Flint’s city income tax moves to the state on Jan. 1: your 2026 return is due April 15, two weeks earlier

FLINT, Mich. — Starting Jan. 1, Flint residents and people who work in the city will file and pay their city income tax through the State of Michigan instead of City Hall, and the first return under the new system will be due two weeks earlier than usual.

City and state officials will walk taxpayers through the change at a 2:30 p.m. briefing Thursday, Oct. 22, at Flint City Hall, WJRT ABC12 reported. Mayor Sheldon Neeley is to be joined by Chief Deputy State Treasurer Lance Wilkinson.

“With January approaching, we want taxpayers to understand what is changing, what services will be available and what they need to do as we move to the new system,” Neeley said, according to the station.

What isn’t changing: the rates. The tax stays at 1% for residents and 0.5% for nonresidents who work in Flint, according to the Michigan Department of Treasury, which announced the agreement with the city in June 2025. Detroit has used the same arrangement since 2015.

What is changing, according to Treasury:

• Your 2026 return goes to the state. The return you file next spring, for tax year 2026, is filed with Treasury, not the city. You can file it online with Treasury at no cost, through approved tax software or by mail, and people who owe Michigan, Flint and Detroit taxes can file all three in one place.
• It’s due April 15, 2027, not April 30, matching the state and federal deadline.
• Keep paying the city through Dec. 31, 2026. Estimated payments already made for 2026 will be moved to your Treasury account. Starting Jan. 1, payments go to Treasury, free from a checking or savings account or for a fee by card or digital wallet. Treasury will not take payments in person or by phone.
• Quarterly estimates move to the 15th. Beginning with tax year 2027, they are due April 15, June 15 and Sept. 15, 2027, and Jan. 15, 2028.
• Old years stay with the city. Flint keeps handling returns, collections and questions for tax year 2025 and earlier.
• Audits can cross over. Treasury says information from a state audit may be used to check city taxes, and the reverse, and taxpayers will be told in audit letters.

What this means for you. If you file your own return, set your calendar for April 15 and set up a Michigan Treasury eServices account before then, since that is where refunds, payments and letters will be handled. If a tax preparer or family member helps you, Treasury says you must give them permission to see your account. Businesses that withhold Flint tax from paychecks are moving to Treasury as well, under separate guidance.

Treasury’s key-changes page and the city’s income tax page have the details. Questions about 2025 or earlier returns still go to the city’s Income Tax Division.

Sources:
Michigan Department of Treasury, “Key Changes for City of Flint Individual Income Tax” (filing, due dates, payments, estimates, audits, third parties), https://www.michigan.gov/taxes/citytax/flint/individual
Michigan Department of Treasury, “City of Flint, State of Michigan Sign Income Tax Agreement,” June 3, 2025 (rates, Jan. 1, 2027 start, Detroit model), https://www.michigan.gov/treasury/news/2025/06/03/flint-and-michigan-sign-income-tax-agreement
City of Flint, “City of Flint Income Tax Changes,” https://www.cityofflint.com/city-of-flint-income-tax-changes/
WJRT ABC12, “Flint taxpayers to get guidance before January tax transition,” Oct. 20, 2026 (Thursday briefing, Neeley quote, Detroit since 2015), https://www.abc12.com/news/local/flint-taxpayers-to-get-guidance-before-january-tax-transition/article_b1b0c1c0-2b86-4766-832f-21b232b76dba.html
Photo: Alberryii, “City of Flint Municipal Center.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:City_of_Flint_Municipal_Center.jpg

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Tags: Flint · Income Tax · Taxpayers · Michigan Treasury · City Hall