A letter from the Michigan Department of Treasury usually means the state has a question about your return, a credit you claimed, or a balance it says you owe. Most letters are not accusations. They start a clock, and what you do with a Michigan Department of Treasury letter in the first 60 days largely decides whether the issue stays small or turns into liens, levies, and added penalties. Read the letter through to the deadline, gather what it asks for, and respond in writing before that date — even if your response is a request for more time or a dispute.
Figure Out Which Letter You Got
The response depends on the type of notice. A few show up more often than others.
An income discrepancy notice flags a mismatch between your Michigan return and information a third party reported. Your W-2 shows $52,000 in wages but your return shows $48,000, or a 1099 didn’t make it onto the return at all. The letter asks you to either agree with the corrected figure or explain why the Treasury’s number is wrong.
A credit adjustment or denial letter lists what changed on a credit you claimed. The Homestead Property Tax Credit is a common one. The notice tells you which documents to send if you disagree, and the list depends on the income types involved.1Michigan Department of Treasury. Homestead Property Tax Credit Claim (MI-1040CR) – Adjustment or Denial Homeowner’s Checklist
A Bill for Taxes Due (Intent to Assess), Form 168, is the one to take most seriously. It states the tax, penalties, and interest the Treasury intends to assess and gives you 60 days to pay, arrange payment, or dispute it. If you do nothing, the assessment becomes final and collection begins.2State of Michigan. Intent to Assess (Bill for Taxes Due)
An audit notification explains that the Treasury is examining your return and lists the records you need to produce. The state generally has four years from the filing date or the due date, whichever is later, to assess additional tax, and that window can extend in certain situations such as a federal audit of the same period.3State of Michigan. RAB 2015-26 Audits and the Statute of Limitations
An identity theft notice means the Treasury saw a suspicious return filed in your name. Follow the letter’s instructions, and you can also reach the Treasury at 517-636-4486 or through the Citizen Portal.4State of Michigan. Identity Theft Moving quickly matters because an unresolved fraudulent return can delay your legitimate refund for months.
What To Do in the First Week
Open the letter and read it all the way through. The single most important line is the response date. For an Intent to Assess, that’s 60 days from the date on the notice.2State of Michigan. Intent to Assess (Bill for Taxes Due) Miss it, and your options shrink fast.
Then pull the documents the letter asks for. If it’s an income discrepancy, that’s your W-2s, 1099s, and the copy of the return you filed. If a credit was denied, match your paperwork to the checklist the notice references. Make copies of everything before you send anything out.
Send your response by certified mail with a return receipt. If a dispute later turns on whether you met a deadline, that receipt is your proof. The Citizen Portal is an option for some letter types, but for anything with a hard deadline, certified mail is the safer choice. Use the phone number and address printed on the letter itself rather than a general number you find online — different divisions handle different notices.
If you can’t gather everything in time, call the Treasury before the deadline and ask for more time. A call doesn’t replace a written response, but it can keep the situation from escalating while you find records.
If You Agree With the Notice
Sometimes the Treasury is right. You forgot a 1099, or the credit really wasn’t yours to claim. If that’s the case, the fastest path is to agree, pay the difference, and move on before penalties keep climbing. You can pay by mailing a check with a Michigan Individual Income Tax Payment Voucher (MI-1040-V) to PO Box 30774, Lansing, MI 48909, or pay electronically through the Citizen Portal.5State of Michigan. How Do I Apply for an Installment Agreement? Payments from a checking or savings account carry no fee; credit and debit card payments do.
If You Can’t Pay in Full
An installment agreement is available, but only after the Treasury has issued a Bill for Taxes Due. Before that, you can still make voluntary payments to reduce the balance. Once the bill is issued, the Treasury evaluates whether you qualify for a payment plan.5State of Michigan. How Do I Apply for an Installment Agreement? Interest and penalties keep accruing on the unpaid balance while you’re on a plan, so paying as much as you can upfront cuts the total cost. Ignoring the bill is the surest route to a lien or levy.
If You Disagree
Request an Informal Conference
The informal conference is the first level of appeal and the one most taxpayers use. You have to request it in writing within 60 days of the date on the Intent to Assess. Your request must state the amount of tax you’re disputing, explain why you disagree, and include payment of any portion you don’t dispute. Form 5713 is designed for this.2State of Michigan. Intent to Assess (Bill for Taxes Due)
The Treasury accepts these requests only by mail or fax, not by email or phone. Send them to the Hearings Division at PO Box 30038, Lansing, MI 48909, or fax to 517-636-4115. An impartial referee holds the conference at a mutually convenient time, and you can bring an attorney or send a representative in your place. The referee then makes a recommendation to a Treasury executive, who issues the final decision.6State of Michigan. Informal Conference
Michigan Tax Tribunal or Court of Claims
If the informal conference doesn’t go your way, or if you’d rather skip it, you can appeal to the Michigan Tax Tribunal or the Court of Claims. The Tax Tribunal deadline is 60 days from the final assessment or informal conference decision. The Court of Claims deadline is 90 days.7State of Michigan. 2123 Taxpayer Rights and Responsibilities These are hard deadlines. A day late means losing the right to challenge the assessment in that forum.
The Tribunal’s Small Claims Division uses an informal hearing process, often by phone, which makes it workable without an attorney. The Entire Tribunal handles larger or more complex disputes under more formal procedures. Whichever you choose, bring the assessment notice, your filed returns, your correspondence with the Treasury, and the records that back your position.
Bringing In Someone To Help
You can appoint an accountant, tax attorney, or trusted representative to deal with the Treasury for you. Michigan uses Form 151, the Authorized Representative Declaration (Power of Attorney).7State of Michigan. 2123 Taxpayer Rights and Responsibilities The form requires your name, Social Security number, the representative’s contact information, and the specific tax types and periods covered. Entries like “all taxes” or “all periods” get rejected, so list each year and tax type.
Name a specific person and only that person can act for you. Name a firm and anyone in the firm can. Individual taxpayers mail the form to PO Box 30058, Lansing, MI 48909 or fax it to 517-636-4488. Businesses can submit it through Michigan Treasury Online.8State of Michigan. 151, Authorized Representative Declaration (Power of Attorney)
You also have the right to bring a representative to any meeting or hearing, and to have your tax information kept confidential — no one can access your records or discuss your case without your written authorization.7State of Michigan. 2123 Taxpayer Rights and Responsibilities
What Ignoring the Letter Costs You
The late-payment penalty is 5% of the unpaid tax for the first two months, then an additional 5% for each month after, up to 25%.9Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws Section 205-24 Interest runs on top of that from the original due date until the balance is paid. A modest tax balance can grow by thousands.
Once an assessment becomes final and you haven’t paid or arranged payment, the Treasury moves to forced collection. It doesn’t need a court order to do so.
- Tax liens are filed against your real and personal property. A lien becomes public record, can damage your credit, and generally prevents you from selling or transferring the property until the debt is paid and the lien released.10State of Michigan: Michigan Department of Treasury. 2315 Taxpayer Rights During an Audit
- Wage levies order your employer to deduct a set amount from each paycheck and send it to the Treasury. Each levy adds a $55 filing fee to your balance.
- Bank levies order your bank to hand over the funds in your account up to the amount owed. Also $55 per levy.10State of Michigan: Michigan Department of Treasury. 2315 Taxpayer Rights During an Audit
Engaging early — even just to set up a payment plan or ask a question — is always cheaper than waiting for the collection stage. Every Treasury letter is an invitation to respond before the state takes the decision out of your hands.