On the Homestead Property Tax Credit Claim form (MI-1040 CR), you need to report total household resources (defined as "the total income [taxable and nontaxable] of both spouses or of a single person maintaining a household." They then ask a lot of questions to determine your total household resources, including asking you to report gifts.
Specifically, line 24 asks you to report "gifts or expenses pain on your behalf." The instructions for this line state: "Enter the value over $300 in gifts of cash or merchandise received, or expenses paid on your behalf (rent, taxes, utilities, food, medical care, etc.) by parents, relatives, or friends. This includes the amount of financial support you received if you are claimed as a dependent on someone else's return. Do not include government payments made directly to third parties such as an educational institution or subsidized housing project."
My question: What counts as "gifts"? Does this mean I need to report money/gift cards received from birthdays, Christmas, etc.?? This seems crazy and something I would not have to report, but maybe I'm wrong and I should be reporting the value of all gifts I receive throughout the year? Any thoughts?
