How to Fill Out City of Detroit Form DW-4: Employee Withholding Certificate

The City of Detroit Form DW-4 is the employee withholding certificate you give your employer so the right amount of Detroit income tax comes out of each paycheck. Skip it and your employer must withhold at zero exemptions, which pulls more from your check than you likely owe.¹ A completed DW-4 lets you claim personal and dependent exemptions and tells your employer what share of your work is performed inside the city.

Who Needs to File One

Detroit taxes two groups of workers. If you live in Detroit, your employer withholds the resident rate of 2.4 percent on all your compensation, no matter where the employer is located. If you live outside the city but work for an employer with a Detroit worksite, the non-resident rate of 1.2 percent applies to the portion of your pay for work actually performed inside city limits.²

One threshold matters for non-residents. If less than 25 percent of your work for that employer happens in Detroit, the employer is not required to withhold Detroit tax at all.³ You may still owe tax at year end, but nothing comes out of your paycheck automatically.

What to Have Ready

Gather a few things before you start writing:

Your full legal name, home address, and Social Security number.
The physical address where you perform your work. If you split your time between cities, know the two Michigan cities where you do the most work and your best estimate of the percentage of earnings from each.¹
Your exemption count. The DW-4 follows the same rules as your federal return for counting exemptions, so a recent W-4 or federal return is a useful reference.
A copy of your Certification of Qualification, if you live or work in a designated Renaissance Zone and qualify for an exemption.

Filling Out Each Section

Personal and Employer Information

The top of the form asks for your name, Social Security number, home address, and employer details. Your home address is what tells your employer whether to withhold at the resident or non-resident rate, so enter the address where you actually live, not a mailing address or P.O. box.

Line 3: Where You Work

Line 3 is for people whose work is split across cities. Print the names of the two Michigan taxing cities where you do the most work, then circle the closest percentage of total earnings for each. Your estimate drives your withholding, but it is not the last word. On your annual return, the actual allocation is subject to substantiation and audit.¹ If all your work is in Detroit, this section is easy: one city, 100 percent.

Exemptions

Each exemption shields $600 of your annual income from Detroit’s tax.⁴ That figure was set in 2005 and has not changed since.² Add up your exemptions this way:

One for yourself.
One for your spouse, provided your spouse is not already claiming a personal exemption on their own DW-4.
One for each qualifying dependent you claim on your federal return.

Enter the total in the box. Note one limit: the DW-4 does not allow the additional withholding allowances you might claim on Schedule A of the federal W-4. Only standard personal and dependency exemptions count.¹ To count as your qualifying relative, a dependent generally cannot have gross income above $5,300 for the 2026 tax year. That limit does not apply to qualifying children.

Additional Withholding

Below the exemptions section, the form lets you request an extra flat dollar amount withheld from each paycheck. That is useful if you have freelance income, rental income, or a second job with no Detroit withholding. Adding a little here now can prevent a balance due when you file.

Turning It In

Hand the completed DW-4 to your employer’s payroll or HR department. The city does not collect these forms; your employer keeps the DW-4 on file and uses it to calculate withholding each pay period.¹ Most payroll systems update within one or two pay cycles. Check the next couple of paystubs to confirm the Detroit line reflects what you expect.

If your employer has reason to believe the information you submitted is not accurate, the form directs them to notify the Detroit Income Tax Director.¹ Padding your exemption count to lower withholding is not a workaround worth trying.

When You Need to File a New One

Your DW-4 stays in effect until you replace it, but several events require an update:

You move into or out of a taxing city. File a revised form within 10 days. Moving into Detroit switches you from the 1.2 percent non-resident rate to the 2.4 percent resident rate, or the reverse if you move out.⁵
Your Line 3 work-location percentages will be different next year. File a new form by December 1.¹
Your exemption count changes because of a new child, a divorce, or a dependent who ages out. File a new DW-4 promptly.
Your Renaissance Zone status changes. File a revised form within 10 days.⁵

Forgetting to update after a move is the mistake that causes the most trouble at tax time. You get withheld at the wrong rate for months, and the gap shows up as a balance due on your annual return.

Where to Get the Form

Your employer’s HR department usually keeps blank DW-4s on hand. You can also download the PDF directly from the City of Detroit’s website.¹ The Michigan Department of Treasury publishes the companion withholding guide for employers, which includes rate tables and the $600-per-exemption calculation if you want to check your employer’s math.⁴

The DW-4 Is Not Your Tax Return

The DW-4 only controls what leaves your paycheck. You still need to file a Detroit income tax return each year, and for the 2025 tax year that return is due April 15, 2026.⁶ Overpayments from withholding come back as a refund; shortfalls become tax owed. Getting your DW-4 exemptions right from the start keeps that difference small either way.

1
City of Detroit. City of Detroit Form DW-4
2
City of Detroit. Income Tax Information
3
Michigan Legislature. MCL 141-651
4
State of Michigan. 2025 City of Detroit Income Tax Withholding Guide
5
Michigan Legislature. City Income Tax Act Chapter 2
6
State of Michigan. City of Detroit Individual Income Tax