Guides a Michigan business through its Sales, Use and Withholding (SUW) tax obligations: establishing nexus, determining taxability under Michigan's flat 6% sales tax, completing Form 5080 (monthly/quarterly) or Form 5081 (annual), and remitting via Michigan Treasury Online (MTO). No local sales tax applies.
Determine whether the business has sales tax nexus in Michigan — physical presence, economic nexus ($100,000 in sales or 200 separate transactions in a calendar year), or marketplace facilitator status. If nexus exists and the business is not yet registered, initiate registration through Michigan Treasury Online (MTO) to obtain a Sales Tax License.
Review the business's product and service mix against Michigan's taxability rules. Michigan imposes a flat 6% sales tax on tangible personal property (TPP) and certain digital goods; SaaS is not taxable, grocery food is exempt, and manufacturing equipment qualifies for the industrial processing exemption. Collect and validate any exemption certificates (Form 3372) from exempt customers.
Identify purchases the business made without paying Michigan sales tax where use tax is owed — typically out-of-state vendor purchases, online purchases, or items withdrawn from resale inventory for business use. Michigan use tax is also 6% and is reported on the same SUW return.
Compile gross sales, taxable sales, exempt sales, and use tax accruals into the Sales, Use and Withholding (SUW) return. Monthly/quarterly filers use Form 5080; annual filers use Form 5081. Michigan's rate is a flat 6% — there are no local additions. Verify all line items and compute net tax due or overpayment.
File the completed SUW return and remit payment electronically through Michigan Treasury Online (MTO). Monthly filers with over $720,000 annual liability must pay by EFT. Confirm the filing confirmation number and retain records for the four-year Michigan statute of limitations.
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