To fill out Form 5118, the City of Detroit Resident Income Tax Return, download the current-year PDF from michigan.gov, copy your adjusted gross income from your federal Form 1040 onto line 9, subtract $600 for each exemption you claim, multiply the result by the 2.4% resident rate, and enter your Detroit withholding from an attached Form 5121 to figure what you owe or are owed back.1Michigan Department of Treasury. 2025 City of Detroit Resident Income Tax Return The Michigan Department of Treasury administers the return on the city’s behalf, and the filing deadline is April 15, not the April 30 date used under the old city-administered system.
Confirm Form 5118 Is the Right Form
Form 5118 is for people who lived in Detroit for the entire calendar year. If you moved in or out mid-year, you file Form 5120 instead, which prorates your income to the months you were a resident.2State of Michigan. Filing a Detroit Individual Income Tax Annual Return or Amended Return If you worked in Detroit but never lived there, Form 5119 is the nonresident return. Using the wrong form is one of the fastest ways to have your return bounced back.
You need to file at all if your adjusted gross income exceeded your total personal exemption allowance. Each exemption is worth $600, so a single filer crosses the threshold at $600 of AGI and a married couple with two children crosses at $2,400.3City of Detroit. Income Tax Information Even if your employer withheld Detroit tax all year, you still file to reconcile what came out of your paychecks against what you actually owe.
What to Have in Front of You
Finish your federal Form 1040 or 1040-SR first. Several lines on Form 5118 pull directly from federal totals, and if the federal return changes later, the city return has to change with it.
Keep your W-2s and 1099s nearby for reference, but do not staple them to Form 5118. Detroit withholding goes on Form 5121, the City of Detroit Withholding Tax Schedule, which replaces the old practice of attaching W-2 copies.4State of Michigan. Instructions for Form 5121, City of Detroit Withholding Tax Schedule If you have more employers than Form 5121 can list, use Form 5253 for the overflow. Hold onto your W-2 and 1099 copies for your own records; the Department of Treasury can request them.
Download the correct year’s Form 5118 from the Michigan Department of Treasury website. A prior-year form will be rejected. If you’re completing it by hand, use blue or black ink.1Michigan Department of Treasury. 2025 City of Detroit Resident Income Tax Return
Working Through the Form
Personal Information and Exemptions
Enter your name, Social Security number, address, and filing status at the top. Your filing status should match the one on your federal return. Count your exemptions carefully: one for yourself, one for a spouse on a joint return, and one for each dependent. Each exemption cuts your taxable income by $600, so the count directly moves your tax bill.3City of Detroit. Income Tax Information
Income and Tax Calculation
On line 9, enter the adjusted gross income from your federal Form 1040. As a full-year resident, you owe 2.4% on essentially all income reported on your federal return: wages, salaries, bonuses, commissions, self-employment profits, rental income, interest, and dividends, regardless of where the money was earned. A second job in another city is still taxed at the Detroit resident rate.3City of Detroit. Income Tax Information
From AGI, subtract your total exemption allowance (exemptions times $600) and any other deductions the form allows. Multiply the result by 0.024 to get your tax.5State of Michigan. City of Detroit Form 5118 Instructions
A few income categories do not belong in Detroit taxable income even though they appear on your federal return. Unemployment compensation and supplemental unemployment pay are exempt. Active-duty military pay and service allotments are not taxed. Distributions from qualified pension plans, annuities, and IRAs are excluded. If retirement distributions are your only income, you likely owe no Detroit tax. Residents of a designated Detroit Renaissance Zone are exempt from the city income tax entirely.6Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Geographic Renaissance Zones
Withholding and Payments
Line 17 is where your Form 5121 total lands. Add up the Detroit tax withheld across your W-2s on Form 5121, then transfer the total to line 17 of Form 5118. If you made estimated payments during the year, enter those on the designated line. The gap between your total tax and your total payments is either what you owe or what will be refunded. Submitting Form 5118 without an attached Form 5121 when you’re claiming withholding will delay the return.4State of Michigan. Instructions for Form 5121, City of Detroit Withholding Tax Schedule
Schedules to Attach
Attach copies of any federal schedules that affect your AGI: Schedule C for self-employment, Schedule E for rental income, and any others the instructions call for.5State of Michigan. City of Detroit Form 5118 Instructions Form 5121 goes with the return in every case where Detroit tax was withheld.
Filing the Return
You can file electronically through the Michigan Department of Treasury’s City Tax eService portal at michigan.gov/citytax. E-filing cuts down on processing errors and gets refunds out sooner, and the same portal handles amended returns.7State of Michigan. e-File for Detroit Income Tax
If you file on paper, check Form 5118 for the current mailing address. The address differs depending on whether your return includes a payment or claims a refund. The city’s Income Tax Division is located at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, 2 Woodward Avenue, Suite 130, Detroit, MI 48226.3City of Detroit. Income Tax Information
The deadline is April 15 following the close of the tax year. For tax year 2025, that’s April 15, 2026.1Michigan Department of Treasury. 2025 City of Detroit Resident Income Tax Return If April 15 falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.
Common Errors and Late Penalties
Before signing, check that your Form 5121 totals match the number you carried to line 17. Confirm the exemption count and the $600 multiplication. Make sure you’re using the correct year’s form and the correct form for your residency status.
Late filing or underpayment carries two separate charges. The non-payment penalty runs 1% per month on the unpaid balance, up to a maximum of 25% of the total tax due. Interest runs on top of that, pegged to 1% above the adjusted prime rate and reset every January and July. Negligent underpayment adds a penalty of $10 or 10% of the shortfall, whichever is greater. Intentional disregard raises that to $25 or 25%, and a fraudulent attempt to evade the tax can bring a penalty equal to 100% of the amount owed.8City of Detroit. FAQ for Corporations, Partnerships and Trusts/Estates Taxes Filing on time with the right form attached avoids all of it.