Tax Attorney in Wisconsin

Yes. Wisconsin imposes a graduated personal income tax under Wis. Stat. ch. 71. For tax year 2026 the four brackets run from 3.50% at the bottom to 7.65% at the top, with the top bracket reaching individual filers with taxable income above roughly $315,000 (the threshold indexes annually). Federal income tax on Form 1040 with the IRS applies separately and in addition. Wisconsin also imposes a 7.9% corporate income and franchise tax under Wis. Stat. §71.23, and a 5% state sales tax under Wis. Stat. ch. 77 with a 0.5% county add-on in most counties and a 1.25% Premier Resort Area Tax in places like Wisconsin Dells, Lake Delton, Eagle River, Bayfield, and Stockholm.

The U.S. Tax Court designates Milwaukee as the Wisconsin place of trial. Sessions are held at the Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 517 E. Wisconsin Avenue, Room 498. A petitioner designates the preferred place of trial under Tax Court Rule 140; cases from Madison, Green Bay, Eau Claire, Wausau, La Crosse, Appleton, Kenosha, Racine, Janesville, Oshkosh, and elsewhere route to the Milwaukee session. The Tax Court travels a limited circuit, and Wisconsin petitioners outside metro Milwaukee should account for travel to Milwaukee when calendaring trial.

Under Wis. Stat. §71.77, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue generally has four years from the due date or filing date of the return (whichever is later) to issue an additional income or franchise tax assessment. The window extends to six years for omissions exceeding 25% of gross income and is unlimited for fraudulent or unfiled returns. Once a Wisconsin tax warrant has been docketed under Wis. Stat. §71.91, the Department has 20 years from docketing to collect, with renewal available. The federal IRS Collection Statute Expiration Date (10 years from assessment under IRC §6502) runs separately from any Wisconsin SOL.

Yes. The IRS examines federal income, employment, and excise tax. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue examines state personal income tax, corporate income and franchise tax, sales-and-use tax, withholding tax, and the manufacturing and merchant’s property tax. A Wisconsin resident or business can simultaneously face a federal IRS exam and a state audit. The two agencies share information through the federal-state information-exchange program, and a federal adjustment must be reported to Wisconsin within 180 days under Wis. Stat. §71.76.

Yes. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue operates a Petition for Compromise process under Wis. Stat. §71.92. The state compromise is available where the taxpayer cannot pay the full balance and the Department determines that compromise is fair and equitable based on income, asset, and financial-hardship review. The Department may also approve an installment-payment plan under the same statute. If the Department later finds — within three years of the compromise — that the taxpayer had ability to pay, it may reopen and demand the original balance. The federal IRS OIC under IRC §7122 remains the standard mechanism for resolving a federal balance.

Significantly, and differently from how it would in Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, or Minnesota. The Wisconsin Marital Property Act, Wis. Stat. ch. 766, treats most property acquired by either spouse during marriage as marital property owned equally by both. The IRS treats Wisconsin marital property as community property for federal income-tax purposes under Rev. Proc. 84-31 and Publication 555. That means each spouse’s wage and investment income is generally split 50/50 for federal reporting whether they file joint or separate returns. The community-property characterization shapes Innocent Spouse Relief analysis under IRC §6015 and IRC §66, asset allocation on Form 433-A(OIC), and the reach of federal tax liens against the non-debtor spouse’s marital-property interest. Wisconsin is the only state outside Louisiana and the western community-property block to operate this regime; the federal-tax consequences for Wisconsin married couples differ meaningfully from the rest of the upper Midwest.

Your CSED is calculated from the date of assessment, which appears on your IRS Account Transcript as Transaction Code 150 (return filed) or Transaction Code 290 (additional assessment). Add ten years, then add the days for any tolling events: pending OICs, CDP hearings, bankruptcy stays, and so on. The IRS publishes the CSED internally on its CC ACTRA transcript; we pull this for clients as part of every engagement. A debt assessed in 2016 may be approaching expiration in 2026, and aggressive collection enforcement near the CSED is common.

Probably yes for the federal trust-fund portion. IRC §6672 assesses a Trust Fund Recovery Penalty against any “responsible person” who “willfully” failed to pay over withheld taxes — the FICA and federal income-tax withholding portion of Form 941, not the employer’s share. The IRS conducts a Form 4180 interview to identify responsible persons. Anyone with check-signing authority, payroll-decision authority, or knowledge of the unpaid taxes can be assessed. On the Wisconsin side, unpaid state withholding under Wis. Stat. §71.83 carries similar personal-responsibility exposure for officers, members, and managers. Sheboygan-area machine shops, Fox Valley printing operations, Door County tourism restaurants, and Madison and Milwaukee small-business owners regularly face the federal-state combined exposure.

