Skip to content

Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023

Is it certain that Craig Counsell will pay more in income taxes because he works in Illinois and not Wisconsin?


no

Former Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell’s income tax won’t necessarily be higher because his new employer is in Illinois.

Counsell became the Chicago Cubs’ manager in November 2023 at $8 million per year. His 2023 Brewers salary was $3.5 million.

If Counsell makes his primary residence Illinois, which has a 4.95% flat tax, his bill would be roughly $396,000.

Counsell said he has no immediate plan to move from his suburban Milwaukee home.

Illinois and Wisconsin have tax reciprocity. If Counsell keeps Wisconsin as his primary residence, he would pay Wisconsin taxes — roughly $200,000 more.

Wisconsin’s highest income tax is $20,997 plus 7.65% on income above $405,550, for a total of roughly $602,000, if Counsell filed married filing jointly.

Illinois has higher rates than Wisconsin on average state and local sales taxes — 8.84% vs. 5.43%; and property taxes — effective rates on market value of owner-occupied property, 2.08% vs 1.61%.

See a full discussion of this at Wisconsin Watch

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.

See all fact briefs

Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.

Learn More

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.