City of Watertown current year taxes:

• Due to, and payable to, City of Watertown through July 31.
• For current year tax balance, or questions, call City of Watertown Treasurer at 920-262-4007.
• Current year tax information is not available on the Dodge County website until early August - AFTER the city closes current year collections, uploads those to Dodge County, and completes their current year settlement process.
• Due dates for City of Watertown's three-installment payment option:
  • January 31 - first installment due on or before.
  • April 30 - second installment due on or before.
  • July 31 - third installment due on or before.
  • If any installment payment is late;
    • Any unpaid current year taxes becomes delinquent and interest begins to accrue on the unpaid tax amount.
    • In this situation, call the City of Watertown Treasurer for correct balance due if paying before August 1.
    • After August 1, delinquent taxes are due to Dodge County. 

Current year tax year paid in December or January:

• First installment payments are due January 31.
• Payable to, and collected by, your Local Treasurer.
• Mail to your local treasurer at mailing address on your tax bill.
• Check with your local treasurer if they offer electronic payment options.
• For local payment locations and hours, see information enclosed with your tax bill.
• ANY AMOUNT PAID in December or January is also paid to your local treasurer- second installments, full amounts, or any amount in between.
• Current year tax information is not available on the Dodge County website until early January for December collections, and early February for January collections, AFTER the municipality uploads their collections to Dodge County.

Postmarks determine if your first installment is timely or delinquent:

• A minimum of the first installment is due to your local treasurer by January 31.
• January postmarked mail is always timely.
• February postmarked mail is not always timely, depending on when payments are received:
  • Payments received and "IN HAND", during the five-business-day statutory Grace Period are late, but no interest and penalty is charged.
  • Payments not received and "NOT IN HAND" during the Grace Period means all unpaid taxes are delinquent. 
  • See Delinquent Taxes section on this webpage for more information.

Current tax year Second Installment Payments:

• Payable to, and collected by, Dodge County Treasurer.
• Mailed to: Dodge County Treasurer, 127 E. Oak St., Juneau, WI 53039.

Wisconsin Personal Property Changes Effective January 1, 2024, starting with the 2024 Tax Roll.

• Personal property tax no longer exists due to the enactment of 2023 Wisconsin Act 12.
• Previously taxed personal property is now:
  • taxed as real property and incorporated into an existing real estate bill,
  • or was assigned a newly-created parcel number, and will receive a new real estate bill.
• Delinquent personal property tax:
  • Remains due to your Local Treasurer.
  • Contact your local treasurer for payment location or mailing address.
• Questions about your previously taxed personal property?
  • Contact your Local Assessor with any current or prior years' assessments. 
  • Your local assessor creates assessments and is the only ones who can change it. 

Delinquent Taxes:

• Payable to, and collected by, Dodge County Treasurer,
• EXCEPT City of Watertown who collects delinquent current year taxes through July 31.
• On September 1, parcels with current year delinquent tax are statutorily issued a certificate number (lien). This lien is voided when the taxes are paid.
• The law also requires the county treasurer mail property owners a "Notice of Issuance of Tax Certificate" after certificate numbers are issued. This means that no sooner than three years later, the tax foreclosure process begins.
• Dodge County follows the In rem tax foreclosure process, outlined in  Wisconsin State Statutes Chapter 75 - Land Sold For Taxes .

Delinquent tax rules are set forth by Wisconsin State Statutes:

• Missed 1st Installment:
  • If the first installment is not paid on or before January 31, the entire amount of the taxes remaining unpaid is delinquent as of February 1st. 
  • Wisconsin State Statutes 74.12(7)
    
    
• Missed 2nd Installment:
  • If the second installment is not paid on or before 5 working days after July 31, the entire amount of unpaid taxes is delinquent.
  • On August 1, interest and penalty are charged,  back to February 1st.
  • Wisconsin State Statutes 74.11(8)

• Tax Bill Not Received:
  • We cannot forgive interest and penalty for any reason.
  • Wisconsin State Statues 74.09(6) states: "Failure to receive a property tax bill does not affect the validity of the general property taxes, special taxes, special charges and special assessments levied on the tax collection of delinquent general property taxes, special taxes, special charges, and special assessments." 

• Interest and Penalty Rates:
  • All delinquent taxes are subject to interest of 1% per month (fraction of a month counts as a whole month) from February 1 until paid, per Wisconsin State Statutes 74.47, and an additional 0.5% per month penalty per county ordinance.
  • Interest and penalty from February 1 - August 1 is 10.5%.

• If you mail your payment near the end of the month, we recommend you walk it in to the Post Office and ask them to hand postmark your envelope to ensure that it has a current month’s postmarked date.
• When sending payments, please include the tax bill payment stub (on the bottom of your tax bill) so the payment will be applied to the correct parcel.
• If you require a receipt, please send a self addressed stamped envelope, otherwise receipts will not be mailed. Payment details are also available on the Land Information Search Tool. 

CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS THROUGH THIRD PARTY VENDOR. FEES APPLY.

• Credit/Debit cards (online and phone) fee is approximately 3.0%.
• Electronic checks (online only) fee is approximately $3.00.
• www.acipayonline.com
• 800-272-9829
• Use Jurisdiction Code: 5936.

ALL electronic payment options will be turned off 12/1/2025-2/13/2026.

• Delinquent taxes must be paid in person or mailed to Dodge County Treasurer. 
• Pay 2025 Tax Year bills to your Local Treasurer.
• Refer to the "coupon" at the bottom of your tax bill for payment information.
  
• Does your Local Treasurer accept electronic payments? Contact them.
• DO NOT MAIL TO, OR PAY, 2025 TAXES TO THE DODGE COUNTY TREASURER DURING THIS TIME. IF RECEIVED, WE WILL MAIL THESE PAYMENTS BACK TO YOU.