Press Release: Wisconsin Ends Fiscal Year 2021 with $2.58 Billion Positive Balance

STATE OF WISCONSIN

DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION

Tony Evers, Governor

Joel Brennan, Secretary

Wisconsin Ends Fiscal Year 2021 with $2.58 Billion Positive Balance

State Increases Budget Stabilization Fund to $1.73 Billion

Madison, Wis. – Wisconsin concluded Fiscal Year 2021, which ended on June 30, 2021, with a positive balance of $2.58 billion.  In addition, the state increased its Budget Stabilization Fund (“Rainy Day” Fund) to a record-high $1.73 billion according to the new Annual Fiscal Report released by the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) today.

“A healthy rainy-day fund will help us face tomorrow’s challenges head-on,” said DOA Secretary Joel Brennan. “By prudently managing our way through this crisis, we’ve built the largest Budget Stabilization Fund in state history, making sure we’re ready for future challenges, and securing a strong pandemic recovery for our hard-hit communities, businesses and industries.”

Noteworthy items from the Fiscal Year 2021 Annual Fiscal Report include:

• The state’s undesignated general fund balance at the end of Fiscal Year 2021 was $2.58 billion, more than double the prior year’s balance of $1.17 billion in Fiscal Year 2020.

• Wisconsin transferred excess revenues of $967.4 million to its Budget Stabilization Fund, more than doubling the prior year balance. The current Budget Stabilization Fund balance now totals roughly $1.73 billion, the largest in the state’s history and more than five times larger than the balance at the end of Fiscal Year 2018.

• State general fund tax collections in Fiscal Year 2021 increased by 11.6% over the prior year and exceeded the most recent estimates by nearly $319 million.

The full Fiscal Year 2021 Annual Fiscal Report is available here: https://doa.wi.gov/Pages/StateFinances/AnnualFiscalReportAFR.aspx