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Bills · 2025-2026 Regular Session

AB 685

Became law Official bill text Atom feed

Relating to: individual income tax subtraction for certain theft losses. (FE)

Crime and criminals Income tax — Deduction Legislature — Tax exemptions joint survey committee on

  1. Introduced, completed
  2. Passes Assembly, completed
  3. Passes Senate, completed
  4. Governor signs, completed
  5. Law, completed

Unfamiliar terms? Glossary

What this bill does

Plain-language analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill allows taxpayers to subtract certain theft losses when calculating their income for individual income tax purposes, beginning with taxable year 2024.

Under the bill, a taxpayer may subtract a theft loss if the loss is deductible in the taxable year as an itemized deduction under federal law, regardless of whether the individual claims the federal deduction. Under federal law, the deduction is limited to losses that are related to a profit-seeking activity or connected to a federally declared disaster (or, beginning next year, a state declared disaster). Federal law imposes additional conditions, including that there be no reasonable chance of recovering the money or property, and generally provides that a theft loss is claimed in the year in which the taxpayer discovers the loss.

The bill also provides that taxpayers who make the subtraction under the bill may not include the theft loss in the amount used to claim the itemized deductions tax credit. Under current law, that credit is based on the amount of specified itemized deductions a taxpayer is eligible to claim for federal tax purposes.

Because this bill relates to an exemption from state or local taxes, it may be referred to the Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions for a report to be printed as an appendix to the bill.

What it would cost

Fiscal estimates filed by state agencies, as official PDFs

Sponsors

Introduced by: Swearingen (R)

5 cosponsors

Felzkowski (R) , Ortiz-Velez (D) , Smith (D) , Snyder (R) , Spreitzer (D)

Registered lobbying interests · 3

Organizations that registered lobbying activity on this bill with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. Registration means interest, not a position for or against. Official record

Votes

Assembly: Report Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 adoption recommended by Committee on Ways and Means, Ayes 10, Noes 0

Passed 10–0 Feb 4, 2026 official source full page

No individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Assembly: Report passage as amended recommended by Committee on Ways and Means, Ayes 10, Noes 0

Passed 10–0 Feb 4, 2026 official source full page

No individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Assembly: Report of Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions received, Ayes 9, Noes 0

Passed 9–0 Feb 10, 2026 official source full page

No individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Assembly: PASSAGE

Passed 99–0 Feb 17, 2026 official source full page

Aye · 99

Senate: Report concurrence recommended by Joint Committee on Finance, Ayes 16, Noes 0

Passed 16–0 Mar 3, 2026 official source full page

No individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Senate: Public hearing requirement waived by committee on Senate Organization, pursuant to Senate Rule 18 (1m), Ayes 3, Noes 2

Passed 3–2 Mar 16, 2026 official source full page

No individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Senate: CONCURRENCE

Passed 33–0 Mar 17, 2026 official source full page

Full history

  1. Nov 26, 2025 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representative Swearingen; cosponsored by Senator Felzkowski

  2. Nov 26, 2025 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Ways and Means

  3. Dec 19, 2025 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  4. Jan 12, 2026 · Assembly

    Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 offered by Representative Swearingen

  5. Jan 21, 2026 · Assembly

    Public hearing held

  6. Feb 4, 2026 · Assembly

    Assembly Substitute Amendment 2 offered by Representative Swearingen

  7. Feb 4, 2026 · Assembly

    Executive action taken

  8. Feb 4, 2026 · Assembly

    Report Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 adoption recommended by Committee on Ways and Means, Ayes 10, Noes 0

  9. Feb 4, 2026 · Assembly

    Report passage as amended recommended by Committee on Ways and Means, Ayes 10, Noes 0

  10. Feb 4, 2026 · Assembly

    Referred to committee on Rules

  11. Feb 4, 2026 · Assembly

    Assembly Amendment 1 to Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 offered by Representative Swearingen

  12. Feb 6, 2026 · Assembly

    Referred to joint survey committee on Tax Exemptions pursuant to Assembly Rule 45 (4)

  13. Feb 6, 2026 · Assembly

    Senator Spreitzer added as a cosponsor

  14. Feb 9, 2026 · Assembly

    Executive action taken by joint survey committee on Tax Exemptions

  15. Feb 10, 2026 · Assembly

    Report of Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions received, Ayes 9, Noes 0

  16. Feb 12, 2026 · Assembly

    Representative Snyder added as a coauthor

  17. Feb 13, 2026 · Assembly

    Withdrawn from Committee on Rules and referred to calendar of 2-17-2026

  18. Feb 16, 2026 · Assembly

    Representative Ortiz-Velez added as a coauthor

  19. Feb 17, 2026 · Assembly

    Read a second time

  20. Feb 17, 2026 · Assembly

    Assembly Substitute Amendment 2 adopted

  21. Feb 17, 2026 · Assembly

    Ordered to a third reading

  22. Feb 17, 2026 · Assembly

    Rules suspended

  23. Feb 17, 2026 · Assembly

    Read a third time and passed, Ayes 99, Noes 0

  24. Feb 17, 2026 · Assembly

    Ordered immediately messaged

  25. Feb 18, 2026 · Senate

    Received from Assembly

  26. Feb 20, 2026 · Senate

    Read first time and referred to committee on Senate Organization

  27. Feb 20, 2026 · Senate

    Available for scheduling

  28. Feb 27, 2026 · Senate

    Withdrawn from committee on Senate Organization and rereferred to joint committee on Finance pursuant to Senate Rule 46(2)(c)

  29. Mar 3, 2026 · Senate

    Executive action taken

  30. Mar 3, 2026 · Senate

    Report concurrence recommended by Joint Committee on Finance, Ayes 16, Noes 0

  31. Mar 3, 2026 · Senate

    Available for scheduling

  32. Mar 16, 2026 · Senate

    Public hearing requirement waived by committee on Senate Organization, pursuant to Senate Rule 18 (1m), Ayes 3, Noes 2

  33. Mar 16, 2026 · Senate

    Placed on calendar 3-17-2026 pursuant to Senate Rule 18(1)

  34. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Read a second time

  35. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Ordered to a third reading

  36. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Rules suspended to give bill its third reading

  37. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Read a third time and concurred in, Ayes 33, Noes 0

  38. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Senator Smith added as a cosponsor

  39. Mar 17, 2026 · Senate

    Ordered immediately messaged

  40. Mar 18, 2026 · Assembly

    Received from Senate concurred in

  41. Mar 23, 2026 · Assembly

    Report correctly enrolled on 3-23-2026

  42. Apr 2, 2026 · Assembly

    Presented to the Governor on 4-2-2026

  43. Apr 3, 2026 · Assembly

    Report approved by the Governor on 4-3-2026. 2025 Wisconsin Act 192

  44. Apr 3, 2026 · Assembly

    Published 4-4-2026