Except as provided in ss. 93.20, 100.195 (5m) (b), 100.30 (5m), 106.50 (6) (i) and (6m) (a), 115.80 (9), 767.553 (4) (d), 769.313, 802.05, 814.245, 895.035 (4), 895.044, 895.443 (3), 895.444 (2), 895.445 (3), 895.446 (3), 895.506, 943.212 (2) (b), 943.245 (2) (d), 943.51 (2) (b), and 995.10 (3), when allowed costs shall be as follows:
814.04.Items of costs.
Ch. 814: Court Costs, Fees, and Surcharges · Last amended 2021 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 814.04 itemizes what allowed costs include -- fixed attorney fees, actual disbursements, interest on a money judgment from verdict to entry, half-price attorney fees on a default judgment, full defense costs when a rejected settlement offer isn’t beaten, and a capped attorney-fee award in citizen-taxpayer suits for a municipality.
Full Text of Section 814.04
(1) ATTORNEY FEES. (a) When the amount recovered or the value of the property involved is greater than the maximum amount specified in s. 799.01 (1) (d), attorney fees shall be $500; when it is equal to or less than the maximum amount specified in s. 799.01 (1) (d), but is $1,000 or more, attorney fees shall be $300; when it is less than $1,000, attorney fees shall be $100. In all other cases in which there is no amount recovered or that do not involve property, attorney fees shall be $300. (c) No attorney fees may be taxed on behalf of any party unless the party appears by an attorney other than himself or herself.
(2) DISBURSEMENTS. All the necessary disbursements and fees allowed by law; the compensation of referees; a reasonable disbursement for the service of process or other papers in an action when the same are served by a person authorized by law other than an officer, but the item may not exceed the authorized sheriff’s fee for the same service; amounts actually paid out for certified and other copies of papers and records in any public office; postage, photocopying, telephoning, electronic communications, facsimile transmissions, and express or overnight delivery; the electronic filing fee prescribed in s. 801.18 (7) (c); depositions including copies; plats and photographs, not exceeding $100 for each item; an expert witness fee not exceeding $300 for each expert who testifies, exclusive of the standard witness fee and mileage which shall also be taxed for each expert; and in actions relating to or affecting the title to lands, the cost of procuring an abstract of title to the lands. Guardian ad litem fees shall not be taxed as a cost or disbursement. (4) INTEREST ON VERDICT. Except as provided in s. 807.01 (4), if the judgment is for the recovery of money, interest at an annual rate equal to 1 percent plus the prime rate in effect on January 1 of the year in which the judgment is entered if the judgment is entered on or before June 30 of that year or in effect on July 1 of the year in which the judgment is entered if the judgment is entered after June 30 of that year, as reported by the federal reserve board in federal reserve statistical release H. 15, on the amount of the money judgment from the time of verdict, decision, or report until judgment is entered shall be computed by the clerk and added to the costs. (6) JUDGMENT BY DEFAULT. If the judgment is by default or upon voluntary dismissal by the adverse party the costs taxed under sub. (1) shall be one-half what they would have been had the matter been contested. (7) JUDGMENT OFFER NOT ACCEPTED. If the offer of judgment pursuant to s. 807.01 is not accepted and the plaintiff fails to recover a more favorable judgment the plaintiff shall not recover costs but the defendant shall have full costs to be computed on the demand of the complaint. (8) ACTIONS FOR MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS. In all actions brought for the benefit of any county, town, village, city or other municipal corporation of this state by a citizen taxpayer, the plaintiff shall be entitled to recover for the plaintiff’s own use, in case the plaintiff shall prevail, the taxable costs of such action and such part of the recovery as the court considers reasonable, as attorney fees, not to exceed 20 percent of such recovery, and not to exceed $500.
Plain-English Summary
Section 814.04 supplies the detailed menu of what counts as taxable costs once some other provision allows costs in a Wisconsin civil case, subject to a long list of other statutes it defers to first.
