Wisconsin Employer Compliance Kit 2027: State Checklist, Deadline Calendar and Excel Tracker

Who it is for

Owners, office managers and bookkeepers who run payroll for employees working in Wisconsin, from the first hire to the year-end forms.

Not the right fit if

Your employees work outside Wisconsin: get that state's kit, or the 2027 Employer Compliance Bundle for several states. Not a payroll service, and not a legal review of your policies.

Why it is different

• Built only from our Wisconsin data files, checked November 2026 against 13 official pages, among them Wisconsin DWD: UI Financing Summary; Wisconsin New Hire Reporting Center: FAQs; Wisconsin Department of Revenue: Publication 121, Reciprocity (01/26); Wisconsin DWD: Unemployment Insurance Employer Handbook, posters and notices; U.S. Department of Labor: State Minimum Wage Laws (updated November 5, 2026); U.S. Department of Labor: Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (revised July 1, 2026); Wage Payment and Collection Law (Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development); Wis. Stat. 103.10(1m) (Wisconsin State Legislature).
• 4 items the official pages didn't state are marked "not confirmed" with the page to check, never guessed.
• The workbook recalculates with zero formula errors and dates the Wisconsin new-hire steps for you.

What is inside

• Start here. How to use the kit, the 16 confirmed Wisconsin rules at a glance and the 4 items to confirm, each with the official page to check: open a state unemployment tax account (Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD)); taxable wage base for 2027 (Wisconsin DWD: UI Financing Summary); new employer tax rate (Wisconsin DWD: UI Financing Summary); E-Verify for private employers (2025 Assembly Bill 281, Wisconsin State Legislature).
• Wisconsin 2027 checklist. Eight steps from unemployment tax registration to year-end filing, each confirmed rule with its source link and check date, from Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD), Wisconsin New Hire Reporting Center, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Worker's Compensation Division. What it confirms: taxable wage base for 2026 (the latest published): $14,000 per employee in 2026; quarterly wage reports and payments: Wisconsin DWD: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31; state income tax withholding: State income tax applies; workers who live in a neighboring state: Reciprocity partners named by the state: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan; report each new hire to the state: Within 20 days of the hire or re-hire date; minimum wage now (2026): $7.25 an hour; minimum wage change in 2027: $7.25 an hour; no scheduled change in our data; tipped employees: Cash wage of at least $2.33 an hour in 2027, with tips making up the rest; paid sick leave: No statewide paid sick leave law for private employers; meal breaks for adults: no state rule; Not required for adults; the Department encourages a lunch break of at least 30 minutes near the usual meal time; rest breaks for adults: no state rule; Not required for adults; breaks for workers under 18: Minors under 18 get a 30-minute duty-free meal period for every 6 consecutive hours of work; workers' compensation insurance: Employers with three or more full-time or part-time employees, from the day the third person is hired; final pay when you let someone go: In full on the regular payday under the employer's pay schedule (or sooner if the pay-frequency rule requires); final pay when an employee quits: In full on the regular payday under the employer's pay schedule (or sooner if the pay-frequency rule requires); state copies of W-2s and 1099s: Depending on the payment: rents and royalties of $600 or more to Wisconsin residents (or to nonresidents for Wisconsin property); nonwage payments of $600 or more to a nonresident for services performed in Wisconsin; annuities, pensions and other nonwage compensation of $600 or more to residents; and any payment with Wisconsin withholding, regardless of amount.
• 2027 deadline calendar. 11 dates our Wisconsin files state: 4 quarterly due dates from Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD); 2 state W-2 and 1099 filing dates from Wisconsin Department of Revenue, with weekend dates flagged and a month-by-month planner for your own.
• New hire and pay change checklist. One page per hire, with the report to Wisconsin New Hire Reporting Center (new hires reported in 20 days) and the I-9 steps, and one per pay change against the $7.25 minimum wage.
• Wisconsin compliance workbook (Excel). The Wisconsin dates in a deadline tracker with days left and status, a new-hire sheet that dates each step from the start date (new hires reported in 20 days), and a pay-change sheet that flags any rate below the 2027 floor.