Clear Money Guide
What this state guide covers
A quick view of the questions, practical details and source notes below.
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Updated July 26, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Moving from Wisconsin to Georgia in retirement, withdrawals stay taxable, but the top rate falls from 7.65% to 4.99%. Four separate taxes change when you move — state income tax on withdrawals, state estate tax, state inheritance tax, and what probate costs your heirs. Most comparisons only price the first one.
Wisconsin vs Georgia: every tax that changes
| What changes | Wisconsin (leaving) | Georgia (arriving) |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax | graduated, four brackets 3.5% to 7.65% top rate (2025 Act 15 widened the 4.4% second bracket) | Flat 4.99% (HB 463, signed May 11, 2026, cut the rate retroactively to January 1, 2026; further trigger cuts of 0.125%/yr are scheduled toward 3.99%) |
| Social Security | Not taxed (fully subtracted). | not taxed (fully excluded) |
| Pension / 401(k) / IRA | Taxable, but from TY2025 (2025 Act 15, signed July 3, 2025): taxpayers age 67+ may exclude up to $24,000 each ($48,000 MFJ if both spouses qualify) of income from qualified retirement plans and IRAs – no income test (replaced the old $5,000 income-tested 65+ subtraction). | Retirement income exclusion (pensions, 401(k), IRA, interest, dividends, capital gains, rental, plus max $5,000 earned income): up to $35,000 per person ages 62-64, and up to $65,000 per person at 65 or older (Ga. DOR Form IT-511, Schedule 1). |
| Estate tax | none | none |
| Inheritance tax | none | none |
| Probate fee model | hybrid | hybrid |
| Probate filing fee | Statutory: $20 if property subject to administration ≤$10,000; otherwise 0.2% of the value of property subject to administration, less encumbrances (Wis. Stat. §814.66(1)(b)) — e.g., $600 on a $300,000 probate estate. Verified. | $175 base for initial petition for letters (O.C.G.A. §15-9-60); with county surcharges typically ~$205-$210, plus ~$65 publication of notice to debtors/creditors |
| Small-estate limit | $50,000 — transfer by affidavit for estates ≤$50,000 (Wis. Stat. §867.03, official form PR-1831). | No general small-estate affidavit or dollar threshold. Alternatives: ‘no administration necessary’ order for intestate estates with no debts and unanimous heir agreement (no dollar cap); financial institutions may release up to $15,000 in deposits directly to family for intestate decedents (O.C.G.A. §7-1-239); vehicle title transfer by affidavit via DOR. |
Every cell is quoted from our statute-cited 51-jurisdiction dataset. Download the full dataset as CSV.
1. What changes on your annual tax bill
Both states tax retirement withdrawals, so this is a rate change rather than an exemption. Wisconsin runs graduated, four brackets 3.5% to 7.65% top rate (2025 Act 15 widened the 4.4% second bracket) against Georgia at Flat 4.99% (HB 463, signed May 11, 2026, cut the rate retroactively to January 1, 2026; — a top-rate difference of roughly 2.66 percentage points. On $100,000 of withdrawals that is on the order of $2,660 a year at the top of the schedule, before any exclusion either state allows.
Wisconsin: Taxable, but from TY2025 (2025 Act 15, signed July 3, 2025): taxpayers age 67+ may exclude up to $24,000 each ($48,000 MFJ if both spouses qualify) of income from qualified retirement plans and IRAs – no income test (replaced the old $5,000 income-tested 65+ subtraction). Georgia: Retirement income exclusion (pensions, 401(k), IRA, interest, dividends, capital gains, rental, plus max $5,000 earned income): up to $35,000 per person ages 62-64, and up to $65,000 per person at 65 or older (Ga. DOR Form IT-511, Schedule 1).
2. What changes at death: state estate tax
Neither state levies an estate tax. Wisconsin: none Georgia: none Only the federal estate tax applies.
