Wis. Stat. § 71.78 — WI Code / Chapter 71 / Section 71.78
Confidentiality provisions.
Status: in_force

(1) Divulging information. Except as provided in subs. (1g) , (4) , (4m) , (10) , and (11) , no person may divulge or circulate or offer to obtain, divulge, or circulate any information derived from an income, franchise, withholding, fiduciary, partnership, or limited liability company tax return or tax credit claim, including information which may be furnished by the department as provided in this section. This subsection does not prohibit publication by any newspaper of information lawfully derived from such returns or claims for purposes of argument or prohibit any public speaker from referring to such information in any address. This subsection does not prohibit the department from publishing statistics classified so as not to disclose the identity of particular returns, or claims or reports and the items thereof. This subsection does not prohibit employees or agents of the department of revenue from offering or submitting any return, including joint returns of a spouse or former spouse, separate returns of a spouse, individual returns of a spouse or former spouse, and combined individual income tax returns, or from offering or submitting any claim, schedule, exhibit, writing, or audit report or a copy of, and any information derived from, any of those documents as evidence into the record of any contested matter involving the department in proceedings or litigation on state tax matters if, in the department’s judgment, that evidence has reasonable probative value.

(1g) Permissible disclosure by department employees. An employee of the department may, in connection with the employee’s official duties, disclose information derived from a return or claim specified in sub. (1) to the extent that the disclosure is necessary to obtain information for the enforcement of the tax laws of this state. The information that may be disclosed under this subsection shall be strictly limited to, and used solely for the purposes of, obtaining information necessary for an audit, collection, inspection, or investigation by the employee.

(1m) Browsing prohibited.

(a) No person, except the person who filed the return or claim, may inspect a return or claim, or any information derived from a return or claim, that is filed under this chapter unless that person does so in performing the duties of his or her position. Violation of this paragraph by a state employee is grounds for dismissal.

(b) If any person is charged with a violation of par. (a) , the secretary of revenue shall notify each taxpayer whose return or claim was improperly inspected by that person.

(c) Any person who is notified under par. (b) may bring an action for damages in regard to the inspection.

(2) Disclosure of net tax. The department shall make available upon suitable forms prepared by the department information setting forth the net Wisconsin income tax or Wisconsin franchise tax reported as paid or payable in the returns filed by any individual or corporation, and any amount of delinquent taxes owed by any such individual or corporation, for any individual year upon request. When making available information setting forth the delinquent taxes owed by an individual or corporation, the information shall include interest, penalties, fees, and costs, which are unpaid for more than 90 days after all appeal rights have expired, except that such information may not be provided for any person who has reached an agreement or compromise with the department, or the department of justice, under s. 71.92 and is in compliance with that agreement, regarding the payment of delinquent taxes, or the name of any person who is protected by a stay that is in effect under the Federal Bankruptcy Code. Before the request is granted, the person desiring to obtain the information shall prove his or her identity and shall be required to sign a statement setting forth the person’s address and reason for making the request and indicating that the person understands the provisions of this section with respect to the divulgement, publication, or dissemination of information obtained from returns as provided in sub. (1) . The use of a fictitious name is a violation of this section. Within 24 hours after any information from any such tax return has been so obtained, the department shall mail to the person from whose return the information has been obtained a notification which shall give the name and address of the person obtaining the information and the reason assigned for requesting the information. The department shall collect from the person requesting the information a fee of $4 for each return.

(3) Disclosure limitation. The information described in sub. (2) shall not be made available to any nonresident or to any resident who is making the request for such information for the use or benefit, directly or indirectly, of a nonresident person or firm or a foreign corporation except to the extent that similar information in the state of residence of such person or firm or the state of incorporation of such foreign corporation is made available to residents of Wisconsin or Wisconsin corporations. As part of the statement required by sub. (2) , the department shall require any person desiring to obtain such information to declare whether the person is a nonresident of the state and whether the information is desired for the use or benefit of a nonresident person or firm or a foreign corporation. No copy of any return shall be supplied to any person except as permitted by sub. (4) .

(4) Persons qualified to examine returns for specified purposes. Subject to subs. (5) and (6) and to rules of the department, any returns or claims specified under sub. (1) or any schedules, exhibits, writings or audit reports pertaining to the returns or claims on file with the department shall be open to examination by only the following persons and the contents thereof may be divulged or used only as follows:

(a) The secretary of revenue or any officer, agent or employee of the department.

(b) The attorney general and department of justice employees. A department of justice employee may, in connection with the employee’s official duties, disclose information, other than copies of information, examined under this paragraph to a law enforcement investigator participating in a department of justice investigation of suspected criminal conduct. The information that may be disclosed under this paragraph shall be strictly limited to, and used solely for the purposes of, obtaining information necessary for a department of justice investigation.

