Frequently Asked Questions About Tobacco Tax

Effective July 1, 2004 Cigarette tax rate - $0.10 per individual stick or $2.00 per pack of 20. Other Tobacco Products - Cigars, non-cigarette smoking tobacco and smokeless tobacco tax rate is 32% of the wholesale price which is the price charged by the manufacturer including the federal taxes before any discounts.

Effective November 1, 2012 Premium Cigars - Cigars with a wholesale cost of $1.5625 or more per individual cigar are taxed at a rate of 50 cents per cigar. Cigars with a wholesale cost less than $1.5625 each are taxed at 32% of the wholesale price.

To apply for a Tobacco Products Tax License, please go to the Tobacco website at www.michigan.gov/tobaccotaxes and click on the blue 'Applying for a License' icon.

The license year runs from July 1st through June 30th and must be renewed every year. The application must be postmarked no later than June 30th.

The renewal application/registration is available through the MiMATS e-services portal.

You do not need a license, as long as you purchase all the cigarettes and other tobacco products from a wholesaler licensed with the State of Michigan who affixes the tobacco tax stamp to the cigarettes and remits the appropriate tax to the State; however, you do need to obtain a Michigan Sales Tax License.

Yes, the fee is $25.00 for the first vending machine and $6.25 for each additional vending machine. A current marker must be visibly placed on each vending machine.

No. However, you must provide to the Michigan Department of Treasury a list of the business names and addresses where each vending machine is located. Include your business name and account number (FE, ME or TR) on the list. Vending machines must be placed in a location so that they can be monitored to prevent sales to minors.

MiMATS provides an opportunity to file and pay in the same system.

Instructions on how to make payment

After you have established a logon and have access to existing account(s), from your Home Page, under the Individuals and Businesses Tab, you will want to click on the blue hyperlink for the account you need to make payment for.

• Then under the “I Want To” Manage Bank Information – Click here to Add a Bank Account. If you complete this section, you will not have to enter your bank information for every payment.

After you have added a bank account, you can make payment.

• Make a payment in the “I Want To” section. Select Payment Type – Choose one of the following:
  • Customer (Business) Payment – Will pay the outstanding balance on all accounts for this customer (Returns, Assessments, Collections, etc.) Payment will apply to the oldest liability first.
  • Account (License Type) Payment – Will pay the outstanding balance for the account displayed (Returns, Assessments, Collections, etc.) Payment will apply to the oldest liability first.
  • Return Payment – Will pay the outstanding balance on the account and period displayed. The balance reflected may not include outstanding penalty and interest owed. This is the only payment type that will allow partial payments.
  • Bill Payment – Will pay a specific assessment. The balance reflected may not include outstanding penalty and interest owed.
• Account – Click appropriate account
• Period – Click appropriate period
  YES – “Pay Balance of” if you want to pay the entire account balance
  NO – “Pay Balance of” if you want to make a partial payment. Partial payments must be made as a Return Payment type. The balance reflected may not include outstanding penalty and interest owed.
• Amount – Enter amount of payment
• Confirm Amount – Enter amount of payment
• Click the Submit button. You will be prompted to enter your password.
• Enter your password
• If you are registered with CEPAS and have entered bank account, after you your password, you will receive a confirmation number and the payment is complete.
• If you are NOT registered with CEPAS, you will receive a "click the PAY NOW button at the bottom of the page to complete your payment" and when you click the pay now, it will send you over to CEPAS to enter their bank account info and complete your payment. Once that is done, CEPAS will redirect you back to MiMATS and your payment is complete. In this case, you will receive two confirmation numbers, one from MiMATS and one from CEPAS.

Monthly Tobacco Tax returns are due on the 20th of each month following the reporting period. If the 20th of the month falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the next business day shall be considered the due date.

Monthly Tobacco Tax payments are due on the 20th of each month following the reporting period. If the 20th of the month falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the next business day shall be considered the due date. If payment is not postmarked or received by the due date, penalty and interest charges may be assessed based on provisions of the Michigan Revenue Act MCL 205.24. 

Yes, only for Roll-your-own Non-Participating Manufacturer products.

No, Brand information is only required for Non-Participating Manufacturer products.