Michigan State Income Taxes

Michigan requires that you file your income tax return either on April 15th or April 30th, depending upon where you live.


This page:

  • Lists basic Michigan state tax information

  • Links to the major Michigan income tax forms

  • Shows you how you can save time and money by e-filing

Prepare your Michigan taxes online, for free:
If you want to avoid costly mistakes, while at the same time taking advantage of all possible credits and deductions, you want to do your taxes online.

TurboTax Online allows you to work on your return for free, until you file. Work on your federal and Michigan state taxes, and pay nothing until you are satisfied with your return. Start now.

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Michigan state taxes at a glance:

Tax Rate Range*: Low - 3.9%; High - 3.9%
Income Brackets: Flat Rate
Number of Brackets: 1
Personal Exemptions: Single - $3,100; Married - $6,200; Dependents - $3,100; Senior Exemption - $3,100
Standard Deduction: None
Medical/Dental Deduction: None
Federal Income Tax Deduction: None

*Note: Michigan's tax rate is decreasing in the next two years. In 2006, the flat tax rate will be 4 percent while in 2006, it will be 3.9 percent.

Filing your Michigan state income tax return

When you file your Michigan state income tax return, you are required to use the same filing status as you used on your federal return unless you used Married Filing Separately. In these cases you can change your filing status to Married Filing Jointly.

According to Michigan taxed laws, your income is taxed at a flat rate of 4.2 percent. However, different municipalities and cities impose an additional tax. Depending upon where you live different tax return forms are used and different taxes are levied.

If you do live in a municipality that applies additional taxes to its residents, you may be eligible for a tax credit. Michigan offers a partial tax credits for city income tax. Other common Michigan income tax credits are:

  • Community Foundation Credit
  • College Tuition and Fees Credit
  • Historic Preservation Tax Credit

For a full list of all Michigan credits and deductions, read the instruction booklet provided by Michigan Department of Treasury.

In Michigan, your taxes are figured using your adjusted gross income from your federal return. Since this is the case your income from different sources is taxed at the same. For example, you capital gains are already included in your federal AGI and, therefore, are taxed at the same rate as the rest of your income.

Furthermore, retirement income, regardless of the source, is taxed in the state of residency. So, if you are a Michigan resident with retirement income from a different state, you are required to pay Michigan state income tax.

As a nonresident, you must file a Michigan income tax return on salary wages and other employee compensation for work performed in Michigan.

This rule holds true unless you are a resident of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. Michigan maintain a reciprocal agreement with these states. This agreement exempts nonresident's from income taxes imposed by each state on salaries, wages and other employee compensation if you are a resident of one of these states.

To claim a refund of any Michigan withholding tax, you must file a MI-1040 along with the Schedule NR.

Sidebar
You can work on your Michigan tax return online while filing your federal return (you can work on it for free, and pay nothing until you are ready to file).

Note: if you are filing more than one state return, you must file a paper return for each additional state, as TurboTax Online only allows one state prep.

Michigan income tax forms

The main Michigan tax forms are:

MI-1040 | 2006 Michigan Individual Income Tax Return| Instructions

Schedule 1 | Additions and Subtractions

Schedule CT | College Tuition and Fees Credit

If you need Michigan income tax forms that are not listed here, you can download them from the Michigan tax forms site.


Or, just simply e-file!

Additional MI state taxes help

If you need help with your federal tax return, start with our basic guide to tax filing.

For additional help with filing MI income tax returns, see the official site of the Michigan Department of Treasury.

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