Enter the monthly rent and your household income. The gauges show the largest security deposit Michigan law allows for that rent and what the Detroit city income tax adds a year and a month, for living in the city and for commuting in.
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Largest deposit allowed
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City tax a year, living in Detroit
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City tax a year, commuting in
Security Deposits and Tenant Rights in Michigan →Detroit’s City Income Tax →
Deposit cap from MCL 554.602 as quoted in the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Landlord-Tenant Benchbook; rates and exemption from the City of Detroit’s income tax page; medians from U.S. Census QuickFacts. An estimate, not tax advice.
How the dashboard works it out
The deposit gauge multiplies the monthly rent by 1.5. Michigan’s Landlord-Tenant Relationships Act limits a security deposit to 1-1/2 months’ rent, whatever the lease says. A deposit below the cap is allowed; one above it is not.
The tax gauges subtract a $600 personal exemption for each exemption you claim, then apply Detroit’s rate: 2.4 percent for residents, 1.2 percent for nonresidents. For a nonresident who works only part of the time inside the city, the dashboard applies the share you enter, the way Schedule N allocates wages; the city asks for an employer letter and a work log to back up anything under 100 percent.
The result is an estimate for budgeting, not a tax return. Your actual Detroit return may include other income and adjustments, and if you move into or out of the city during the year, your return has to reflect the date you became or stopped being a resident. From January 1, 2027, Detroit returns are filed through Michigan Treasury’s eServices.
The starting values are the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 medians for Detroit: a gross rent of $1,074 a month and a household income of $39,938. More on the tax in Detroit’s City Income Tax: 2.4 Percent for Residents, 1.2 Percent for Commuters, and on deposits in Security Deposits and Tenant Rights in Michigan: The Deadlines That Protect Detroit Renters.