Michigan Sales Tax Calculator

Michigan has a single 6% sales tax and a matching use tax

Michigan's sales tax is 6% everywhere in the state, with no county or city sales tax on top. Detroit's combined rate is the same 6% as Grand Rapids, Traverse City or the Upper Peninsula.

Michigan pairs the sales tax with a 6% use tax. Sales tax is collected by Michigan retailers. Use tax covers purchases from out-of-state sellers by internet, catalog or phone, plus items bought while traveling, including in foreign countries, and brought into Michigan, when no Michigan tax was charged. It applies to the total price, including shipping and handling.

What is exempt in Michigan

Michigan exempts several everyday categories, so a grocery receipt is often partly or entirely tax-free:

Prepared food is taxable, and so are non-food items such as paper towels and cleaning products, even when bought at a grocery store. The exemption follows the item, not the store.

• Food and food ingredients (groceries), which the Michigan Constitution and the tax acts exempt, except prepared food
• Prescription drugs for human use, which the Michigan Constitution has protected from sales and use tax since January 1, 1975
• Over-the-counter drugs, but only when legally dispensed by prescription
• Vitamins and certain newspapers and periodicals

Worked examples

Every taxable Michigan purchase uses the same 6% rate, so the math is the same in every county:

For a mixed grocery bill of $140 that includes $25 of paper towels and cleaning products and $115 of food, only the $25 is taxed: $1.50.

Reporting Michigan use tax on your income tax return

Individuals can pay use tax on their Michigan income tax return. On the 2025 MI-1040, use tax on internet, mail-order and other out-of-state purchases goes on line 24, calculated with Worksheet 1 in the instructions. If you paid at least 6% sales tax to another state on the purchase, you owe Michigan nothing; if you paid less, you owe the difference.

Large retailers collect Michigan tax at checkout, so check your receipt; if tax was charged, you do not owe use tax on that item.

Michigan does not hold a sales tax holiday.

Michigan against Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin

Michigan's flat 6% rate is lower than Indiana's 7%, lower than Ohio's 7.29% average and higher than Wisconsin's 5.72% average. Because Michigan has no local layer, a Michigan resident can quote the same rate for any city, which is not true in Ohio or Wisconsin, where county taxes vary.

If you buy in a neighboring state and bring the item home, Michigan use tax can be owed. Report it on your MI-1040 for the year of purchase.

Michigan sales tax mistakes to avoid

These come up often when people estimate Michigan tax:

• Adding a city rate for Detroit, Grand Rapids or Ann Arbor. There is none; the rate is 6% everywhere.
• Taxing groceries for home preparation. Unprepared food is exempt.
• Assuming everything at a grocery store is exempt. Prepared food and non-food items are taxable.
• Skipping use tax on untaxed online orders. It is owed at 6%, including on shipping, and is reported on the MI-1040.
• Expecting a back-to-school holiday. Michigan does not have one.

How to check a Michigan receipt in three steps

1. Separate exempt items (unprepared food, prescription drugs) from taxable ones. 2. Multiply the taxable subtotal by 0.06. 3. Compare with the tax line; any difference of more than a cent or two means an item was misclassified. On a $84.50 taxable subtotal, the tax should be $5.07.

Sales tax or use tax: which applies?

Both taxes are 6%, but who collects them differs. The table shows common situations for a Michigan resident:

Michigan tax on everyday purchases

Michigan has no clothing exemption and no reduced rates for most goods, so the rules are simple: