Farm Sales Tax Exemption
The State of Wisconsin's 1999-2000 approved budget bill provides a year-round sales and use tax exemption on electricity used in farming.
The Wisconsin Administrative Code (section Tax 11.12) defines farming as follows:
- Dairy farming - the business of feeding and raising cattle and other milk producing animals, but does include operations such as pasteurizing, homogenizing or making butter, cheese or ice cream.
- Farming - the business of producing food products or other useful crops by tilling and cultivating the soil or by raising cattle, sheep, llamas, poultry, domesticated rabbits or other animals which produce a food product or which are themselves a food product.
- Floriculture - the business of producing flowers, Christmas trees or other decorative trees, plants or shrubs, including such operations as greenhouses.
- Horticulture - the business of producing vegetables, vegetable plants, fruit and nursery stock, including the operation of commercial nurseries and orchards but not businesses which hold stock for purposes other than propagation or growth.
If you believe that your farm meets the exemption requirements and is eligible for this tax exemption, it's important that you complete the Wisconsin Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate and/or Certificate of Previous Purchases. Please fill out an exemption certificate for each Wisconsin Public Service account that meets the exception requirements. This will ensure that you are billed properly.
Fax the completed certificate of exemption form to 800-305-9754, or mail it to:
Wisconsin Public Service
Business Solutions Center
P.O. Box 19001
Green Bay, WI 54307-9001
If you have questions about whether the exemption applies to your farming operation, please contact your tax accountant.