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News & Events Digest: August 2023





City of Detroit
City of Detroit Withholding Tax to Be Paid Monthly in 2024

City of Detroit employers who withhold wages in compliance with the City Income Tax of 1964 will see some new changes beginning in 2024.

Effective January 1, 2024, employers will be required to file and pay their City Withholding Tax monthly. State law requires that a withholding employer in any city where the Michigan Department of Treasury (Treasury) administers taxes must file a return and pay the tax withheld for each calendar month by the end of the 15th day of the following month.

Due to this requirement, city of Detroit employers will be required to submit their monthly payments to Treasury electronically beginning in 2024. Treasury is working to implement an electronic payment system that will accept debit and credit cards or Automated Clearing House (ACH) or Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) payments.

Debit and credit card payments will have a service fee, while ACH or EFT payments will not. Taxpayers interested in using a fee-free EFT payment method must submit a City of Detroit Electronic Funds Transfer Debit Applications, Account Update (Form 5473), which will be available by December 31, 2023.

In addition, state law requires employers to file an annual City of Detroit Income Withholding Reconciliation (Form 5321) before February 28 of the immediately following calendar year.

City Withholding Tax forms and documents will be updated to reflect the new monthly filings. The forms will only be available online or through applicable software vendors. Paper forms and booklets will no longer be printed and mailed to employers.

The option to file and pay quarterly will no longer be available.

Additional updates and updated tax forms will be provided in the coming months. Questions should be directed [email protected] or call 517-636-5829.

Currently, there are 24 Michigan cities with municipality tax related to income; these can be business taxes (i.e., withholding or corporate income) or individual income tax. Apart from the City of Detroit, each city administers their own taxes, including filing and payment requirements. The Michigan Department of Treasury administers city of Detroit income, withholding and corporate income taxes.



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Student Loans
Be Alert and Informed When Considering Student Loans

As Michiganders prepare for the upcoming fall semester and pay their college tuition bills, the Michigan Department of Treasury?s MI Student Aid Team is asking students and their families to be alert and informed when considering student loans.

?Michigan students and families cover a considerable amount of their higher education costs,? State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks said. ?Student borrowers who become their own financial advocate can better understand how to manage and leverage the financial aid they receive. Please carefully consider only accepting those loans that are needed. The choices made by students today could have ramifications later in life.?

To make the best decision regarding student loans, the MI Student Aid Team recommends seven best practices when considering student loans:


* *Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).?*Colleges use information from the FAFSA to determine their financial aid awards. By completing and submitting the FAFSA, students maximize all their state, federal and institutional financial aid options. In addition, the FAFSA opens the possibility of receiving a?Michigan Achievement Scholarship award [ [link removed] ].


* *Understand loans must be repaid.?*Not all financial aid included in a financial aid award letter is free money. Many financial aid awards will include federal student loans. Unlike grants and scholarships, loans must be repaid with interest.


* *Check the amount of interest being offered on a loan before accepting it.?*Federal student loans, Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) loans, and private loans have varying interest rates and repayment terms. Before taking out loans, students should identify and compare each loan?s interest rate and then accept the loans with the best interest rates and repayment terms.


* *Only accept the amount you will need.?*Students can either turn down a loan or request a smaller loan amount, and the financial award letter should include instructions on how to do this.


* *Be aware of loan scams.*?In a typical student loan scam, a scammer will ask for banking information from a student searching for loans. The scammer typically claims they will use the information to make a direct deposit into the student?s account in return for upfront fees paid through gift cards. Instead, the scammer accesses the student?s banking account and withdraws funds.


* *Visit the school?s financial aid office once a semester.?*Even though students may not have to begin repaying their loans while they are in school, students should not wait to understand their responsibilities. Students should keep track of the types of aid they receive and review their accounts with the college or university to stay within budget and avoid overborrowing.


* *Create a?**studentaid.gov* [ [link removed] ]*?account.?*The?*studentaid.gov* [ [link removed] ]?website, managed by the U.S. Department of Education, is a one-stop shop for managing federal student aid. With a studentaid.gov account, students can track their federal student loans, check the interest rate of each one and total interest accumulated to date. Students can also look over different repayment options, estimate monthly payments and learn who their loan servicer is for when repayment begins.

Individuals nationwide have nearly $1.6 trillion in outstanding student loan debt, according to the?Federal Reserve Bank of New York. [ [link removed] ]

For more information, go to?michigan.gov/mistudentaid [ [link removed] ]?or contact MI Student Aid [email protected], 888-447-2687 or on?Facebook, [ [link removed] ]?Twitter [ [link removed] ]?and?Instagram [ [link removed] ].



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whitmer

ICYMI: Gov. Whitmer Delivers
What?s Next Address [ [link removed] ]



medicaid

Keep Your Family Covered [ [link removed] ]
as Kids Head Back to School [ [link removed] ]






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Back to School
Michigan Education Trust Pitches ?Back to the Future? Message as Students Prepare to Return to School

As parents begin to fill back-to-school shopping lists, Michigan Education Trust (MET) is encouraging them to consider buying college tuition at today?s prices to prepare for their children?s future education.

