I live in Michigan and work in Toledo, OH. What do I need to do with regards to taxes?

[elynnh97]

One more quick question...do the Toledo forms need to be submitted to Toledo so they are on file there as well or just filled out and added to my Michigan return?

[AmyC]

You will need to file them with Toledo. 

[simplemom3]

Amy C you referred to "THE EMPLOYER CERTIFICATION MUST BE COMPLETED AND SIGNED"......but it looks like that is regarding non-residents who worked OUTSIDE City of Toledo.   To be clear, for those of us who are MI residents and earned all of our income inside Toledo we just need to file the first page of the 2020 Toledo Individual Tax return and send it to the City of Toledo to officially file, then include a copy of that form with our MI tax return to file in MI for the credit.  

Do I finally understand this correctly?  

[DianeW777]

Yes, you do understand the process correctly to obtain the credit for taxes paid to another state or locality on your MI return for the wages you earned in Toledo. To confirm, the process is to complete the Toledo return, file it with your MI return and with the City of Toledo.

Your W-2 is proof of paying the tax along with the local return which verifies there is no refund of that tax from the City of Toledo.

[elynnh97]

A City of Toledo taxation employee told me that if I owe nothing to them and they owe nothing to me, I do not have to file a return with them.  Just to Michigan.  It won't hurt to do so, but it is not necessary.

[MarilynG1]

@elynnh97 Yes, you are correct that a return does not need to be filed if no taxes were withheld on your W-2. 

[Hal_Al]

There are two issues here: Toledo would rather you didn't file; it's just unnecessary paper work for them.  What's not clear is what MI "really" wants.

[Ash_Phoenix77]

Turbo tax has made this very difficult and very simple at the same time. 

When you are filing for your state refund. In the "Take a look at Michigan credits and taxes" section, under "Other credits". Start, "Other State Tax Credit." Answer yes to, "Qualify for other state credits?" This is where it got me because you assume you want to look for the state of Ohio to select. However, you need to select "City/county/locality outside of Michigan" at the top of the drop down menu, then hit continue. Then next screen type in OH Toledo for "Local Government". Next screen type in the amount in box 19 on you W2, in the box "Tax paid to OH Toledo (US $). Then click continue. You are now credited the amount you paid to Toledo. 

Hope that helps.

[awojnow]

I want to confirm: If I follow the steps you list in turbotax for the credit of the Toledo city taxes on my Michigan return is there still a need to print and mail copies to MI state? 

[ErnieS0]

Yes. Michigan says, "Include a copy of the return filed with the other government  unit(s) with your MI-1040. If you do not include the return file with the other government unit(s) when claiming this credit, processing of your return may be delayed or your credit may be denied."

@awojnow see page 10 of the MI-1040 instructions

[SB04]

What if the person is a Michigan resident but Rossford local taxes are reflected on the W-2. What RITA forms need to completed/filed?

[Hal_Al]

The reciprocity agreement, between MI & OH on state taxes, does not apply to local city taxes. You are not required to file a local city return, but you are also not entitled to a refund of the city withholding (box19 on your W-2), unless there was an error in the amount. 

Michigan will give you credit for OH city tax paid,  on the state return, but you have to attach a copy of the city return. So, even though the Ohio city does not require you to file a return, you have to file one to get the MI credit, even though there will be no tax due or refunded from the Ohio city.  

Rossford is a RITA city, so you file with them.  You can file at the RITA web site or get the forms to fill out.  

http://www.ritaohio.com/

Theoretically, you can do a RITA form in TurboTax, but you will have to pay for the OH software and it ain't easy, as you have to navigate the  OH state software to get to the city software. 

[Taxpayer6817]

I really don't want to throw a wrench into this discussion as it is confusing what MI really wants.  I logged into the MI tax site last week and posed this question:  "A question about line 18 on MI-1040. The instructions say that I need to include a copy of the return I file with the entity outside of MI that withheld taxes with my MI-1040, but that entity (City of Toledo) does not require that I file a return.  What do I do?"

Here's the answer they sent me:  "To confirm any taxes imposed by government units outside of Michigan, please submit a copy of your W-2(s) showing withholdings paid to the City of Toledo.  Thank you for using the Michigan Department of Treasury online self-service website."

So do we believe that we actually don't have to include a copy of a Toledo income tax return with our MI return or not?!!

[Hal_Al]

Q. So do we believe that we actually don't have to include a copy of a Toledo income tax return with our MI return or not???

A. File the W-2 as instructed and see what happens. 

 I posed the same question to them several years ago (2015) and got the answer that I posted previously. It sounds like the Michigan tax people have finally "come around" to the common sense approach.  Please let us know if that works, for you. . 

[TomD8]

@Taxpayer6817 --

Based on their answer, your W-2 showing local withholding in Boxes 18-20 should suffice.