Michigan Manufacturers Must Certify and Pay Essential Services Assessment No Later Than August 15

The next step in the State of Michigan’s Personal Property Tax reform process was recently released by the Department of Treasury. Eligible Manufacturing Personal Property (EMPP) claimants now need to certify and pay the Essential Services Assessment (ESA) no later than August 15, 2016.

The electronic ESA Statement is currently available through Michigan Treasury Online (MTO) for claimants who filed and received the exemption by February 22, 2016, and for those Form 5278 filings processed during the second filing window which ended May 31, 2016.

This ESA Statement is only available online and will not be mailed to the claimant. To receive the EMPP exemption for 2016 and avoid late penalties, each taxpayer is required to certify the ESA Statement and pay the full ESA liability by August 15. Payments processed after August 15 are subject to penalties. If a certified statement and full payment, including any late payment penalties, are not received by October 15, Treasury is required to rescind the claimant’s EMPP exemption and the taxpayer will become liable for taxes to the local tax-collecting unit.

To complete a claim of the EMPP exemption through MTO, the taxpayer must:

1. Log into MTO at https://mto.treasury.michigan.gov.
2. Create a business relationship utilizing the FEIN and shared secret information reported on Form 5278.
3. Review the system-generated statement.
4. Amend the generated statement, if necessary.
5. Certify and submit the statement as a return.
6. Pay ESA liability in full.

Detailed instructions on how to navigate MTO, as well as additional information regarding the EMPP exemption, ESA tax, and approved electronic filing and payment methods are available on the ESA website at www.michigan.gov/esa.         

If you need assistance, contact your Yeo & Yeo professional.