Property tax in Washington County, Wisconsin

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

In Washington County, the property tax bill comes from your city, village or town treasurer for the first installment or full payment; the Washington County Treasurer for the second installment and any late taxes. The 2026 taxes 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 Washington County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.

The median property tax bill in Washington County, Wisconsin is $3,802 a year, which is about 1.1% of the county's median home value of $344,800. 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 Washington County, and how do you pay it?

The bill comes from your city, village or town treasurer for the first installment or full payment; the Washington County Treasurer for the second installment and any late taxes. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the assessor for your city, village or town (each municipality in Washington 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.

In Washington County the tax bill has two collectors: the first installment or full payment goes to your city, village or town treasurer, and the second installment and any late taxes go to the Washington County Treasurer in West Bend. The payment stubs on your bill show where to send each payment. One bill covers the taxes of the school district, the municipality, the county, the technical college and any sewer district together. Online payments run through an outside processor, Municipal Services Bureau, which charges 2.5% for a credit card, $3.50 for a debit card and $1.50 for an electronic check. The county's printed list of local treasurers still shows the treasurer's old courthouse address; the office is now in the Herbert J. Tennies Government Center, 484 Rolfs Avenue, Suite 1400, West Bend.

When are property taxes due in Washington County?

For the 2026 taxes (billed in December 2026, payable in 2027) bill, Washington County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due January 31, 2027 and the last July 31, 2027. If an installment is not paid in full on time, the installment option is lost and the whole remaining unpaid balance becomes delinquent: as of February 1 for a missed first installment, or August 1 for a missed second installment. Delinquent taxes are paid to the Washington County Treasurer and carry interest and penalty of 1.5% a month until paid in full, counted back to February 1 even when it is the July installment that was missed.

Washington County property tax due dates, 2026 taxes (billed in December 2026, payable in 2027)
Payment	Due	Note
Full payment, or first installment (paid to your municipal treasurer)	January 31, 2027	Payments due by January 31 go to the treasurer of your city, village or town, not the county. 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, which in 2027 ends at the close of business on Friday, February 5. A mailed payment postmarked by the due date also counts as on time, but the county treasurer warns that mail is now postmarked at regional sorting centers, sometimes days after it is dropped off, so mail early or pay online. Paying in two installments is allowed only when the real estate tax on the parcel is $100 or more.
Second installment (paid to the Washington County Treasurer)	July 31, 2027	July 31, 2027 is a Saturday. The 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, which in 2027 ends at the close of business on Friday, August 6. The county treasurer's office is open Monday through Thursday only and is closed on Fridays, so an in-person payment must be made by Thursday, August 5.

From Washington 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 Washington County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Washington County's average effective rate of 1.1% (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: $3,793 / year

Property tax in Washington County at a glance

Washington County, Wisconsin property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$3,802
Median home value	$344,800
Effective tax rate	1.1%
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 Washington County compare in Wisconsin?

Among Wisconsin's 72 counties, Washington County has the 62nd highest effective property-tax rate: 61 rank higher and 10 rank lower. That places it among the least taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 915th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Wisconsin county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Washington County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Washington County's 44,552 owner-occupied homes, 70.9% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 89.5% pay at least $2,000, and 1.8% pay under $800. Another 1.5% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Washington County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	786	1.8%
$800 to $1,499	1,509	3.4%
$1,500 to $1,999	1,731	3.9%
$2,000 to $2,999	8,284	18.6%
$3,000 or more	31,566	70.9%
No property tax paid	676	1.5%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $3,892 and owners without one pay $3,639. That is within 10% either way, so in Washington County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.

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

The median property tax bill of $3,802 is about 3.5% of the median income of Washington County homeowner households, $109,181 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 78.1% of Washington 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 Washington County?

Yes. The median bill went from $3,506 in 2015-2019 to $3,802 in 2020-2024, a 8.4% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 46%, from $236,200 to $344,800. 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 Washington County

Washington County borders 6 counties.

Washington 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
Fond du Lac County, WI	1.51%	$3,365	$222,800
Dodge County, WI	1.48%	$3,422	$231,900
Sheboygan County, WI	1.39%	$3,236	$232,700
Ozaukee County, WI	1.19%	$4,631	$390,200
Waukesha County, WI	1.14%	$4,554	$398,200
Washington County, WI (this county)	1.1%	$3,802	$344,800

How is a home assessed in Washington County?

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

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

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

How to appeal your Washington County property assessment

In Washington County you appeal to the The Board of Review of your city, village or town. The deadline: Talk to your municipal assessor first. To appeal to the Board of Review, give the board's clerk written or oral notice of your intent 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 lets each board meet at any time during the 45 days starting on the fourth Monday in April and requires the date to be published at least 15 days ahead (30 days in a revaluation year). The county's own page says boards meet the second Monday in May, but the actual date is set by each municipality, so check 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 Washington 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.