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 Property taxes are the town’s major source of revenue. The process for determining values of properties and calculating taxes is summarized below. For more information see:
Property taxes on real properties are proportional to the relative value of each property. First, the levy (that is the total tax to be collected, which is set at a town meeting) is divided by the sum of all of the assessed values of all properties in the town (the total valuation of the town). The levy divided by the total valuation is the mill rate, or net assessed value rate. The mill rate multiplied times the assessed valuation of each property determines the tax on that property. In this way, the cost of next year’s town government (the levy) is divided among the property owners in the town in proportion to the relative values of their properties. Payment of Property Taxes Online: There is a section on tax information on the county website Access Dane. You can carry out a property search by name of owner, parcel address, or parcel number. You may obtain a copy of your property tax bill here, pay your property tax online, and download a copy of your tax receipt. Mail: You may mail your taxes to: Bonnie Krattiger, Treasurer 8676 W Mineral Point Road Cross Plains, WI 53528 *For a receipt, please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. In person: Please check the Town Calendar for dates and times that Bonnie Krattiger, the Town Treasurer, will be collecting tax payments at the Town Hall. Assessment Wisconsin statutes require that property be taxed in proportion to its value. Thus, we must know the relative values of all properties in the town. This process is complicated by the fact that the only time we really know what a property is worth is the day it is sold from a willing seller to a willing buyer. To provide the town with a reasonable assessment, a professional assessing firm is hired by the town to provide periodic complete revaluations, and more frequent paper revaluations, maintain records on past assessments and change the records as new construction or demolition changes the property in the town. The assessor tries to place a value on each piece of property based on one of several possible methods. The most important of these methods, particularly for residential property, is comparison to recent sales of nearby properties. The assessor’s job is to proportionately value every parcel of real property, including improvements, in the town. Property owners in the town should make sure that their assessed valuation is appropriate. If it is too high, they are paying more than their share of taxes. If it is too low, all of the other residents of the town are paying more than their share. And if a parcel sells at a time that its assessment is too low, the discrepancy between the sale price and the actual price will probably be reflected in the town’s equalized valuation, and every property owner in the town will pay too much school tax, perhaps for years. (See Guide to the Equalization Process for more detail of how the process of equalizing valuation works). |
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Property taxes are the town’s major source of revenue. The process for determining values of properties and calculating taxes is summarized below. For more information see:
Property taxes on real properties are proportional to the relative value of each property. First, the levy (that is the total tax to be collected, which is set at a town meeting) is divided by the sum of all of the assessed values of all properties in the town (the total valuation of the town). The levy divided by the total valuation is the mill rate, or net assessed value rate. The mill rate multiplied times the assessed valuation of each property determines the tax on that property. In this way, the cost of next year’s town government (the levy) is divided among the property owners in the town in proportion to the relative values of their properties. Payment of Property Taxes Online: There is a section on tax information on the county website Access Dane. You can carry out a property search by name of owner, parcel address, or parcel number. You may obtain a copy of your property tax bill here, pay your property tax online, and download a copy of your tax receipt. Mail: You may mail your taxes to: Bonnie Krattiger, Treasurer 8676 W Mineral Point Road Cross Plains, WI 53528 *For a receipt, please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. In person: Please check the Town Calendar for dates and times that Bonnie Krattiger, the Town Treasurer, will be collecting tax payments at the Town Hall. Assessment Wisconsin statutes require that property be taxed in proportion to its value. Thus, we must know the relative values of all properties in the town. This process is complicated by the fact that the only time we really know what a property is worth is the day it is sold from a willing seller to a willing buyer. To provide the town with a reasonable assessment, a professional assessing firm is hired by the town to provide periodic complete revaluations, and more frequent paper revaluations, maintain records on past assessments and change the records as new construction or demolition changes the property in the town. The assessor tries to place a value on each piece of property based on one of several possible methods. The most important of these methods, particularly for residential property, is comparison to recent sales of nearby properties. The assessor’s job is to proportionately value every parcel of real property, including improvements, in the town. Property owners in the town should make sure that their assessed valuation is appropriate. If it is too high, they are paying more than their share of taxes. If it is too low, all of the other residents of the town are paying more than their share. And if a parcel sells at a time that its assessment is too low, the discrepancy between the sale price and the actual price will probably be reflected in the town’s equalized valuation, and every property owner in the town will pay too much school tax, perhaps for years. (See Guide to the Equalization Process for more detail of how the process of equalizing valuation works). |