• Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Bills are mailed out by the third week of December.
  • Real Estate Taxes are payable in full by January 31, or the first installment as shown on your tax bill by January 31.
  • Real Estate Tax payments are made at the Town Hall through January 31.
  • The remaining balance, or second installment is paid to the Dane County Treasurer by July 31.
  • All real estate tax payments made after January 31 must go to the office of the Dane County Treasurer.
  • Do not combine any other payment with your real estate taxes.
 

Index

 2026 Open Book, and Board of Review Information

2026 Assessment Year - Notice of Open Book and Board of Review

The approximate date of the Notice of Changed Assessment being sent to property owners is expected to be on 4/1/2026. You will only receive a notice if the Town Assessor has made a change to the total assessment of your real estate property. As always it will be accompanied by a letter giving the time and dates of both the Open Book and Board of Review process.  

Please also notice that the Assessor has certain statutory authority to enter land as described in state law (secs. 943.13 and 943.15, Wis. Stats.). The ability to enter land is subject to several qualifications and limitations, as described within the foregoing statutes. Copies of the applicable statutes can be obtained at public depositories throughout the State of Wisconsin, and from the Wisconsin State Legislature website or a copy may be obtained from the municipal clerk upon payment of applicable copying charges.

 

OPEN BOOK PERIOD:  The Town of Middleton assessment roll for the year 2026 will be open for examination from 4/1/2026 to 4/23/2026 at the Town Hall, 7555 W. Old Sauk Road, during normal business hours.  Instructional materials about the assessment, how to file an objection, and Board of Review procedures under Wisconsin law will be available at Town Hall and can also be download from links found at the above sidebar box (Property Tax & Assessment Tools). Town Assessor Paul Musser will be available in person on April 23, 2026 between 4 PM and 6 PM at the Town of Middleton Hall to discuss your assessment.  If you are not able to come in on April 28th you may contact the Town Assessor by phone by calling (608) 712-0236 or by email at musser.appraisal@gmail.com during the Open Book period (from 4/1/2026 to 4/23/2026) to make an appointment to discuss your assessment.  You may also contact him with any questions regarding the revaluation or any other assessment related questions.

 

BOARD OF REVIEW  2026 Board of Review 

The Town Board of Review meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 12, 2026 at the Town Hall, 7555 W. Old Sauk Road, Verona, WI 53593 beginning at 6:00 PM with social distancing practices in place.

 

PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR INFORMATION ON THE BOARD OF REVIEW PROCESS

 

 

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 Open Book

Open Book allows property owners who wish to dispute their assessment a time to meet with the assessor to discuss concerns they may have on the assessment of their property.   You can contact Town Assessor, Paul Musser via email at  musser.appraisal@gmail.com or by calling (608) 712-0236.   If the property owner is unable to resolve their concerns with the Assessor at Open Book, they have the option of appearing at the Board of Review.
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 Board of Review

Board of Review provides property owners an opportunity to contest their property assessment and address any issues not resolved at Open Book.  Anyone wishing to file an appeal on their property assessment and appear  before the Board of Review needs to provide a written or oral notice of intent to file objection to the Town Clerk's Office, 48 hours prior to the first scheduled meeting of Board of Review, un­der state law (sec. 70.47(7)(a), Wis. Stats.). They must also complete the entire Objection to Real (or Personal) Property Assessment.  Information regarding the BOR process and forms may be found at the Wisconsin Department of Revenue website HERE.  Without the form being submitted in a timely manner and fully completed, the Board will not hear your objection. 

The initial Board of Review is scheduled in the spring with dates and times posted at normal posting locations (Town Hall, Voss Park and Settlers Prairie Park), published in the Middleton Times-Tribune, and sent to residents that are subscribers to the Town email list.

Once the number of assessment challenges are known, a second (or third) Board of Review meeting is established with specific times for residents to present their case.  
 

To get more information on this and other questions relating to taxes, please visit the Wisconsin Department of Revenue website: https://www.revenue.wi.gov/Pages/FAQS/home-pt.aspx

 

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 What if I don't agree with the assessed value used on my taxes?