3. What changes at death: state inheritance tax
Neither state levies an inheritance tax. Wisconsin: none Georgia: none
4. The one nobody prices: what probate costs your heirs
Wisconsin uses a hybrid fee model (Personal representative commission is statutory (Wis. Stat. §857.05(2)): 2% of the inventory value of property (less mortgages/liens) plus net principal gains, or a rate agreed with the decedent/beneficiaries; court may add for extraordinary services. Attorney fees are ‘just and reasonable’ (Wis. Stat. §851.40 standard). Verified on docs.legis.wisconsin.gov.); Georgia uses a hybrid model (PR: default statutory commission absent will/agreement (O.C.G.A. §53-6-60) — 2.5% of all sums of money received + 2.5% of all sums paid out, plus 10% commission on interest earned on loans made by the PR; separate provisions for in-kind property. Attorney fees: reasonable (no schedule).). Filing fees — Wisconsin: Statutory: $20 if property subject to administration ≤$10,000; otherwise 0.2% of the value of property subject to administration, less encumbrances (Wis. Stat. §814.66(1)(b)) — e.g., $600 on a $300,000 probate estate. Verified. Georgia: $175 base for initial petition for letters (O.C.G.A. §15-9-60); with county surcharges typically ~$205-$210, plus ~$65 publication of notice to debtors/creditors
Full detail: probate cost by state and small-estate limits by state.
Price the move against the rest of your money
A state-to-state comparison shows you which taxes change, not what to do about the accounts, the house and the timing sitting behind them, and an adviser can look at those together before a move is set in motion.
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Probate cost in each state, specifically
Wisconsin uses a hybrid standard — a statutory bound with reasonableness inside it, and its statute does not say whether that route reaches real property. Georgia uses a hybrid standard — a statutory bound with reasonableness inside it, and its statute does not say whether that route reaches real property. Both states land in the same bucket on that question. Full figures with the governing statute, the court filing fee and the small-estate threshold: Wisconsin probate cost and Georgia probate cost.
Four taxes, two states, one order of operations
Everything above changes together: what Wisconsin stops taking on withdrawals, what Georgia does not take at death, and what probate costs in each. The order you do things in — when you establish domicile, when you convert, when you retitle property — changes the total, and some of it cannot be undone afterwards. If a move is genuinely on the table, here is what to look for in an advisor who knows both Wisconsin and Georgia. If you would rather price it yourself first, the two-state comparison tool is free and asks for no email.
Will Wisconsin still tax me after I move to Georgia?
Not on your retirement withdrawals, once you genuinely change domicile — but that is a harder test than a change of address, and what you leave behind stays in reach.
- Domicile is a test, not a mailing address. A departing state can and does audit residency. Days present, voter registration, driver’s licence, where your doctors and advisers are, and where you keep what you value all count.
- A Roth conversion is taxed where you live in the year you convert. Sequencing a conversion after establishing the new domicile is often worth more than the annual saving — see how all 51 jurisdictions tax Roth conversions.
Full state detail
Every figure above is summarized. The complete statute-cited breakdown for each state: Wisconsin retirement taxes and Georgia retirement taxes. To compare any other pair, start at the retirement tax relocation hub.
Widen the comparison
This page prices one corridor. To see every destination Wisconsin retirees consider and every origin state moving to Georgia, start there instead. For any pair not covered, the retirement tax comparison tool runs all 51 jurisdictions, and the probate cost calculator works out what settling the estate costs in each.
Talking this through
Relocation timing, Roth conversion sequencing and estate exposure interact, and the order you do them in changes the total. If you want a second opinion, understand what it should cost first — see our advisor cost guide.
Cite or share this comparison
Suggested citation: Clear Money Guide, “Wisconsin to Georgia Retirement Taxes (2026),” statute-cited; clearmoneyguide.com/wisconsin-to-georgia-retirement-taxes/. Free to cite with attribution. Download the full dataset as CSV, or contact contact@clearmoneyguide.com for custom cuts.
Primary sources
- Wis. Stat. § 71.05(6)(b) as amended by 2025 Act 15
- WI DOR Wisconsin Tax Bulletin 230 (July 2025)
- WI DOR Publication 106 (Tax Information for Retirees)
- O.C.G.A. § 48-7-27(a)(5), (a)(5.1)
- Georgia DOR: Retirement Income Exclusion
- Wis. Stat. §857.05(2)
- Wis. Stat. §867.03
- Wis. Stat. §814.66(1)(b)
- O.C.G.A. §53-6-60
- O.C.G.A. §7-1-239
- O.C.G.A. §15-9-60
Methodology: every figure is quoted from Clear Money Guide’s statute-cited 51-jurisdiction datasets, compiled from state statutes, session laws and revenue-department publications and adversarially verified in July 2026. Nothing here is personalized tax or legal advice. Confirm your own facts with a qualified adviser before you move.