I live in Ohio, I work in both Ohio and Michigan, I have state taxes taken out for both Michigan and Ohio.

[LoveTheKiwi]

I don't have the money to take these to get them done by someone else, and I'd much rather learn how to do it myself anyways. 

I have two jobs, one in Ohio and one in Michigan. I live in Ohio. I just need to know how to file my state taxes. I hope to be able to talk to my Michigan job and have them stop taking out Michigan state taxes. However, that doesn't solve my issues of getting this years taxes done. 

I'm not sure how to report these earnings to the state of Ohio because the online Efile does not let you change it to Michigan, it assumes everything you've made will be in Ohio.

I know they're reciprocal states, but my Michigan employer didn't really care and took out Michigan taxes anyways.

If anyone could just give me some clear direction on how to go about filing these, I would greatly appreciate it. 

[Hal_Al]

You have to pay Ohio tax on all your income.  Because of the reciprocity rule,  Ohio will not give yo a credit for the tax paid to MI. So, yes, essentially  everything you've made will be in Ohio.

You have to file a MI non resident return to get a full refund.  Yes, try to get your employer to stop withholding MI tax so you don't have to file a MI return every year. Submit exemption Form MI-W4 to your employer.

You'll have to pay TurboTax for a 2nd state program, unless you want to try doing the MI return by hand.

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/taxes/Schedule_NR_711867_7.pdf

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/taxes/Schedule_NR_711867_7.pdf

[DianeW777]

Ohio (OH) has a reciprocal agreement with Michigan (MI) which means that MI understands you are an OH resident and will not tax you on wages you earn there.  Instead they will issue a full refund of any withholdings. File the nonresident state return first, then your resident state.

When you complete your W-2 in the federal section, be sure to list zero wages for MI and enter all wages for OH.  You must add a second state of MI on the W2 so that you can enter the amount of withholding.  Once you do this you should see a full refund on the MI return, but you could have a balance due on OH if the withholding was not enough.

The key is to file the returns accurately and get the money back you are entitled to.  There's no reason for concern when entering the W-2 to accurately reflect your situation.  Watch for the 'reciprocal agreement' questions.  Also be sure to select MI in the 'Personal Info' section of your return so that both state returns are there for you.  See the image below.

[TomD8]

"I know they're reciprocal states, but my Michigan employer didn't really care and took out Michigan taxes anyways."

Michigan's rules on this are clear:

From the 2021 Michigan Income Tax Withholding Guide:

"Michigan has entered into reciprocal agreements with the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.  This means that a Michigan employer will not withhold Michigan income tax from residents of those states who work in Michigan."

Also:

"Under MCL 206.703(14) employers must submit to Treasury a copy of any MI-W4 receive from employees who claim exemption from withholding tax."

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/taxes/446_711611_7.pdf