Updated October 7, 2026. Quick answer: Only if you live there. Wisconsin’s nonresident instructions say that “Wisconsin taxes only your income from Wisconsin sources.” and the pension line for a nonresident is left blank on Form 1NPR.
Federal civil service pensions in Wisconsin: does Wisconsin tax federal pensions.
How Wisconsin treats a pension earned elsewhere
| Item | What the state documents say |
|---|---|
| Nonresidents | Wisconsin taxes a nonresident only on income from Wisconsin sources. On the pension and annuity line of Form 1NPR, a nonresident enters nothing in the Wisconsin column. The one stated exception is a nonqualified retirement or deferred compensation plan, whose payments are included to the extent they are attributable to services performed in Wisconsin, unless the distribution is paid in annuity form over the individual’s life expectancy or a period of not less than 10 years, or is paid from a “mirror” plan. This rests on the What Income Does Wisconsin Tax section and the line 10 instructions of the Form 1NPR instructions. |
| Residents with a pension earned elsewhere | A resident starts from federal adjusted gross income on Form 1, so a pension earned in another state is part of the starting figure. The Form 1NPR instructions add that Wisconsin taxes pension, annuity, profit sharing and stock bonus plan distributions received while a Wisconsin resident even though they may relate to work done in another state. A resident who is at least 67 may subtract up to $24,000 of retirement income ($48,000 if both spouses of a joint return are 67; claiming it means giving up any credit on Schedule CR and on lines 13 through 20 and 30 through 35 of Form 1), and a separate subtraction of up to $5,000 applies at 65 or older with federal adjusted gross income under $15,000 ($30,000 on a joint return). The source says: “Fill in your federal adjusted gross income from line 11”. The starting point rests on the Form 1 line 1 instructions, the pension sentence on the Form 1NPR line 10 instructions, and the subtractions on the Schedule SB instructions. |
| Part-year residents (year of a move) | A part-year resident files Form 1NPR. During the time as a Wisconsin resident, Wisconsin taxes income from all sources, and the pension and annuity line counts only what was received while a Wisconsin resident. The age 67 retirement subtraction is open to part-year residents. The source says: “pension and annuity income you received while a Wisconsin resident”. This rests on the Form 1NPR instructions. |
| Rate | Wisconsin prints a graduated schedule. The statute sets the rate at 3.50 percent on the first $14,680 for single filers for years after 2024, and the instructions print a top rate of 7.65% for single and head of household filers with taxable income over $323,290 ($431,060 on a joint return). The source says: “On all taxable income from $0 to $14,680, 3.50 percent.” The lowest rate rests on section 71.06 of the Wisconsin Statutes because the booklet prints only its dollar tax table at that level. |
| Return to file | Full-year residents file Wisconsin Form 1. Nonresidents and part-year residents file Form 1NPR. The source says: “Wisconsin Income Tax for Nonresidents and Part-Year Residents”. |
A $40,000 move-year example
A retiree receives $40,000 of pension in the year of a move: $20,000 before the move date, as a Wisconsin resident, and $20,000 after leaving.
The first $20,000 can be taxed by Wisconsin; the rest is outside its reach under the federal rule below. Taxed wholly at the lowest printed rate, 3.50%, the tax on it is computed as $20,000 x 0.035 = $700; taxed wholly at the highest, 7.65%, it is computed as $20,000 x 0.0765 = $1,530. The real figure falls between these bounds before any exclusion or credit. Federal tax still applies.
The federal rule that protects a nonresident
4 U.S.C. 114(a) bars a state income tax on retirement income of an individual “who is not a resident or domiciliary of such State”. Retirement income means any income from a qualified retirement plan, a simplified employee pension, a 403(a) or 403(b) plan, an individual retirement plan, an eligible 457 plan or a governmental plan. Income from a nonqualified deferred compensation plan counts only if it is part of a “series of substantially equal periodic payments” made for life or for a period of at least 10 years, or is a payment after termination of employment from a plan that exists only to provide benefits above the Internal Revenue Code limits, so not every payment is covered. Retired pay of a member of a uniform service is also covered.
Related: how Wisconsin taxes retirement income, whether Wisconsin taxes pensions, Wisconsin to Arizona retirement taxes, Wisconsin to Florida retirement taxes, out-of-state pension tax by state, and deferred compensation lump sums after a move.
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Answer againSources
- 2025 Form 1 Instructions, Wisconsin Income Tax (Wisconsin Department of Revenue): https://www.revenue.wi.gov/TaxForms2025/2025-Form1-Inst.pdf
- 2025 Form 1NPR Instructions, Nonresidents and Part-Year Residents (Wisconsin Department of Revenue): https://www.revenue.wi.gov/TaxForms2025/2025-Form1NPR-Inst.pdf
- 2025 Schedule SB Instructions (Wisconsin Department of Revenue): https://www.revenue.wi.gov/TaxForms2025/2025-ScheduleSB-Inst.pdf
- Wisconsin Statutes section 71.06, Income tax rates (Wisconsin Legislature): https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/71/i/06
- 4 U.S.C. 114, Limitation on State income taxation of certain pension income (U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2023 edition): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title4/html/USCODE-2023-title4-chap4-sec114.htm
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 7, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the plan administrator or the agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.