State tax filing

People who live and/or work in Detroit City must pay Detroit City Income Tax (along with federal and Michigan income taxes).

Westland and Livonia are separate cities. Residents of those cities do not have to pay Detroit tax unless they physically worked in Detroit. 

Employer withholding

If you worked in Detroit, your employer should have withheld Detroit city tax. The amount will be listed in Boxes 18-20 of your W-2, with Box 18 being Detroit wages, Box 19 being Detroit tax withheld and Box 20 being the city code. If Detroit tax was withheld the city code would be "DET" or something similar.

TurboTax prepares Detroit returns

To prepare a Detroit return in TurboTax:

1. Click on State.
2. Click Continue next to Michigan.
3. On the screen Which Cities Did you Live or Work In? Click I need a Detroit City return.
4. Select Detroit Nonresident
5. Continue through your return until you come to Live or Work in Any of These Cities?
6. Detroit will be checked. If not, check Detroit.
7. On Your Detroit Return, I file as a Detroit Nonresident should be checked. If not, check the box and continue through the rest of the screens.

Working from home

Many employers continued to withhold Detroit City tax on employers who worked from home during the pandemic. If that applies to you, you can file a Detroit return and get a refund for the days you worked from home.

See: Alumni Tax Expert @ErnieS0's answer to:  I worked from home for a significant portion of the year, but continued to pay Detroit City taxes. C...