Editor:
Oneida County taxpayers should have received their 2014 tax bills. If you did not receive your tax bill, you should contact the County or your local Treasurer. Oneida County Treasurer’s office can be reached at (715) 369-6137. Remember, State law states you must pay your taxes and pay them on time even if you did not receive a tax bill. You can also find the 2014 Oneida County tax information on the Oneida County website. Go to www.co.oneida.wi.gov. Click on Property Tax Information located in the center of the screen to access the information. 2014 tax payments will not be updated on this screen until the municipalities have closed their books in February.
You must pay at least the first installment listed on the tax bill on or before January 31st to your Local Town/City treasurer. If you miss the payment deadline, or if you pay less than the amount due, your taxes will be delinquent. You will be charged 1.5% penalty and interest per month on the total unpaid tax amount beginning February 1st. More importantly, however, you lose the option of making your second half payment in July.
Now is also the time to be sure you are certified for the Lottery and Gaming Credit. Please check your tax bill. The amount of the Lottery and Gaming Credit appears in the middle of your tax bill, right above the Net Property Tax calculation. If you have not received the Lottery Credit and meet the requirements, contact your local treasurer who will see that you receive a claim form or go to the County website and look under Departments, Treasurer. You must sign and return the form to your local treasurer before you can be certified for and receive the Credit. You are only allowed one credit. It must be property that was owned by you and was your primary residence on January 1st, 2014 to be eligible for the credit. This form must be in the hands of the local treasurer by January 31st to receive the credit off the current tax bill.
The State audits the files of each County and in order to keep the files current we must recertify every so often to find owners that are not receiving the credit and to remove those that do not qualify. We chose several municipalities this year to recertify. If you received a blue copy of a lottery credit form from your local treasurer it is your turn to recertify. This year the municipalities receiving that form are the City of Rhinelander, and Towns of Monico, Piehl, Schoepke, Sugar Camp, Stella, and Three Lakes. You will not receive a lottery credit in 2015 if your town is being recertified and a signed form is not returned.
We thank you for your cooperation with this project.

Kris Ostermann
Oneida County Treasurer