CHRIS RICKERT
If you're writing out a check this week for the first installment of your local property taxes, due Sunday, beware that you might be paying more than you owe.>
Based on a review of Dane County property records, treasurer David
Worzala in November said there were about 14,000 homeowners who
were likely eligible for the state's
lottery tax credit, but not getting it because they never
applied.
State officials do not track a similar, statewide number, according
to fiscal analyst Al Runde, who administers the credit for the
Legislative Fiscal Bureau. But if the trend in Dane County holds
true in Wisconsin's 71 other counties, tens of thousands of
homeowners could be forgoing millions in property tax relief.
The credit returns a portion of lottery revenues to homeowners. The
only requirement for getting it is that your home be your "primary
residence" on Jan. 1 of the tax year.
It's not a lot of money, and the amount changes from year to year
based on lottery revenues and what school district you live in. But
recently it's been about $75 to $100 per property owner, enough for
a dinner at a swank restaurant. For 2008 taxes, the state set aside
$117.8 million for the credit, Runde said, out of gross lottery
revenues of about $474 million.
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