Frequently Asked Questions

No, we only send the original tax bill to the owner on record. We may provide a file of tax bill information to mortgage companies upon their request. Please contact your mortgage company if you have questions regarding how your property tax escrow funds are distributed.

Aside from a post office delivery issue, if you recently purchased the home or business, you may not have received a tax bill.  Our mailing address information is based on what the Milwaukee County Register of Deeds sends to our Assessor’s office.  We generally have all recorded changes from the County through October.  To obtain a copy of the tax bill, see question number 4.

You may find your tax bill by using the Milwaukee County Public Portal.  Sign in as a guest by accepting the terms and clicking on the “Accept and Sign In” button.  Search for your property using only one criteria. The 10 digit parcel number works best but the address, using the house number and street name only (for example, for 9999 S. 27^th Street just use 9999 for the house number and 27 for the street) OR your name works well too. Choose the line with your property and tax year you are looking for. Then click the blue taxes tab, and finally, click on the “Print Tax Bill” button.

Yes, use the Milwaukee County Public Portal.   Sign in as a guest by accepting the terms and clicking on the “Accept and Sign In” button.  Search for your property using only one criteria. The 10 digit parcel number works best but the address, using the house number and street name only (for example, for 9999 S. 27^th Street just use 9999 for the house number and 27 for the street) OR your name works well too. Choose the line with your property and tax year you are looking for. Then click the blue taxes tab, and finally, click on the “Print Tax Summary” button. Your payment(s) will be listed at the bottom of the sheet.

A receipt will be sent to you by mail if you enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request or payment.  We can also email a receipt to you if you make note of your email address.  We DO NOT automatically mail out a receipt if payment is made directly to us by your mortgage company unless there is an unpaid balance unrelated to an installment amount.

You may print a receipt from home using the Milwaukee County Public Portal. Sign in as a guest to the portal by accepting the terms and clicking on the “Accept and Sign In” button. Search for your property using only one criteria, either the 10 digit parcel number, OR address, using the house number and street name only (for example, for 9999 S. 27^th Street just use 9999 for the house number and 27 for the street) OR your name.  Choose the line with your property and tax year you are looking for.  Then click the blue taxes tab, and finally, click on the print tax summary button.

(1) The Treasurer’s Office at City Hall, 7325 W. Forest Home Ave, in room 103. 

(2) ONLY IN DECEMBER - Tri City in the Pick N Save Metro Market at 4279 South 76 Street.  Cash and check payments only are accepted at Tri City.  You do not need to be a customer of the bank and a receipt will be provided.  The bank will need to see a copy of your tax bill or payment stub to process your payment.   

******If you cannot make your payment during business hours, Greenfield City Hall at 7325 West Forest Home Ave. has a secured deposit box located on the south side of the building to drop off check payments.

Personal checks, cashier checks, money orders, cash and credit/debit cards are accepted at Greenfield City Hall Treasurer’s Office.  Please add your phone number to your personal checks so we may contact you if we have a question or issue with your payment.  Credit/debit card payments incur a 2.55% transaction fee (minimum of $2.00), except for Visa debit payments which are charged a flat $3.95.

Yes, credit and debit card payments can be made online and in person at the Treasurer’s Office in City Hall.  There is a processing fee for credit and debit card payments both online and at the Treasurer’s Office of 2.55% transaction fee (minimum of $2.00), except for Visa debit payments which are charged a flat $3.95. E-check payments must be made online. The e-check online processing fee is $ 1.50.

Online payment directions are as follows:

Use the Milwaukee County Public Portal and sign in as a guest by accepting the terms and clicking on the “Accept and Sign In” button.  If necessary, click the blue, “More Search Fields” button on the search screen.

Enter one type of search criteria.  The 10-digit parcel number works best.  If searching by address, use only the house number (for example, 9999) and the street name without direction or type (for example 34, not S. 34^th St. or Main, not S. Main St.).  Then click the blue “Search” button.  On the resulting listing, be sure to choose your property listing for 2025 if paying the most current bill.  On the following screen, click on the “Taxes” tab in blue lettering.  

