The rules where you work $17
A first 30 days checklist, everyday forms, licenses, workers’ comp and taxes for Wisconsin, with a yearly calendar. Instant PDF download.
Buy the packet: $17Digital product, all sales final. Informational only, not legal, financial, tax or business advice.
What Wisconsin expects from a new trade business
To get a building permit on a one- or two-family home in Wisconsin, your business needs a state Dwelling Contractor credential and a certified qualifier. On small residential jobs, lien rights start with paperwork: a notice in the prime's contract and a 60-day notice from subs and suppliers. Comp can start with one employee and $500 in wages in a quarter.
The two credentials that get you permits on homes
To get a building permit on a one- or two-family dwelling, you need two things from the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS): a Dwelling Contractor certification held by the business, and a Dwelling Contractor Qualifier, who is you or an employee. The permit office can’t issue the permit without it. It lasts one year.
You need general liability of at least $250,000 per occurrence, or a surety bond. The sources differ on the bond. DSPS’s page says at least $25,000. The statute’s floor is $5,000, but under $25,000 you can’t work on a dwelling whose estimated cost of completion is more than the bond. Ask DSPS before you buy one. You also show comp and unemployment coverage if they apply to you.
The qualifier takes 12 hours of approved coursework before applying, then 12 hours of continuing education every 2 years. An owner working on a home they live in or will live in is exempt from the certificate.
Electrical, plumbing, HVAC and fire sprinkler work have their own DSPS credentials. Check which you need before you bid, and ask the local inspector about local rules.
Source: Wis. Stat. 101.654, contractor certification · Wis. Stat. 101.65, municipal authority and permits · DSPS, Dwelling Contractor (DC) · Wis. Admin. Code SPS 305.31 (Cornell LII copy) · Wis. Admin. Code SPS 305.315 (Cornell LII copy)
Who to call: an attorney near you
One employee and $500 in a quarter is enough
You’re under Wisconsin’s comp law the day you hire your third employee, full- or part-time. With fewer than three, it starts once you pay $500 or more in wages in any calendar quarter, on the 10th day of the next month. For a working contractor, that second rule is the real one.
A sole proprietor, partnership or LLC with only owners and no employees doesn’t have to carry it, the Department of Workforce Development says. Policies leave those owners out unless endorsed to include them.
Calling a helper a 1099 doesn’t settle it. The statute treats an independent contractor as your employee unless that person meets all nine conditions of its test.
Uninsured subs can land on you. If a sub under you has no coverage and its employee gets hurt, you can owe the comp, then try to recover it from the sub.
Going without when it’s required can cost double the premium you should have paid, or $750 if that’s more, and the state can order the business closed. An insurance agent who writes contractors can run your crew through the test.
Source: Wis. Stat. 102.04, 102.06, 102.07 · DWD Worker's Compensation Employer Resources · DWD, Worker's Compensation Insurance Requirements · DWD, Sole Proprietors, Partners and LLC Members · DWD, Independent Contractor 9-point test
Who to call: an insurance agent near you
Getting paid: notice first, then 30 days' warning
The first two notices apply to small residential jobs. They aren't required if the job is partly or wholly nonresidential, or wholly residential and provides or adds more than 4 family living units. The rest applies to every job.
- Prime contractor with subs or suppliers: the statute's lien notice goes in your written contract with the owner. No written contract? Serve it separately within 10 days of the first work. Skip it and you have no lien unless you pay all of them and they give no notice or waive.
- Subs and suppliers: serve the owner a written notice, in two signed copies, within 60 days of your first work or delivery. Miss it and you have no lien, except for work after the owner actually receives a late notice.
- Intent to file: serve the owner at least 30 days before filing, even if you gave an earlier notice. It appears this has to fit inside the 6 months, so about 5 months after your last work is the practical limit.
- File: with the clerk of circuit court where the land is, within 6 months of your own last labor or materials. Serve the owner a copy within 30 days after.
- Sue: within 2 years of filing.
Money an owner pays you is a trust fund for what you owe on that job. Misusing it can be theft, a felony once it passes $2,500. A waiver you sign binds you, and you can refuse one until you're paid. A construction attorney can build these notices into your contract.
Source: Wis. Stat. Ch. 779, Subchapter I (construction liens), certified October 1, 2026 · Wis. Stat. 943.20, theft penalties
Who to call: an attorney near you
You're the consumer. You're not allowed to charge it.
On real property construction in Wisconsin, you’re the consumer of your materials. You pay the tax when you buy them, and you may not add tax to your charge for that labor or material. The tax you paid becomes a cost of doing business, so price it in.
The state rate is 5%. Seventy counties add a county tax, usually 0.5%. Milwaukee County is 0.9%, and the city of Milwaukee adds 2%. If a supplier skipped the tax, you owe use tax, and you need a consumer’s use tax certificate if that’s regular.
Repairs can flip this. Fixing or servicing items like furnaces, water heaters and air conditioners is taxable, and you register as a retailer. So is landscaping, even when it improves the property. Selling things that stay personal property, like furniture or portable appliances, takes a seller’s permit too. A job can mix both.
A CPA who works with contractors can apply this to your trade.
Source: Wisconsin DOR, Tax Rates (January 16, 2026) · Wisconsin DOR, Publication 207, Sales and Use Tax Information for Contractors (1/19) · Wis. Admin. Code Tax 11.68, Construction contractors (Cornell LII copy) · Wis. Admin. Code Tax 11.002, Registration (Cornell LII copy)
Who to call: a CPA or tax pro near you
An LLC costs $130 online or $170 on paper
You form a Wisconsin LLC by filing Articles of Organization with the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI). The fee depends on how you file: $130 online or $170 on paper with Form 502. Next-day service is $100 more. Filing fees aren’t refundable.
You need a registered agent at a real Wisconsin street address, with an email address. The LLC can’t be its own agent. DFI’s form and online directions list no publication step.
An annual report starts the year after you form: $25 online or $40 on paper, due by the end of the calendar quarter of your anniversary. If you already have an LLC from another state, Form 521 registers it for $100, plus $97.50 for each past calendar year it did business here unregistered.
If your LLC’s profit lands on your personal return, Wisconsin’s 2025 individual rates run from 3.50% to 7.65%, depending on marital status and income. Whether and when an S-corp makes sense is a numbers question for a CPA who works with contractors.
Source: DFI, Corporation Fees · DFI, Form 502, Articles of Organization (revised May 2026) · DFI, online LLC filing directions · Wisconsin DOR, Tax Rates
Who to call: a CPA or tax pro near you
Education, not legal or tax advice. Rules change. Confirm anything here with a licensed pro in Wisconsin before you rely on it. Last updated November 2026.