Wisconsin payroll taxes for employers (2026)

Wisconsin payroll quirks, starting with the rate table

DWD sorts every employer by taxable payroll, under $500,000 or $500,000 and over, and the rates differ slightly between the two groups. Totals include a solvency surcharge: 0.00% to 1.30% for the smaller group and 0.05% to 1.30% for the larger. All-in rates run from 0.00% (or 0.05%) to 12.00%, where the top is 10.70% basic plus the 1.30% surcharge. Schedule D is in effect.

• 2027 is already set: Schedule D again, a $14,000 base, totals of 0.00% to 12.00% and the same 3.05% and 3.25% new non-construction rates. The 2027 construction rate is still to be determined.
• Monthly pay with a 31-day limit: Wis. Stat. 109.03(1) requires pay at least monthly, covering wages earned up to a day no more than 31 days before payday. Logging and farm labor may be paid quarterly.
• Final pay on the earlier date: after a quit or a firing, wages are due by the next regular payday or the 31-day deadline, whichever comes first (Wis. Stat. 109.03(2)).
• Workers comp has a dollar trigger: coverage is required with 3 or more full or part-time employees, or with just 1 employee paid $500 or more in any calendar quarter. Farmers need it at 6 or more workers on 20 days a year. The market is private.
• Tipped pay floor above federal: the minimum wage is $7.25, but the tipped cash wage is $2.33 (a $4.92 tip credit), or $2.13 for tipped opportunity employees under 20 in their first 90 days.

Wisconsin withholds income tax on graduated brackets set out in Department of Revenue Publication W-166 (1/26). We could not extract the bracket and supplemental rates from that PDF, so they are not shown here. We found no state paid leave payroll tax and no local income tax, though we did not confirm either on an official list.

Wisconsin employer payroll facts at a glance

Getting a Wisconsin employer account

1. Get a federal EIN.
2. Open an unemployment insurance account with DWD at unemployment.wisconsin.gov. DWD assigns 3.05% or 3.25% (2.50% or 2.70% in construction) based on your payroll size.
3. Register for withholding with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue and follow Publication W-166.
4. Report new hires within 20 days through DWD's new hire site (dwd.wisconsin.gov/uinh).
5. Buy workers comp once you have 3 employees, or as soon as one employee earns $500 in a quarter.
6. Pay at least monthly, within the 31-day window. See our pay schedule comparison.

Wisconsin payroll calculator: one $50,000 employee

For a new non-construction employer with taxable payroll under $500,000, the employer side of a $50,000 salary comes to $4,294.00.

With payroll of $500,000 or more, SUTA is 3.25% x $14,000 = $455.00 and the total $4,322.00. A small new construction employer at 2.50% pays $350.00 ($4,217.00 total). At the 12.00% top rate, SUTA reaches $1,680.00. On the employee side, $3,825.00 goes to FICA plus federal and Wisconsin income tax under W-166. Try your own numbers below; the 2026 SUTA rate table compares the $14,000 base with other states.

Wisconsin payroll services and PEOs

Check the SUTA rate in any new payroll account against your DWD notice, given the 2.50% figure that circulates from the DOL table. Builders can read our construction payroll guide; restaurants should confirm the $2.33 tipped wage and the opportunity-employee rule are set up, see restaurant payroll.

Compare providers on the payroll software rankings and payroll cost breakdown, or the PEO rankings for bundled benefits and workers comp. Staff in Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan or Iowa fall under those states' rules; hourly floors are on the 2026 minimum wage table.