To start the payment process, from the tax screen click the “Add to Cart” and then the “View Cart” blue buttons. If making a partial payment, on the cart screen, click the blue “Pay” button and choose your payment option or type in an amount in the “Other” area.  Then hit the “Apply” button.  When the amount in the Payment Total box matches what you are planning to pay, click the blue “Checkout” button.  Choose your payment type on the next screen by clicking on it and then follow the prompts. 

The current owner of a property is responsible for the taxes. If the property was in existence as of January 1, you are responsible for the taxes for the full year. Please check your closing papers from the sale of the home or your title company to find out how the taxes were handled.  Usually, taxes are pro-rated at the time of closing. They may have been deducted from the sales price as a credit to you.

Yes, in order to process your payment, the escrow check needs to be signed by all payees.  This should be done on the back of the escrow check near the top.  Failure to do so could create delays in processing and possible tax delinquency.

If the check was made out to you and the City, a refund will be processed by our Accounting Department, and a check will be issued to you after 15 business days.   If your mortgage company sent the overage payment directly to us or the check you submit is only made out to the city, the refund will be sent to the mortgage company. 

Tri City Bank in the Pick N Save Metro Market at 4279 South 76th Street will issue an immediate refund for overpayments from escrow checks.  Cashier’s checks will be issued to all payees listed on the check for the amount of the refund.  You do not have to be a customer of the bank for this service but must bring a copy of your tax bill or payment stub with your payment.  The refund check may be cashed immediately at the bank with a valid ID when all owner payees are present.

No. An escrow check must be applied in full to your tax bill.

December 31 is not a property tax due date, but some owners choose to pay in December for income tax purposes.  To ensure a payment receipt is dated in December, a mailed payment to the City of Greenfield must be in a properly addressed envelope with a December postmark from a mail delivery service, such as the United States Postal Service, Fed Ex, and United Parcel Service (UPS).  Mail received in our office in January having this proper December dated postmark will be processed as December payments.

We process payments as quickly as possible.  Please allow one week for your check to clear your account.  If more than one week has passed and your check has not cleared your account, please contact the Treasurer's Office at 414-329-5259 or treasurerdept@greenfieldwi.gov. 

Some mortgage companies send escrow checks to a third party tax service for distribution.  That third party then forwards the funds to the City.  In this case, your mortgage company may tell you the check was issued early in December, but we may not receive the payment for your taxes from the third party until late December or even January.

The installment due dates are January 31, April 30, and June 30.  The installment amounts listed on your tax bill are the minimums due by those dates.  You may pay more or earlier than the dates listed.  For each installment, please include your tax payment stub or include a note with your parcel number or address of the property you are paying for and a contact phone number.  Mailed installment payments will be posted promptly, and a receipt will be mailed.  A return envelope will be enclosed with the receipt if another installment is due.

No, the City of Greenfield does not send out reminders regarding installments or for remaining unpaid balances due. Please mark your calendar to remind yourself of the due dates.

Any payment not received by the State mandated 5 business day grace period after the due date results in delinquency of the entire unpaid tax balance and loss of the installment option for that tax bill.  In addition, all delinquent taxes accumulate interest and penalty charges from February 1 at 1.5% per month, regardless of when it becomes delinquent.

If by January 31st, you have paid equal to or more than the total of your January and April installment, you do have the option of paying the remaining balance by the June 30th due date.

If you haven’t already, examine your tax bill to determine if you could meet the tax installment amounts by their due dates, rather than paying the total of the bill by January 31.  Also, check with the Finance Office for the official end of the State mandated five business day grace period after the due date.  If those options still don’t help, it is best to pay as much as you can and as soon as you can.  All delinquent property tax accumulates interest and penalty charges from February 1 at 1.5% for each month on the entire unpaid principal balance.  Therefore, any payments made will help reduce the amount of interest and penalty accrued.  The City of Greenfield will only be able to accept payments through the last business day in July when all delinquent real estate taxes will be turned over to Milwaukee County for collection. 

