisconsin county rate | 1.36% |
| National median county rate | 0.81% |
Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
How does Eau Claire County compare in Wisconsin?
Among Wisconsin's 72 counties, Eau Claire County has the 40th highest effective property-tax rate: 39 rank higher and 32 rank lower. That is near the middle for Wisconsin. Nationally, it ranks 533rd of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Wisconsin county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Eau Claire County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Eau Claire County's 27,299 owner-occupied homes, 62.1% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 85.1% pay at least $2,000, and 3.8% pay under $800. Another 1.4% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 1,036 | 3.8% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 1,163 | 4.3% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 1,474 | 5.4% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 6,291 | 23% |
| $3,000 or more | 16,951 | 62.1% |
| No property tax paid | 384 | 1.4% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $3,593 and owners without one pay $3,411. That is within 10% either way, so in Eau Claire County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.
How does the Eau Claire County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $3,514 is about 3.7% of the median income of Eau Claire County homeowner households, $94,991 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 61% of Eau Claire County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.
Have property taxes gone up in Eau Claire County?
Yes. The median bill went from $2,991 in 2015-2019 to $3,514 in 2020-2024, a 17.5% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 54.1%, from $169,400 to $261,000. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.
Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.
Property tax in counties next to Eau Claire County
Eau Claire County borders 7 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trempealeau County, WI | 1.56% | $3,372 | $216,700 |
| Clark County, WI | 1.45% | $2,505 | $172,800 |
| Dunn County, WI | 1.39% | $3,380 | $243,200 |
| Jackson County, WI | 1.39% | $2,725 | $196,100 |
| Pepin County, WI | 1.36% | $2,922 | $214,800 |
| Eau Claire County, WI (this county) | 1.35% | $3,514 | $261,000 |
| Buffalo County, WI | 1.32% | $2,808 | $213,300 |
| Chippewa County, WI | 1.08% | $2,798 | $257,900 |
How is a home assessed in Eau Claire County?
Wisconsin assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Eau Claire County included. How Wisconsin assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Eau Claire County?
No. Wisconsin has no homestead exemption; owner-occupants instead see the Lottery and Gaming Credit and the School Levy Tax Credit printed on the bill. That is the Wisconsin rule, and it applies in Eau Claire County. Wisconsin's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Eau Claire County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Wisconsin ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Eau Claire County property assessment
In Eau Claire County you appeal to the The Board of Review of your town, village or city. The deadline: Talk to your municipal assessor first. To appeal to the Board of Review, give the board's clerk written or oral notice that you intend to object at least 48 hours before the board's first meeting, then file a written objection within the first 2 hours of that meeting. State law sets this schedule: each board meets once a year, some time in the 45 days starting on the fourth Monday in April; check the date with your municipal clerk. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How Wisconsin's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
Wisconsin rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Wisconsin page.
Work out your own numbers
-
How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Eau Claire County's tax rate to hand.
-
Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
-
Wisconsin income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Wisconsin actually taxes.
-
Sales tax in Eau Claire County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Eau Claire County, Wisconsin: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.