Badger HomeownerWisconsin home guide

Selling a House in Wisconsin

What the law asks of every seller, agent or no agent: the condition report, the lead paint disclosure, a written contract, the transfer fee at closing, and the tax rules on your gain. Plus what you'll walk away with.

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Not legal or tax advice. This page summarizes Wisconsin statutes, the state-approved offer form and IRS Publication 523. A real estate attorney or tax preparer can answer questions about your sale.

Seller's Net Calculator

What you'd take home from a sale, and whether the gain fits under the home-sale exclusion. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

Gain and the exclusion (optional)

Transfer fee: $3 per $1,000 of price under Wis. Stat. 77.22.(statute) Gain = sale price minus costs to sell, minus what you paid, your purchase closing costs and improvements; exclusion up to $250,000 or $500,000.(IRS Pub. 523) Commissions are whatever you agree to, so we don't fill one in.

The Steps

  1. Fill out the Real Estate Condition Report. Answer every item from what you know. The buyer must get it within 10 days after you accept an offer, and sooner is better: a buyer who has it before making the offer can't later back out over what it says.(Wis. Stat. 709.02)(709.05)
  2. If the home was built before 1978, prepare the lead paint disclosure. The EPA pamphlet, what you know about lead paint, any reports, and the federal warning statement in the contract.(EPA)
  3. Gather your records. Your property's assessment, tax bills, permits and recorded documents are public; see the property lookup guide and AccessDane. The condition report asks about permits, special assessments and work done without permits, so pull them now. In Madison, check for pending special assessments.
  4. List and market it. With an agent you sign a listing contract. On your own, your ads have to follow fair housing law.(Wis. Stat. 106.50)
  5. Accept an offer in writing. A sale of land has to be in a signed writing, and both spouses sign when a married person's homestead is sold.(Wis. Stat. 706.02)(706.02) Agents must use the state-approved forms, such as the WB-11 Residential Offer to Purchase, and anyone can read them on DSPS's site.(REEB 16)(DSPS)
  6. Get through the contingencies. Inspection, financing and appraisal deadlines are whatever the offer says. If you learn something before acceptance that changes a condition report answer, you have to give the buyer an amendment.(Wis. Stat. 709.035)
  7. Close. The deed, the electronic transfer return and the transfer fee go to the Register of Deeds, and taxes and utilities are prorated. See closing below.
  8. Report the sale if you need to. If you got a Form 1099-S or have gain over the exclusion, the sale goes on your tax return.(IRS Pub. 523)

The Real Estate Condition Report

Wisconsin's seller disclosure law is chapter 709 of the statutes. It covers homes with 1 to 4 dwelling units, including condos, and vacant land, and it applies to sales, exchanges and land contracts.(Wis. Stat. 709.01)(709.01)

  • Who is excused. Personal representatives, trustees, conservators and court-appointed or court-supervised fiduciaries who have never lived in the home.(709.01(2)) Transfers exempt from the transfer fee are also exempt, which covers foreclosures, deeds in lieu of foreclosure and transfers between spouses.(709.01)(77.25)
  • What you disclose. Defects you're aware of, meaning you have notice or knowledge of them.(709.03) A defect is something that would significantly hurt the value, significantly impair health or safety, or significantly shorten the life of the home if not fixed.(709.03) The form's sections cover structure and mechanicals, environmental issues, wells, septic and storage tanks, taxes, special assessments and permits, and land use.(709.03)
  • New in October 2026. The form now asks whether you know of an existing neighborhood improvement special assessment (item E3m, effective October 1, 2026).(709.03)
  • Complete means every item. The report counts only if you answer every item. You can use written information from an engineer, surveyor, pest control operator, contractor or public agency in place of your own answer.(709.02)(709.02)
  • It's not a warranty. The report isn't a warranty or a substitute for inspections.(709.03) You must act with honesty in fact, and you aren't liable for errors you didn't know about or that came from a public agency or a qualified professional.(709.06)(709.07)

When a buyer can back out

  • If the buyer gets no report within the 10 days, they can rescind in writing within 2 business days after the 10 days end.(709.05)
  • If the report arrives after the offer and discloses a defect, or is incomplete, the buyer can rescind within 2 business days of receiving it.(709.05)(709.05)
  • No rescission for a defect the buyer already knew about when making the offer, and rescission is the only remedy chapter 709 itself gives.(709.05)(709.05)
  • A buyer can waive the report and the right to rescind in writing, and closing ends the right.(709.08)

Buyers: for what each item means and the record that verifies it, see the condition report, item by item.

Lead Paint Disclosure (Homes Built Before 1978)

Federal law adds its own disclosure for homes built before 1978.(40 CFR 745)

  • Before the buyer is bound, give the EPA lead pamphlet and disclose any lead paint or lead hazards you know of, with any records or reports.(EPA)
  • The contract must include the federal Lead Warning Statement.(40 CFR 745)
  • The buyer gets 10 days (or another agreed period) to test for lead, which they can waive in writing.(40 CFR 745)
  • Keep the signed disclosure for at least 3 years after closing.(40 CFR 745)

For what lead paint means for work on an older home, see lead paint and asbestos in renovation and older homes.