Every taxable parcel in the State of Wisconsin that contains a real property improvement qualifies for the First Dollar Credit.  This includes business, commercial and private property.  This credit will be automatically applied to all qualifying properties.  If the property tax bill has an amount shown in the “Assessed Value Improvements” box, then that property should receive the credit.  Unlike the Lottery and Gaming Credit, the property does not need to be the primary residence of the owner, and an owner may receive the First Dollar Credit on more than one property.

The Lottery and Gaming Credit provides property tax relief in the form of a deduction on qualifying parcels’ bills.  The amount of the credit varies by school district.  A property is eligible for the credit only if it is used as the primary residence of the owner as of January 1 of the tax year.  The credit is printed near the middle of the bill across from “Lottery and Gaming Credit” in the net tax column.  If no amount is listed in the Lottery and Gaming Credit line, the property did not receive it.

Perhaps you do not qualify for the credit.  Or you may have purchased a home that was either not a primary residence for the previous owner or a completed Lottery and Gaming Credit Application was not  submitted for the property.  Please see questions 25 - 27 below for eligibility requirements and instructions on how to change a property’s Lottery and Gaming Credit status.

To qualify for the Lottery and Gaming Credit for a tax year, you must be a Wisconsin resident, own the dwelling, and use it as your primary residence as of January 1 of that year.  Primary residence is where you live for more than 6 months out of a year.  When you are away, it is the home to which you intend to return to.  You can only have one primary residence.  Rental properties and businesses are not eligible for the credit.

If a home was purchased after the January 1 date and there is currently no credit, it may be claimed only if the new owner can attest that to the best of their knowledge the previous owner used the home as their primary residence as of January 1.  If the previous owner did not use the property as their primary residence, the new owner should claim the credit for the following year when January 1 primary residence is accurate.

If your property is eligible for the Lottery and Gaming Credit and did not receive it on the tax bill, a completed application must be submitted to get it added to the tax account.  You may complete the LC-100 form by January 31 and submit it to the Greenfield Treasurer’s Office at 7325 W. Forest Home Ave., Room 103, Greenfield, WI, 53220 or via e-mail to TreasurerDept@greenfieldwi.gov.  You may also apply for the credit online through the State of Wisconsin Department of Revenue’s online portal.  If you missed the January 31 deadline, a late claim can be filed through the State’s portal until October 1.

Removing a property’s ineligible Lottery and Gaming Credit will avoid having to pay it back to the State of Wisconsin’s Department of Revenue in the future.  You may complete the Wisconsin Lottery and Gaming Removal Request form, the LC-400, and submit it to the City of Greenfield Treasurer’s Office, 7325 W. Forest Home Ave., Room 103, Greenfield, WI, 53220 or via e-mail to TreasurerDept@greenfieldwi.gov. It may also be removed through the State of Wisconsin Department of Revenue’s online portal.  

Delinquent balances from the quarterly sewer or water bills at the time of tax preparation will be placed on the owner’s tax bill as special charges, along with an additional 10% penalty.  To inquire about a sewer account, please call the Greenfield Treasurer’s Office at (414) 329-5259 or access the online sewer site using your 5 digit sewer account number. To inquire about a water account, please call Milwaukee Water Works at (414) 286-2830 or access their online water portal with your water account number.  

Trash and recycling services are provided for single family homes, apartments under 5 units, and some condominium complexes.  The City of Greenfield uses Johns Disposal Services (phone number 1-888-473-4701).  The fee for this service is listed as a Special Charge under the Net Property Tax Amount on the tax bill.   

Please use one of the options below to obtain more information on trash and recycling collection.

• The Department of Public Works’ web page 
• The city’s "Recreator” magazine online, and which is mailed to all homes four times a year.  
• Handouts are kept in the literature wall racks at City Hall in the first floor hallway and in room 203.