Attorney fees are fixed amounts tied to the amount recovered or the value of the property involved, scaled against the threshold in section 799.01 (1) (d): $500 for the largest cases, $300 for mid-range recoveries or cases with no amount recovered or no property involved, and $100 for the smallest. No attorney fees may be taxed unless the party appeared through an attorney other than the party personally. Disbursements cover a broad range of actual litigation expenses: necessary fees and referee compensation, a reasonable charge for service of process capped at the sheriff’s authorized fee, copies of public records, postage and other communications, the electronic filing fee, deposition costs, plats and photographs up to $100 each, an expert witness fee up to $300 per testifying expert on top of the standard witness fee and mileage, and abstract-of-title costs in land actions; guardian ad litem fees are not taxable as costs or disbursements.
On a money judgment, interest at a rate tied to the prime rate plus 1 percent runs from the time of the verdict, decision, or report until judgment is entered, and the clerk computes and adds it to the costs. If judgment is entered by default or on the plaintiff’s voluntary dismissal, the costs otherwise taxable are cut in half. And if a party rejects an offer of judgment under section 807.01 and the plaintiff fails to recover a more favorable judgment than the offer, the plaintiff recovers no costs while the defendant recovers full costs computed on the complaint’s demand.
A separate rule covers citizen-taxpayer suits brought for the benefit of a county, town, village, city, or other municipal corporation: a prevailing plaintiff recovers the action’s taxable costs plus a reasonable share of the recovery as attorney fees, capped at 20 percent of the recovery and at $500.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as taxable disbursements under this section?
Necessary fees, referee compensation, capped service-of-process charges, copying and postage costs, the electronic filing fee, deposition costs, capped plat and photograph costs, a capped expert witness fee, and abstract-of-title costs in land actions, among other items listed in section 814.04 (2).
How are the fixed attorney fee amounts determined?
They scale with the amount recovered or the value of the property involved, measured against the threshold in section 799.01 (1) (d): $500, $300, or $100 depending on the tier, with $300 as the default when there is no amount recovered or property involved.
Can a party recover attorney fees without hiring an outside attorney?
No. Section 814.04 (1) (c) bars taxing attorney fees on behalf of a party who appears by no attorney other than himself or herself.
What happens to costs when a judgment is entered by default?
The costs taxed under section 814.04 (1) are cut to half of what they would have been had the matter been contested.
What happens if I reject a settlement offer under section 807.01 and then don’t do better at trial?
Under section 814.04 (7), the plaintiff recovers no costs, and the defendant recovers full costs computed on the demand of the complaint.
Amendment History
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 50 Wis. 2d vii (1971); 1971 c. 141; Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 761, 780 (1975); Stats. 1975 s. 814.04; 1977 c. 209; 1979 c. 110 s. 60 (13); 1979 c. 271, 355; 1981 c. 123, 317; 1985 a. 52, 311; 1987 a. 348; 1991 a. 39, 65, 189, 295; 1993 a. 98, 326, 486, 490, 491; 1995 a. 24, 27, 133, 149, 262, 417; 1997 a. 55, 164, 254; 1999 a. 32, 82, 122, 190; 2001 a. 6, 16; 2003 a. 138; Sup. Ct. Order No. 03-06A, 2005 WI 86, 280 Wis. 2d xiii; 2005 a. 155, 325; 2005 a. 443 s. 265; 2005 a. 458; 2007 a. 96; 2009 a. 20; 2011 a. 2, 69, 118, 219; 2013 a. 165; Sup. Ct. Order No. 20-07, 2021 WI 37, 397 Wis. 2d xiii.
Source & verification. Section text and official notes are
reproduced verbatim from the Wisconsin Statutes, published by the
Wisconsin Legislature (Legislative Reference Bureau). Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: wisconsin statutory attorney fees amounttaxable disbursements wisconsininterest on judgment wisconsin costsdefault judgment costs half wisconsinoffer of judgment costs wisconsin