Premier Resort Tax

The Village of Lake Delton is a part of the greater Wisconsin Dells Tourism Area.  Under Wisconsin statute, village voters approved a 1.25% Premier Resort Area Tax (PRAT).  A community can only vote to declare itself a premier resort area if at least 40% of the equalized assessed value of taxable property within the municipality is used by tourism-related retailers.  This additional tax revenue is used to offset infrastructure, equipment, and emergency services that is a result of approximately 5.5 million tourists each year.  For 2025, the PRAT tax collections saved local residents $10,079,178.72 in costs.  Costs that are paying for road and other infrastructure improvements, new equipment, as well as fully funding the Fire and EMS departments.  A community of 3,500 residents normally does not have approximately 80 personnel serving their local police, fire, and ambulance services as Lake Delton does.

In 2025, the PRAT tax lowered the local property tax to $2.27 per thousand of equalized property value ($11.73/$1,000 with all taxes). Without PRAT, the local tax levy could have been $6.96 per thousand of equalized property value ($16.42/$1,000 with all taxes).  If your home, for example, is valued at $337,300 your tax bill would have been $1,573.31 higher without PRAT.

How Lake Delton stacks up against other Cities in the area: