Porch Notes
Three Calhoun cities have a local income tax
Money and taxes
Most Michigan towns don’t have a city income tax — but Calhoun County has three that do: Battle Creek, Albion, and Springfield. If you live or work in any of these three cities, you’ll owe a local income tax on top of your state and federal taxes, so it’s worth knowing about before you move or take a job there.
The rate is the same in all three: 1% if you live in the city, and 0.5% if you work in the city but live somewhere else. It’s a tax on earned income — wages and business income — and it generally doesn’t touch Social Security or most retirement income. You file a separate city return each year, due at the end of April, on top of your state and federal returns.
A couple of things to keep in mind. The tax follows the city limits, not the school district or the mailing address, so a “Battle Creek” mailing address out in the township may not actually be inside the city — check the actual municipal boundary. And if your employer doesn’t withhold the city tax for you, you may need to make the payments yourself. Calhoun’s other towns — Marshall and the villages — have no local income tax.