  • Challenges to assessments are handled by a specific procedure involving a set series of steps.  The process is outlined in the Wisconsin Department of Revenue instructional document titled Guide for Property Owners that may be found at the above sidebar box (Property Tax & Assessment Tools).
  • To have a conversation about your home's value contact the Town's Assessor, by email: Paul Musser or at (608) 712-0236.
  • Current assessment values are reflected on the AccessDane and Assessor Data websites and property tax bills.
  • Many variables are used to assign values to residences beyond square footage, age of home, and room counts.  Conditions of homes vary as well as degree of improvements made to existing structures.
  • The appeal process starts with the Assessor who is responsible for assigning property values in the area.  You will need to bring comparable property values that you researched in determining the proposed adjustment to your property value or alternate assessments by a qualified assessor. 
  • If not satisfied with the discussion with the Assessor, the next step is to appeal to the Town Board of Review.  The Board of Review meeting is held annually, normally in the spring of the year.  The date of the meeting is published in the Town newsletter and in other authorized locations.
  • If not satisfied with the outcome of the Board of Review meeting, the next step is to either appeal to the Department of Revenue or to bring the matter before a Circuit Court.  At each step, the person(s) challenging the assessment need to have documentation that supports their position that the value of their property needs to be adjusted.
  • The above summary is too brief to cover all aspects and forms required during the appeal process.  If you have questions, contact the Assessor about the discussion phase, the Town Clerk about the Board of Review process, or the WI Department of Revenue about steps beyond the Board of Review.
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 Assessed Value vs. Equalized Value

Assessed value
The value the local assessor places on each real property parcel and on each individual’s taxable personal property.
Under state law, all non-agricultural assessments must be based on the property’s market value as of January 1.
State law recognizes that every municipality cannot be assessed exactly at market value each year. The law requires
that each municipality is within 10 percent of market value once every five years. Assessed values are used to
distribute the municipality’s tax burden among the individual property owners.


Equalized value
It is necessary for the DOR to determine an equalized value by taxing jurisdiction. Equalized values are needed
since property is assessed in different taxing districts at different percentages of market value. Uniform values
are called equalized values because local levels of assessment are equalized and all non-agricultural property are
valued on an equal basis, namely 100 percent of market value.
Note: The assessed value is important for maintaining equity among individual taxpayers within the municipality
while the equalized value maintains equity between municipalities and counties.


Uses of equalized value
Equalized values are used for apportioning county property taxes, public school taxes, vocational school taxes and
for distributing property tax relief. Apportioning is the process of dividing the tax levies for each taxing jurisdiction
among all municipalities containing territory in the jurisdiction, based on each district’s total value. For example, a
state levy is apportioned among all municipalities in the state; an individual county’s levy among all municipalities
in the county; and a school levy among the municipalities in the school district.
The value of all property in different municipalities (but in the same taxing jurisdiction) must be known to calculate
how much of the total tax levy to apportion to each municipality. The values determined by local assessors cannot
be used to apportion levies among different municipalities. To do so would violate the rule of uniformity, since the
assessed values are not comparable among municipalities, whereas the equalized values are all at market value.

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 Escrow Checks, Over Payments, & Refunds

Escrow Checks:

    • Made out to the Town and the property holder: the check should be endorsed by the property holder when brought to the Town Hall for payment of property taxes.
    • Made out for less than the tax bill? 
      • Enclose a personal check to make up the difference.
    • Made out for more than the tax bill? 
      • Have the financial institution re-issue the check for the exact amount due.
      • If payment is submitted as an overage, a $5.00 processing fee is assessed (reducing the refunded amount) to offset the cost of handling. 
  • Over Payments & Refunds:
    • Any tax payments that generate a refund will not be processed until the county processes all payments in March. The county has requested that the Town wait until the Town's tax collection period is over to validate all potential refunds.
    • Therefore: Overage amounts are not refunded until the end of March following the date of payment.
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 Can I combine multiple parcels into one tax bill?

To have multiple parcels assessed as one, contact the assessor, Paul Musser  -  Phone (608) 712-0236. 

  • If the properties are assessed together, there can be one assessment notice and one tax bill, but the properties will continue to be listed individually in the assessment roll.
  • To combine real estate parcels to create one assessment parcel, please contact the Register of Deeds office so a review of the parcels can be made. 
Sometimes due to taxing district boundaries (for example, school districts or jurisdictions), parcels cannot be combined.
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 Why is the property tax bill in the previous owner's name?

Assessments are based on how the property existed on January 1 of the given tax year.  The tax bill will be sent to the person that owned the property on the date the tax bills were created.  If the property was split, all tax bills will still be sent to the individual of record as of the date the bills are created.  Newly created deeds and parcels are assessable and taxable in the following tax year.  If you have questions, contact Town Hall at (608) 833-5887.

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 Description of Town Funds

General Fund: General Government, Public Safety (Police, EMS, Fire), Public Works, Recreation, Conservation and Development

Debt Service Fund: All General Obligation Debt Payments

Capital Projects Fund: Capital Expenses (street projects, vehicle & equipment purchases)

 

2025/2026 Town Fund Summary (Levies):

General Fund:                 $2,200,103

Debt Service Fund:          $   935,640

Capital Projects Fund:     $   312,000

TOTAL TAX LEVY            $3,447,743

 

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Graphic_Tax_Insert

 Where does all my property tax money go?

There are four taxing jurisdictions that make up the total of your tax bill.  The chart to the right shows where your tax dollars go for the 2025 Property Taxes.


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