(c) Members of any legislative committee on organization or its authorized agents provided the examination is approved by a majority vote of a quorum of its members and the tax return or claim information is disclosed only in a meeting closed to the public. The committee may disclose tax return or claim information to the senate or assembly or to other legislative committees if the information does not disclose the identity of particular returns, claims or reports and the items thereof. The department of revenue shall provide assistance to the committees or their authorized agents in order to identify returns and claims deemed necessary by them to accomplish the review and analysis of tax policy.

(d) Public officers of the federal government or other state governments or the authorized agents of such officers, where necessary in the administration of the tax laws of such governments, to the extent that such government accords similar rights of examination or information to officials of this state.

(e) The person who filed or submitted the return or claim, or to whom the return or claim relates or by the person’s authorized agent or attorney.

(f) Any person examining a return or claim pursuant to a court order duly obtained upon a showing to the court that the information contained in the return or claim is relevant to a pending court action or pursuant to a subpoena signed by a judge of a court of record ordering the department’s custodian of returns or claims to produce a return or claim in open court in a court action pending before the judge.

(g) Employees of this state, to the extent that the department of revenue deems the examination necessary for the employees to perform their duties under contracts or agreements between the department and any other department, division, bureau, board or commission of this state relating to the administration of tax laws or child and spousal support enforcement under s. 49.22 .

(h)

1. A member of the board of arbitration established under s. 71.10 (7) or a consultant under joint contract with the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin for the purpose of determining the reciprocity loss to which either state is entitled.

2. A member of the board of arbitration established under s. 71.10 (7e) or a consultant under joint contract with the states of Illinois and Wisconsin for the purpose of determining the reciprocity loss to which either state is entitled.

(j) Employees of the legislative fiscal bureau to the extent that the department of revenue deems the examination necessary for those employees to perform their duties under contracts or agreements between the department and the bureau relating to the review and analysis of tax policy and the analysis of state revenue collections.

(k) The spouse or former spouse of the person who filed the return or claim if the spouse or former spouse may be liable, or the property of the spouse or former spouse is subject to collection, for the delinquency, or the department has issued an assessment or denial of a claim to the spouse or former spouse regarding the return or claim.

(L) The administrator of the lottery division in the department for the purpose of withholding lottery winnings under s. 565.30 (5) .

(m) The chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and employees of the corporation to the extent necessary to administer the tax benefit programs under ch. 238 , including review of tax benefit applications, compliance with tax benefit certifications, and confirming the amount of tax benefits used for purposes of revoking tax benefits.

(n) The state public defender and the department of administration for the purpose of collecting payment ordered under s. 48.275 (2) , 757.66 , 973.06 (1) (e) or 977.076 (1) .

(o) A licensing department or the supreme court, if the supreme court agrees, for the purpose of denial, nonrenewal, discontinuation and revocation of a license based on tax delinquency under s. 73.0301 .

(p) The secretary of revenue and employees of that department for the purpose of calculating the penalty under s. 71.83 (1) (d) .

(q) Employees of the department of corrections involved in the administration of the sex offender registry under s. 301.45 , for the purpose of verifying information provided by a person required to register as a sex offender.

(r) The secretary of revenue and employees of that department for the purpose of preparing and maintaining the list of persons with unpaid tax obligations as described in s. 73.03 (62) so that the list of such persons is available for public inspection.

(s) The state auditor and the employees of the legislative audit bureau to the extent necessary for the bureau to carry out its duties under s. 13.94 .

(t) For purposes of obtaining the outstanding liability secured by a tax warrant, any person, or authorized agent of any person, who provides satisfactory evidence to the department, as determined by the department, that the person has a material interest, or intends to obtain a material interest, in a property that is subject to a tax warrant filed by the department under s. 71.91 (5) .

(u) The department of safety and professional services for the purpose of reducing an initial credential fee under s. 440.052 .

(v) A federal grand jury or grand jury of this state, upon receipt by the department of a grand jury subpoena.

(4m) Disclosure of certain dates to spouses and former spouses. The department may disclose to the spouse or former spouse of the person who filed a return or claim specified under sub. (1) whether an extension for filing the return or claim was obtained, the extended due date for filing the return or claim and the date on which the return or claim was filed with the department.

(5) Agreement with department. Copies of returns and claims specified in sub. (1) and related schedules, exhibits, writings or audit reports shall not be furnished to the persons listed under sub. (4) , except persons under sub. (4) (e) , (k) , (m) , (n) , (o) , (q) , and (v) or under an agreement between the department of revenue and another agency of government.