Yes. IRC §7345 authorizes the IRS to certify “seriously delinquent” tax debt — $62,000 for 2026, indexed for inflation — to the State Department, which may then deny passport renewal or revoke an active passport. The certification reverses when the debt is paid, an IA is in place, an accepted OIC is in force, an active CDP hearing is pending, or Innocent Spouse Relief is in process. Wisconsin executives at Harley-Davidson, Rockwell Automation, Oshkosh Corporation, Kohler, Mercury Marine, Generac, Fiserv, Epic Systems, and American Family Insurance who travel internationally face material exposure, and decertification can be processed in 30 days or less in many cases.

Wisconsin imposes a 5% state sales tax under Wis. Stat. ch. 77, with most of the 72 Wisconsin counties layering a 0.5% county sales tax under Wis. Stat. §77.70. Milwaukee County adds a 0.9% city/county combination above the base, producing an effective 5.9% rate within the City of Milwaukee. The Premier Resort Area Tax under Wis. Stat. §77.994 adds 1.25% in Wisconsin Dells, Lake Delton, Eagle River, Bayfield, and Stockholm, producing rates above 6.75% in those resort communities. The companion 5% use tax applies to purchases on which sales tax was not collected. Personal liability for unpaid Wisconsin sales tax can attach to officers and members under Wis. Stat. §77.60(9), paralleling the federal Trust Fund Recovery Penalty under IRC §6672.

Wisconsin Schedule F filers and ginseng or cranberry growers face the same federal options every taxpayer has — Installment Agreement under IRC §6159, Offer in Compromise under IRC §7122, Currently Not Collectible status, and Section 1301 farm-income averaging where a high year follows several lean years. The asset-equity calculation on Form 433-A often turns on the realizable value of dairy herds, equipment, and Schedule F crop inventory, all of which require specialized farm valuation. Federal Farm Service Agency loan-balance offsets under Treasury Offset Program apply on the collection side. Wisconsin’s Department of Revenue runs a parallel state-tax stream that the federal resolution does not automatically resolve.

The Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission, established under Wis. Stat. §73.01, is the dedicated state forum for Wisconsin tax disputes. It is the final administrative authority for hearings and determinations on questions of law and fact under Wisconsin tax law — including income tax, corporate franchise tax, sales-and-use tax, withholding, and certain property-tax matters such as the manufacturing and merchant’s assessment. A taxpayer files a petition with the Commission within 60 days after receiving a Department of Revenue Notice of Action on Redetermination. The Commission divides into a Small Claims Division (for disputes under the statutory threshold) and the Regular Division. Appeals from the Commission go to circuit court under Wis. Stat. §73.015. The Commission does not hear federal IRS matters — those go to the U.S. Tax Court.

Federal tax-resolution fees vary by matter complexity. A straightforward Installment Agreement typically falls between $1,500 and $3,500. A full Offer in Compromise with Form 433 financial analysis runs $4,000 to $7,500. Audit defense depends on the audit type and the number of issues. A U.S. Tax Court petition with case workup and trial preparation generally starts at $6,000 and rises with complexity. VTL provides a written fee quote after the free consultation. Cal Bar Rule 7.1 prohibits comparisons claiming we are cheaper or faster than competitors without verifiable substantiation, so we do not market on price.

Yes. Communications between you and a licensed attorney for the purpose of seeking legal advice are protected by federal common-law attorney-client privilege, subject to the usual exceptions (crime-fraud, waiver, etc.). The narrower federally-authorized tax practitioner privilege under IRC §7525 applies to non-attorney CPAs and EAs but does not extend to criminal-tax matters. An attorney handling your tax case retains the broader privilege that survives criminal investigation.

A Tax Court trial is a bench trial — no jury — before a Judge or Special Trial Judge of the U.S. Tax Court. In Milwaukee, sessions are held in Room 498 of the Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse at 517 E. Wisconsin Avenue. The session opens with calendar call where the Court hears scheduling issues. Most cases on the calendar settle before trial; the IRS Office of Chief Counsel attorney meets with petitioner’s counsel during the days before trial. If trial proceeds, the petitioner bears the burden of proof on most issues, presents evidence and witness testimony, and the Court issues a written opinion typically within several months of trial. Small-tax-case procedure under IRC §7463 applies to deficiencies of $50,000 or less per year and uses a simplified evidentiary standard.

Yes, generally. IRC §6331(k)(1) suspends levy action while an offer is pending and for 30 days after a rejection, and during any timely-filed Appeals review of a rejection. The IRS will not levy on you while a processable OIC is being evaluated. However, the IRS may still file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien during the OIC pendency to protect its position. CSED is also tolled during the pendency. A poorly-prepared OIC that gets returned (not rejected) does not provide the same protection — processability matters.

For the Small Claims Division of the Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission, taxpayers may represent themselves or be represented by an attorney, CPA, or other authorized representative under the Commission’s rules. For Regular Division matters and any appeal from the Commission to circuit court under Wis. Stat. §73.015, an attorney admitted in Wisconsin is generally required. VTL handles the federal side of overlapping matters and coordinates with Wisconsin counsel where Tax Appeals Commission litigation or circuit-court appeal is required. Many Department of Revenue disputes resolve at the redetermination stage without ever reaching the Commission.