Property tax in Racine County, Wisconsin

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

In Racine County, the property tax bill comes from the Racine County Treasurer (your town, village or city treasurer collects the full payment or first installment; the City of Racine collects all current-year payments through July 31). 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 Racine County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.

The median property tax bill in Racine County, Wisconsin is $4,099 a year, which is about 1.63% of the county's median home value of $251,400. That effective rate is higher 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 Racine County, and how do you pay it?

The bill comes from the Racine County Treasurer (your town, village or city treasurer collects the full payment or first installment; the City of Racine collects all current-year payments through July 31). The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the assessor for your town, village or city (each municipality in Racine 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.

Bills are prepared and mailed by your town, village or city in mid-December. Outside the City of Racine, the full payment or first installment goes to your local treasurer, and the second installment and any late taxes go to the Racine County Treasurer at the Courthouse, 730 Wisconsin Avenue, Racine. The City of Racine collects its own four installments at City Hall through July 31, then the county takes over. Card and electronic check payments to the county go through an outside processor, ACI Payments, which charges its own fee. If you mail a payment, make sure it is postmarked by the due date. The county accepts monthly payments toward delinquent taxes.

When are property taxes due in Racine County?

For the 2026 (payable 2027) bill, Racine County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due January 31, 2027 and the last July 31, 2027. If any installment is late or short, the installment option is lost and all remaining tax becomes due, with interest and penalty counted from February 1. Delinquent taxes carry interest of 1% a month plus a penalty of 0.5% a month, 1.5% a month in all. After July 31, all late payments, including City of Racine taxes, go to the Racine County Treasurer. If the year's taxes are not paid in full before September 1, a tax certificate is issued against the property, and ownership can pass to the county through foreclosure two years after that.

Racine County property tax due dates, 2026 (payable 2027)
Payment	Due	Note
Full payment, or first installment (paid to your town, village or city treasurer)	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. In the City of Racine the city collects all current-year payments and lets you pay in four installments, due January 31, March 31, May 31 and July 31. May 31, 2027 is Memorial Day, a legal holiday in Wisconsin, and state law moves a deadline that falls on a legal holiday to the next business day, Tuesday, June 1, 2027.
Second installment (paid to the Racine County Treasurer)	July 31, 2027	July 31, 2027 is a Saturday. The Racine County Treasurer's office is open Monday through Friday, 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. In the City of Racine this last installment is paid to the city.

From Racine 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 Racine County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Racine County's average effective rate of 1.63% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Home market value

Estimated property tax: $4,098 / year

Property tax in Racine County at a glance

Racine County, Wisconsin property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$4,099
Median home value	$251,400
Effective tax rate	1.63%
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 Racine County compare in Wisconsin?

Among Wisconsin's 72 counties, Racine County has the 4th highest effective property-tax rate: 3 rank higher and 68 rank lower. That places it among the most heavily taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 241st of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Wisconsin county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Racine County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Racine County's 57,122 owner-occupied homes, 75.8% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 90.2% pay at least $2,000, and 1.7% pay under $800. Another 1.3% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Racine County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	966	1.7%
$800 to $1,499	1,904	3.3%
$1,500 to $1,999	2,025	3.5%
$2,000 to $2,999	8,219	14.4%
$3,000 or more	43,278	75.8%
No property tax paid	730	1.3%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $4,247 and owners without one pay $3,855. That is within 10% either way, so in Racine County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.

How does the Racine County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $4,099 is about 4.4% of the median income of Racine County homeowner households, $92,331 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 71% of Racine 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 Racine County?

Yes. The median bill went from $3,611 in 2015-2019 to $4,099 in 2020-2024, a 13.5% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 42.8%, from $176,000 to $251,400. 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 Racine County

Racine County borders 6 counties, 2 of them across the state line.

Racine County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Milwaukee County, WI	1.93%	$4,444	$230,700
Racine County, WI (this county)	1.63%	$4,099	$251,400
Kenosha County, WI	1.57%	$4,179	$265,500
Walworth County, WI	1.33%	$4,036	$302,700
Waukesha County, WI	1.14%	$4,554	$398,200
Allegan County, MI	1.08%	$2,884	$267,100
Ottawa County, MI	1.02%	$3,313	$323,400

How is a home assessed in Racine County?

Wisconsin assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Racine County included. How Wisconsin assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Racine 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 Racine County. Wisconsin's exemptions and relief programs in full.

Racine County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Wisconsin ones (checked September 23, 2026).

How to appeal your Racine County property assessment

In Racine 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

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Racine 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.