Selling Without an Agent

  • No license needed for your own home. Wisconsin defines a broker as someone who negotiates real estate deals for another person, for pay, so an owner selling their own property isn't one.(Wis. Stat. 452.01) An attorney acting as an attorney isn't a broker either.(452.01)
  • Forms. Licensed agents must use the state-approved forms.(REEB 16.04) DSPS posts them, including the WB-11 Residential Offer to Purchase and the WB-44 counter-offer, on its forms library.(DSPS) A new WB-11 can be used from October 1, 2026 and is required for agents from January 1, 2027.(DSPS WB-11)
  • Fair housing applies to you. Wisconsin's open housing law expressly covers owner-occupied single-family homes, and it bars refusing to sell or advertising a preference based on a protected class.(Wis. Stat. 106.50)(106.50) Wisconsin's list includes lawful source of income, marital status, sexual orientation and age, among others.(106.50) The federal Fair Housing Act's exemption for some owner sales never covers discriminatory ads.(42 U.S.C. 3603)
  • Wells and septic. We found no statewide rule requiring a well or septic inspection at sale, but the condition report asks about well and septic problems.(709.03)
  • Smoke and CO alarms. The condition report reminds sellers that state law requires smoke detectors on every level, and carbon monoxide detectors on every level of most homes.(709.03) See smoke and CO alarms.

Closing and the Transfer Fee

  • Transfer fee. The seller pays 30 cents for each $100 of value or fraction of $100, or $3 per $1,000.(Wis. Stat. 77.22) DOR's example: $100,000 of value, $300 fee.(Wisconsin DOR) For a sale, value is the full price, including liens the buyer takes over.(77.21) The county keeps 20% and sends the rest to the state.(77.24)
  • Transfer return. The grantor and grantee both sign an electronic real estate transfer return (eRETR) on DOR's site, and the return and fee have to be in before the deed can be recorded.(77.22)(77.22) DOR's transfer return overview walks through it.
  • Common exemptions. Transfers between spouses; between parent and child (and some in-laws, stepchildren and grandchildren) for little or no money; by will or inheritance; foreclosures; and property worth $1,000 or less. The deed has to cite the exemption number.(77.25)(77.25)(77.22)
  • Recording in Dane County. The Register of Deeds needs the deed and the eRETR receipt, and charges $30 per document to record.(Dane County Register of Deeds)(Dane County fees) It doesn't supply deed forms.(Register of Deeds) See deeds and records in Dane County.
  • Prorations. On the WB-11, taxes, private and municipal charges, association dues and fuel are prorated at closing, with the seller responsible through the day before closing.(WB-11)(WB-11) Unless another box is checked, taxes are prorated on the prior year's net general taxes, so your last tax bill is the starting point.(WB-11)
  • The deed. The WB-11 default is a warranty deed.(WB-11)
  • Commissions. The new WB-11 handles paying the buyer's agent as an "Offer of Compensation" written into the offer.(WB-11) What you pay any agent is in your contracts, so the calculator leaves it to you.

Taxes on Your Gain

  • The exclusion. Up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly, is excluded if you qualify.(IRS Pub. 523)
  • The two tests. You owned the home for at least 24 months and lived in it as your main home for at least 24 months of the 5 years before the sale. The months don't have to be in a row. On a joint return, one spouse can meet the ownership test, but both must meet the residence test for $500,000.(IRS Pub. 523)(IRS Pub. 523)
  • Once every two years. You can't use it if you excluded gain on another home in the 2 years before this sale.(IRS Pub. 523) A partial exclusion may apply if you sold early for a job move, health or an unforeseeable event.(IRS Pub. 523)
  • Your gain. The sale price minus selling expenses, minus your adjusted basis.(IRS Pub. 523) Basis includes settlement costs you paid when you bought, such as transfer taxes and owner's title insurance, and improvements that add value or extend the home's life.(IRS Pub. 523)(IRS Pub. 523) Keep those records until 3 years after the return for the year you sell is due.(IRS Pub. 523)
  • Reporting. Report the sale if you have taxable gain or received Form 1099-S.(IRS Pub. 523) A loss on your home isn't deductible.(IRS Pub. 523)
  • Wisconsin. Wisconsin uses the same $250,000 and $500,000 exclusion and tests, and taxable gain goes on Schedule WD.(Wisconsin DOR)(Wisconsin DOR) Wisconsin also lets you exclude 30% of net capital gain on assets held more than a year.(DOR Schedule WD instructions)

Buying your next place? Compare renting and buying and the true monthly cost of owning in each town.

Questions

Can I sell my house without a realtor in Wisconsin?

Yes. Wisconsin's license law covers people who negotiate deals for someone else for pay, so an owner selling their own home doesn't need a license.(Wis. Stat. 452.01) You still owe the buyer a Real Estate Condition Report, the lead paint disclosure if the home was built before 1978, and a written, signed contract.

What is the Wisconsin real estate transfer fee?

30 cents for each $100 of value, or $3 per $1,000, paid by the seller when the deed is recorded. A $300,000 sale pays $900.(Wis. Stat. 77.22)(Wisconsin DOR)

Do I have to fill out a Real Estate Condition Report?

If you're selling a home with 1 to 4 dwelling units, almost always. The only sellers excused are personal representatives, trustees, conservators and court-supervised fiduciaries who never lived in the home, plus transfers exempt from the transfer fee, such as foreclosures and transfers between spouses.(Wis. Stat. 709.01)

Do I pay capital gains tax when I sell my house in Wisconsin?

Often not. If you owned and lived in the home as your main home for at least 2 of the 5 years before the sale, you can exclude up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 married filing jointly.(IRS Pub. 523) Wisconsin uses the same exclusion.(Wisconsin DOR) Gain above it is a capital gain on your federal and Wisconsin returns.

Who pays for what at closing in Wisconsin?

Whatever the offer says. On the state-approved WB-11 offer, the seller pays the transfer fee and prepares the deed by default, and property taxes, utilities and association dues are prorated to the day of closing.(WB-11)(WB-11)