Emergency Area Relief: May 2024
State Tax Relief for Affected Areas
On May 7, 2024, Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Branch, and Cass counties after a severe storm system and multiple tornadoes caused significant damage within those counties. In accordance with that declaration, the Michigan Department of Treasury is providing affected individuals and businesses within those counties the opportunity to obtain special tax relief.
"Families and businesses in southwest Michigan need relief to recover from the severe storms and tornadoes,” State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks said. “Impacted individuals should not have to worry about paying a state tax bill or filing a state return – they need to focus on their recovery. If taxpayers need more time to file and pay because of the emergency, there will not be any late penalties or interest. We will get through this challenge together.”
Eligibility for the Waiver
Information Needed to Process Your Request
Taxpayers may receive a preliminary assessment notice before Treasury acknowledges a relief request. Impacted taxpayers within the emergency area who receive these notices should contact Treasury by phone to resolve.
State Taxes
For state taxes, you must request relief by contacting Treasury and providing the following information:
- Taxpayer's name
- Taxpayer's account number
- The address impacted by and within the emergency area -(i.e., the taxpayer’s address or the tax preparer’s address)
- A brief description of how the taxpayer was impacted by the storm damage.
Can Tax Professionals Request Relief on Behalf of Their Clients?
Yes, if the taxpayer has properly completed the Authorized Representative Declaration/Power of Attorney form (POA/Form 151) for the tax professional that covers this request. Tax relief requests made by tax professionals must be submitted separately for each client; Treasury cannot accept bulk relief requests.