?Back-to-school season is the perfect time to think back to the future when it comes to educational planning,? said?*Diane Brewer*, executive director of MET, the prepaid education savings program administered by the Michigan Department of Treasury. ?We?re asking parents to look beyond pencils and notebooks needed now and look to the future by purchasing tomorrow?s college credits at today?s prices through MET.?

MET, the nation?s first 529 prepaid education plan, has helped tens of thousands of families since 1988 with an affordable way to save for their education by prepurchasing tomorrow?s tuition at today?s rates. Signed into law in December 1986, it was the first?prepaid education program in the nation.?More than 96% of high school graduates participating in MET have attended a?college, university or technical school.?

MET alumna?*Lisa Ingall*?of Ann Arbor understands firsthand the value of MET and the life-changing impact it has on working families.

?Thanks to my mom?s foresight, I was a member of the original MET class,? said Ingall, a 1998 University of Michigan engineering graduate. ?My mom was divorced and didn?t have a lot of extra money, but she valued education. She wasn?t going to let money stand in the way of her daughter going to college.?

Her mother?s investment has made a generational difference for Ingall and her sister, Casey Parrotte, and it will for Ingall?s 12-year-old son, Devin Saha, and Parrotte?s two daughters, ages 3 and 5.

?My mother knew that while you can?t predict the future, you can prepare for it,? Ingall said. ?As a mom now myself, I can attest to the fact that there is no better cornerstone than MET for building the foundation for your child?s educational future.?

Among the many motivations for opening a MET account, Brewer pointed to the increasing number of young adults facing significant debt after completing their college education. By getting an early start in offsetting the often-overwhelming financial burden associated with higher education, MET enables more people to attend college or pursue other post-secondary education and join the workforce without being saddled with massive debt.

Brewer noted that anyone can contribute to a child?s education savings plan, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends and others. With a Pay-As-You-Go plan, once the plan is opened, contributions can be as low as $25.

?The beauty of MET lies in its flexibility,? Brewer said. ?There is a MET plan for everyone and everyone should consider opening a MET plan as part of their savings portfolio..?

The 529 plan also has tax advantages. For instance, distributions from MET are not taxed by the state or federal government when it comes time to pay for qualified higher education expenses. Michigan residents who are MET contract holders can also claim a state tax deduction on the total contributions they make during a calendar year.

Contributions to an existing account can be made at any time during the year through MET?s secure?online pay site. [ [link removed] ]?The MET gift declarations also allow contributors to print out certificates of their contributions designed for holidays, birthdays, graduations and more that can be put in a card or gift wrapped.??

More information about MET can be found at SETwithMET.com [ [link removed] ]?or by calling 800-MET-4-KID.



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Fostering Futures Detroit
Don't miss this year's Fostering Futures Scholarship Dearborn fundraiser!

The Fostering Futures Scholarship Trust Fund has been helping youth who have experienced foster care achieve their dreams of a college education for more than 10 years. Join us on September 21 for the Dearborn fundraising dinner and help make a difference in the lives of these young adults.

*When:*?Thursday, September 21, 2023


* 6:00 p.m. Reception
* 7:15 p.m. Dinner and Program

*?Where:*?Henry Ford Museum,?20900 Oakwood Blvd.,?Dearborn, MI 48124

*?Reservations and Information:*


* $100 each or $800 for a table of eight
* Reserve your seats online [ [link removed] ]
* Business Attire
* Free, Self-Parking on site

Enjoy dinner, meet scholarship recipients and network with others who share the desire to make higher education a reality for hundreds of Michigan youth. All proceeds from reservations, sponsorships and raffle items are awarded as scholarships to former foster youth currently enrolled at Michigan colleges and?universities.

Your $100 donation is tax deductible. The Fostering Futures Scholarship Trust Fund, housed in the Michigan Department of Treasury, is a Sec. 170(c) nonprofit organization.

Learn more or make a donation at?FosteringFutures-mi.com [ [link removed] ].



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Robin Norton
My Career at Treasury: Robin Norton

*"Robin Norton"*"?is Michigan's Taxpayer Advocate and the Deputy Office Director of Advocacy Services. Her official roles entail protecting taxpayers? rights and ensuring that Treasury's processes are fairly administered. Robin describes her Taxpayer Advocate position as ?the equalizer, fixer, and canary in the coal mine?, working to identify problems and providing assistance to taxpayers who have exhausted Treasury's normal channels of resolution."

"Her Deputy Office Director of Advocacy Services position encompasses a larger responsibility with oversight of the administration and operation of the offer in compromise program; the tax professional website; tax professional e-services; and all of Treasury's constituent service resolution for Michigan's legislature, congressional office, and governor's office. In addition, Robin identifies and communicates systemic and operational issues beyond taxation, providing advocacy services for the entire department. Here?s how her Treasury career began?"

I started my career at the state of Michigan over 35 years ago as a student assistant with the Department of Transportation (MDOT), in their financial planning and budget office. I had never worked in an office, and I didn't really know much about politics, but my position sparked my interest in working with the government. I developed a passion for public service and learned so much from my co-workers, fiscal agency and those who worked in the legislature who embodied an enormous amount of institutional knowledge.

Read more about Robin Norton's career at the Michigan Department of Treasury on LinkedIn. [ [link removed] ]



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Careers

Looking for a career change? Consider the Michigan Department of Treasury. We are posting new positions regularly. Apply today!?[link removed]

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