Helpful Hints for Completing the Real Estate Transfer Return
Place date of conveyance on the deed:
The date of the conveyance must be on the deed because the register of deeds is required to place it on the transfer form. Any deeds or land contracts presented for recording without the date of conveyance will be rejected.
Use appropriate form:
The form PE-500 (R. 1-2000) should be used for all conveyances occurring after January 1, 2000. This new "Y2K" form has a light green background and uses both sides of a standard 8 ½ by 11" page.
Instructions for filling out the Wisconsin Real Estate Transfer Return are available through the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. After you click on this, select "Local Government Forms & Publications," then under Publications and then under Real Estate Transfer Fee select "Instructions for Real Estate Transfer Return."
Print of type legibly:
The new form will be scanned by an optical character recognition device. Therefore, you must type or print clearly in black ink. Use of all CAPITAL LETTERS is strongly recommended. You may not use white-out or dry line because they flake off easily which would harm the optical character recognition (ocr) device used to read the information on the forms. Use correction tape such as Avery 1/6 inch wide #05101.
No cross-overs:
You may not cross over your errors on the form because the ocr device cannot interpret the information. You may use correction tape such as Avery 1/6 inch wide #05101.
Don't write in blue (or green as of January 1, 2000) area:
Do not write in the blue area even if you run out of space. Just get as many letters in as you can. Leave a space between words. If you need more room for the legal description, use space 48. If space 48 is not sufficient, attach an 8.5 by 14 inch sheet of paper with the legal on the back of the form.
Lot size: Round to whole numbers:
For line 51a or b, use whole numbers and don’t add "plus or minus" (+ or -). This line does not determine your assessed value; it is just a rough approximation. For condos, use the dimensions or approximate acreage (to nearest whole number) of the entire condominium.
Use care when signing:
Don’t let your signatures drop down into the next white areas because this will make those areas illegible and render the form unacceptable.
Complete entire form (except section X or section V on the new form):
Wisconsin Department of Revenue Transfer Form GUIDELINES.
Consider using a computer program:
Info-Pro at 153 S. Macy St., Fond du Lac WI 54935, (920)924-9200, has a computer program that lines up with the new transfer form when used with Microsoft Word or Word Perfect and an HP Laserjet printer. If you obtain a copy, let us know what you think of it.
Wisconsin Department of Revenue