(6) Restriction on use of information. The use of information obtained under sub. (4) or (5) is restricted to the discharge of duties imposed upon the persons by law or by the duties of their office or by order of a court as provided under sub. (4) (f) or (v) .

(7) Charge for costs. The department of revenue may charge for the reasonable cost of divulging information under this section.

(8) District attorneys. District attorneys may examine tax and claim information of persons on file with the department of revenue as follows:

(a) Such information may be examined for use in preparation for any judicial proceeding or any investigation which may result in a judicial proceeding involving any of the taxes or tax credits specified in sub. (1) if:

1. The taxpayer is or may be a party to such proceeding;

2. The treatment of an item reflected in such information is or may be related to the resolution of an issue in the proceeding or investigation; or

3. The information relates or may relate to a transactional relationship between the taxpayer or credit claimant and a person who is or may be a party to the proceeding which affects or may affect the resolution of an issue in such proceeding or investigation.

(b) When the department of revenue allows examination of information under par. (a) :

1. If the department has referred the case to a district attorney, the department may make disclosure on its own motion.

2. If a district attorney requests examination of tax or tax credit information relating to a person, the request must be in writing, clearly identify the requester and the person to whom the information relates and explain the need for the information. The department may then allow the examination of information so requested and the information may be examined and used solely for the proceeding or investigation for which it was requested.

(c) Such information may be examined for use in preparation for any administrative or judicial proceeding or an investigation which may result in such proceeding pertaining to the enforcement of a specifically designated state criminal statute not involving tax administration to which this state or a governmental subdivision thereof is a party. Such information may be used solely for the proceeding or investigation for which it is requested.

(d) The department may allow an examination of information under par. (c) only if a district attorney petitions a court of record in this state for an order allowing the examination and the court issues an order after finding:

1. There is reasonable cause to believe, based on information believed to be reliable, that a specific criminal act has been committed;

2. There is reason to believe that such information is probative evidence of a matter in issue related to the commission of the criminal act; and

3. The information sought to be examined cannot reasonably be obtained from any other source, unless it is determined that, notwithstanding the reasonable availability of the information from another source, the information constitutes the most probative evidence of a matter in issue relating to the commission of such criminal act.

(e) If the department determines that examination of information ordered under par. (d) would identify a confidential informant or seriously impair a civil or criminal tax investigation, the department may deny access and shall certify the reason therefor to the court.

(9) Disclosure of debtor address. The department may supply the address of a debtor to an agency certifying a debt of that debtor under s. 71.93 or to a municipality or county certifying a debt of a debtor under s. 71.935 .

(10) Divulging information to requester. The department shall inform each requester of the total amount of taxes withheld under subch. X during any reporting period and reported on a return filed by any city, village, town, county, school district, special purpose district or technical college district; whether that amount was paid by the statutory due date; the amount of any tax, fees, penalties or interest assessed by the department; and the total amount due or assessed under subch. X but unpaid by the filer, except that the department may not divulge tax return information that in the department’s opinion violates the confidentiality of that information with respect to any person other than the units of government and districts specified in this subsection. The department shall provide to the requester a written explanation if it fails to divulge information on grounds of confidentiality. The department shall collect from the person requesting the information a fee of $4 for each return.

(11) Pass-through entity audits. If the department audits a pass-through entity for income or franchise taxes of its pass-through members, including when an election is made under s. 71.21 (6) (a) or 71.365 (4m) (a) to pay tax at the entity level, the department may disclose the following:

(a) To a pass-through member that the pass-through entity is under audit or was audited, if the disclosure is necessary to explain any amounts assessed or refunded to the pass-through member or to obtain information necessary to determine the proper amount of adjustment to make at the pass-through entity level.

(b) To a pass-through entity, the identities of one or more pass-through members who have failed to report pass-through items originating with the entity on their Wisconsin returns, if the disclosure is necessary to explain any amounts assessed or refunded to the pass-through member or to obtain information about a pass-through member’s return in order to determine the proper amount of adjustment to make at the pass-through entity level.

History: 1987 a. 312 ; 1987 a. 411 ss. 99 , 100 , 188 ; 1991 a. 269 , 301 ; 1993 a. 112 , 399 ; 1995 a. 27 ss. 3420x to 3423g , 9116 (5) ; 1995 a. 233 , 404 ; 1997 a. 27 , 63 , 237 , 323 ; 1999 a. 32 , 89 ; 2005 a. 25 ; 2007 a. 20 ; 2011 a. 32 , 68 ; 2013 a. 8 , 20 , 36 ; 2015 a. 216 ; 2017 a. 319 ; 2021 a. 262 ; 2023 a. 19 , 73 .