Property tax in Vilas County, Wisconsin
In Vilas County, the property tax bill comes from the Vilas County Treasurer (your town or city 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 Vilas County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Vilas County, Wisconsin is $2,197 a year, which is about 0.73% of the county's median home value of $300,000. That effective rate is lower than the typical Wisconsin county (1.36%) and lower 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 Vilas County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Vilas County Treasurer (your town or city 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 or city (each municipality in Vilas County values its own properties; the county does not), 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.
Vilas County taxes are paid to two offices. The full payment or first installment goes to your town or city treasurer at the address on your bill, and the second installment and any late taxes go to the Vilas County Treasurer in Eagle River. The county's online and phone payments, through an outside processor that charges 2.39% for cards and $1.50 for an e-check, take only second installments and late taxes. Online payment of current-year taxes is off from December 1 to mid-February, and phone payment from December 1 through January 31; ask your town whether it takes payments online. The county asks owners to update their mailing address before November 15 so the tax bill arrives on time. Not receiving a bill does not excuse a late payment.
When are property taxes due in Vilas County?
For the 2026 (payable 2027) bill, Vilas County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due January 31, 2027 and the last July 31, 2027. If an installment is missed, the installment option is lost and the whole unpaid balance becomes delinquent. Delinquent taxes are paid to the Vilas County Treasurer and carry interest of 1% a month or part of a month, counted back to February 1 of the year the taxes were due. The county's published interest table shows interest only, with no added county penalty.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Full payment, or first installment (paid to your town 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. The county's own page describes the first installment as delinquent if not paid by January 31, without this grace period; the statute controls. Paying in installments is allowed only when the real estate tax on the parcel is $100 or more. |
| Second installment (paid to the Vilas County Treasurer) | July 31, 2027 | July 31, 2027 is a Saturday, and the county treasurer's office is open Monday through Friday, so Wisconsin law 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 starts taking second installments on February 1, and several local banks take them in person from July 1 to July 31. |
From Vilas 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 Vilas County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Vilas County's average effective rate of 0.73% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $2,190 / year
Property tax in Vilas County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $2,197 |
| Median home value | $300,000 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.73% |
| 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 Vilas County compare in Wisconsin?
Among Wisconsin's 72 counties, Vilas County has the 72nd highest effective property-tax rate. That places it among the least taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 1810th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Wisconsin county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Vilas County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Vilas County's 9,367 owner-occupied homes, 29.6% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 51.5% pay at least $2,000, and 6.5% pay under $800. Another 5.7% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 612 | 6.5% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 2,249 | 24% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 1,152 | 12.3% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 2,048 | 21.9% |
| $3,000 or more | 2,772 | 29.6% |
| No property tax paid | 534 | 5.7% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $2,076 and owners without one pay $2,337. Here the owners without a mortgage pay more, which can happen where long-held homes sit in the higher-value parts of the county. Census table B25103.
How does the Vilas County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $2,197 is about 3% of the median income of Vilas County homeowner households, $73,944 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 84% of Vilas 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 Vilas County?
Yes. The median bill went from $1,891 in 2015-2019 to $2,197 in 2020-2024, a 16.2% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 47.9%, from $202,900 to $300,000. 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 Vilas County
Vilas County borders 6 counties, 2 of them across the state line.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gogebic County, MI | 1.43% | $1,535 | $107,200 |
| Iron County, MI | 1.34% | $1,467 | $109,100 |
| Price County, WI | 1.32% | $2,150 | $162,500 |
| Forest County, WI | 1.07% | $1,988 | $185,000 |
| Iron County, WI | 1.07% | $1,768 | $165,900 |
| Oneida County, WI | 0.89% | $2,123 | $238,400 |
| Vilas County, WI (this county) | 0.73% | $2,197 | $300,000 |
How is a home assessed in Vilas County?
Wisconsin assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Vilas County included. How Wisconsin assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Vilas 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 Vilas County. Wisconsin's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Vilas County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Wisconsin ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Vilas County property assessment
In Vilas County you appeal to the The Board of Review of your town 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. 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
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Vilas County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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Wisconsin income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Wisconsin actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Vilas County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Vilas 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.