When Is Michigan Sales Tax Due? Filing Deadlines

Michigan sales tax funds public services like education and healthcare. This tax applies to retail sales of tangible personal property and certain services. Michigan imposes a uniform statewide sales tax rate of 6%, with no additional local sales taxes. Businesses collect this tax from consumers and remit it to the Michigan Department of Treasury.

Determining Your Filing Frequency

Businesses are assigned a sales tax filing frequency by the Michigan Department of Treasury, based on their total sales tax liability or sales volume. This determines how often a business must submit collected sales tax. Larger businesses with higher sales volumes file more frequently for steady tax revenue.

The Michigan Department of Treasury notifies businesses of their assigned frequency upon registration or adjusts it based on reported sales. Businesses collecting $108,000 or more annually in sales tax are monthly filers. Those with annual collections between $9,000 and $108,000 are quarterly filers. Businesses collecting $9,000 or less annually are annual filers.

Standard Sales Tax Due Dates

Due dates for Michigan sales tax returns vary by filing frequency. For monthly or quarterly filers, returns and payments are due on the 20th day of the month following the reporting period. For instance, a January reporting period is due February 20th.

Quarterly filers’ due dates are: April 20th for January-March, July 20th for April-June, October 20th for July-September, and January 20th of the following year for October-December. Annual filers have a single due date of February 28th for the preceding tax year. If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or state holiday, the deadline extends to the next business day.

Filing and Payment Methods

Michigan businesses must file sales tax returns and remit payments electronically through the Michigan Treasury Online (MTO) portal. This online system is the state’s platform for managing sales, use, and withholding tax obligations. Businesses log into their MTO account, navigate to the sales, use, and withholding tax section, select the filing period, and enter sales data.

Once sales data is entered, the MTO system calculates the sales tax owed. Businesses submit payment directly through the portal using accepted methods. Common electronic payment options include ACH Debit, where the state pulls funds from the taxpayer’s bank account, which is free of charge. Alternatively, taxpayers can initiate an ACH Credit, where their bank pushes payment to the state, though this method may involve a small fee, up to $3.

Credit and debit card payments are also processed through MTO, but these transactions incur convenience fees paid directly to the processing vendor. For debit card payments, a flat processing fee of about $3.95 applies. Credit card payments carry a fee of about 2.3% of the total payment. Even if no sales tax was collected, a “zero tax filing” is required by the due date.