Tower Assessment and Taxation

​​February 28, 2024

To: Assessors, Municipal Clerks, Real Property Listers

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR), State and Local Finance Division is providing information on the assessment of towers. Assessors should complete the following steps to determine assessment jurisdiction, taxability, and listing and valuation.

1. Determine Assessment Jurisdiction – State or Local

  • Contact DOR's Manufacturing & Utility Bureau district office at mfgtelco@wisconsin.gov 
  • DOR may:
    • Currently assess and tax the tower – no action required by local assessors​
    • Review and determine the tower qualifies for state assessment and taxation and take jurisdiction for 2024
      • Local assessors must provide DOR with any requested additional tower information
    • Confirm the tower does not qualify for state assessment and that local assessment and taxation is the proper jurisdiction
      • Local assessors continue to step 2

2. Determine Taxability – Real or Personal Property

  • Apply state law and case law to determine whether a tower is taxable real property or exempt personal property
  • State law
    • Real property is defined in sec. 70.03, Wis. Stats.
      • Sec. 70.17(3), Wis. Stats., requires real property assessment for manufactured and mobile homes, not otherwise exempt from taxation under s. 66.0435 (3), buildings, improvements, and fixtures on leased lands, buildings, improvements, and fixtures on exempt lands, buildings, improvements, and fixtures on forest croplands, and buildings, improvements, and fixtures on managed forest lands
    • Personal property is defined in sec. 70.04, Wis. Stats.
  • Case law
    • Provides a three-part test to determine real property – see pages 18-2 to 18-7 of the 2024 Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual
    • Actual physical annexation to the real estate – is the tower
      • Attached to a foundation of a structure, and/or built into a structure?
      • Interconnected through electrical systems?
    • Adaptation to the use or purpose to which the realty is devoted
      • Is the tower and property in question adapted to the same purpose of the real property?
    • Intention on the part of the person creating the annexation to make the item a permanent part of the realty
    • Would the average person under similar circumstances intend to make the tower permanent? The "intent" is judged by how the tower is adapted to the principal use of the land and buildings.
    • Is the objective and presumed intent, of an ordinary person, that the tower and integrated equipment are permanent parts of the real property?
    • Note: Page 18-7 – the All City Communications case has facts and analysis that apply to towers on leased land
      • One of the reasons that the court found the tower in this case was personal property was due to the relatively short lease term (10 years) and the rights of the parties to terminate the lease and have the tower removed from the property at the end of this 10-year lease
      • If leases are in place for the land underlying the towers in question are dissimilar from the lease analyzed in the All City decision, the results of the analysis could be different, such that the towers could be determined to be real property, as fixtures or improvements to real property
  • Determination
    • If personal property, the tower is exempt
    • If real property, continue to step 3

3. List and Value

  • Option A: list and value the tower with the land parcel where the tower is located
    • Update the existing parcel's real property listing and valuation to include the land and all buildings, improvements, fixtures and rights and privileges appertaining thereto. Include with the listing and valuation.
  • Option B: list and value the tower separately on a new parcel
    • Review existing recorded information
      • Ex: recorded leases and easements may already exist with a legal description and allow for creation of a tax parcel
      • Contact the County Real Property Lister (RPL) who can determine if an existing description on a recorded document is adequate for parcel creation
      • If the RPL confirms an adequate existing legal description, use the Buildings, Fixtures and Improvements (BFI) recording document to cite and attach the existing recorded description for recording with the Register of Deeds
    • State laws provide a variety of ways to create a separate parcel if an existing legal description is not available – certain processes are a land division (certified survey map) and others are not (metes and bounds description) – see pages 18-10 to 18-12 of the Manual
      • Sec. 706.05(2m(b)3, Wis. Stats., allows abbreviated legal description for descriptions of property under sec. 70.17 (3),Wis. Stats.
      • A recommended abbreviated description contains town, range, section, quarter section, quarter-quarter, or Government Lot number and reference to the land parcel number/document where the improvement is located.
    • Separate tax bills for the year when separate parcels are created is possible

Resources

Questions?

WI Act 12 Information– provides topical contact information.

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