Michigan tax forms & filing.

Things to know about filing in Michigan

• Several Michigan cities (Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint, others) levy their own city income tax that's withheld separately from the state. The state return is just MI; the city return is filed separately with the city.
• Michigan has reciprocity with Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin for wage income. Residents working in those states pay only Michigan tax on wages.
• Michigan exempts Social Security benefits and offers a generous retirement-income exclusion that has been expanded in recent legislation. The exclusion amount and qualification rules change by birth year — we apply the current schedule at intake for retirees.
• Michigan has a Homestead Property Tax Credit — refundable — that's frequently missed by renters who don't realize they qualify based on rental payments.

Michigan retirement income exclusion — the birth-year tier system

Michigan's retirement income tax treatment depends heavily on the recipient's birth year, with multiple tiers governing how much qualified retirement income is excluded from state tax. The tier system was created by 2011 legislation (the 'pension tax') and has been substantially modified by recent legislation expanding retiree relief.

Older retirees (those born before a defined cutoff) get the broadest exclusion — covering Social Security, qualifying public pensions, and a substantial portion of private retirement income. Younger retirees get progressively narrower exclusions, with the most recently retired tier receiving the smallest pension-specific subtractions.

Practical effect: two retired Michigan couples with identical pension and 401(k) income can pay materially different state tax based on birth year. Recent legislation has expanded relief for younger tiers, narrowing the gap — but birth-year remains a key determinant. We confirm the applicable tier at intake for every Michigan retiree.

Michigan city income taxes — Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint, and others

Twenty-plus Michigan cities levy their own income tax — most notably Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint, Lansing, Pontiac, and Saginaw. Each city sets its own rate (typically 1% to 2.4%) and administers its own return. The city return is filed separately from the state MI-1040.

If you live and work in the same city: the city tax applies to your wages and self-employment income. If you live in one city and work in another: typically both cities tax you (resident city + work city), with the resident city giving a credit for taxes paid to the work city (up to a cap). If you live in a non-tax city and work in a tax city: only the work city taxes you, on the work-city portion.

Detroit in particular is the most-litigated and most-misfiled because of its size and the volume of telecommuters and non-resident workers. Remote-work patterns since 2020 have generated significant Detroit nonresident refund opportunities for workers who used to commute in but now work from home. We track this at intake when Detroit withholding shows on the W-2.

Where's my refund?

The Michigan Department of Treasury runs the official refund-status tracker. You'll need your Social Security number, filing status, and exact refund amount (in some cases, the tax year and a return-amount input).

Check your Michigan refund status →

Multi-state considerations

If you lived or worked in more than one state during the tax year, you typically file a part-year resident return in each state. If you live in one state and work in another, you usually file as a resident where you live and as a nonresident in the work state — claiming a credit on the resident return for taxes paid to the work state. Reciprocity agreements between some neighboring states change this default; we map this out at intake.

Michigan-specific multi-state nuances are addressed in the quirks list above when they apply.

Get the current-year forms

State tax rates, brackets, and forms change every year. We point to the Michigan Department of Treasury as the authoritative source for current-year information. Form numbers above are stable; rates, deduction amounts, and credit limits are not — always verify before relying on a specific dollar amount.

Open the Michigan Department of Treasury website →