Michigan · Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor bookkeeping, from the sales-tax license to the personal property statement.
Ann Arbor businesses work under Michigan’s rules rather than a city tax layer of their own: 6% state sales tax with no local add-on, no city income tax, and a personal property statement for the City Assessor. We keep those records straight in your own QuickBooks file, remotely, on a written fixed-fee scope.
Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Michigan. Sales tax is Michigan’s 6% with no city or county add-on, and a business needs a Treasury sales tax license, valid for the calendar year. Ann Arbor levies no city income tax — it is not among the 24 Michigan cities that do — so an Ann Arbor work location adds no city withholding. Business personal property is reported to the City Assessing Office, and the small-business exemption is claimed on Form 5076 by February 20. TechBrot keeps the books, sales-tax records and payroll liabilities in your own QuickBooks file, remotely; your CPA files.
TechBrot Inc. · independent bookkeeping and advisory firm led by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor — not a CPA firm and not affiliated with Intuit Inc.
What an Ann Arbor business actually tracks.
A software company near the University of Michigan’s North Campus Research Complex, a restaurant downtown and a contractor working across Washtenaw County all file the same Michigan sales-tax return, and none of them withholds an Ann Arbor city income tax, because the city does not levy one. Staff who live in one of the Michigan cities that does levy an income tax are a payroll question to settle with your payroll provider and CPA.
What the books do carry is the sales-tax license and return, the business personal property statement, and a clean line between the business and its owners — Michigan’s work, done without a city layer on top.
Five Ann Arbor facts your books have to reflect.
From the State of Michigan’s, the City of Ann Arbor’s and the University’s own pages, read September 28, 2026.
Sales tax: 6%, no local add-on
Michigan Treasury: “Michigan does not allow city or local units to impose sales tax.” Ann Arbor sales carry the state’s 6%, and use tax is also 6%.
A sales tax license, renewed each year
Businesses register with Treasury for a sales tax license, valid January 1 through December 31.
No city income tax
Treasury lists the 24 Michigan cities that levy an income tax; Ann Arbor is not among them, so an Ann Arbor work location adds no city withholding.
The personal property statement
The City Assessing Office processes business personal property statements and audits the records of a sample of businesses. Property under $80,000 in combined true cash value can be exempt, claimed on Form 5076 filed with the local unit by February 20.
Washtenaw County, and a research corridor
Ann Arbor sits in Washtenaw County. The University of Michigan’s North Campus Research Complex — the former Pfizer research campus, 28 buildings bought by the University in 2009 — also hosts Mcity, its connected and automated vehicle test site.
Sources, read 2026-09-28:Michigan Treasury: sales and use tax · Michigan Treasury: cities that levy an income tax · Michigan Treasury: personal property tax exemptions · City of Ann Arbor: Assessing · City of Ann Arbor: property taxes · University of Michigan: NCRC background.
How an Ann Arbor engagement runs.
Discovery call
Free, 30 minutes: what you sell, where your staff work, and the state of the file.
Access to your own file
Accountant-user access to your QuickBooks Online company; no export, no parallel system.
Sales tax set up once
One 6% Michigan rate, taxable and exempt sales separated, the license renewal on the calendar.
Payroll liabilities tied
Michigan withholding and unemployment accounts reconciled to the filed forms each period; no Ann Arbor city tax to set up.
Asset register and close
A fixed-asset register kept current for the personal property statement, a monthly close, and the year-end files to your CPA.
An Ann Arbor business’s books checklist.
- Michigan sales tax license current for the calendar year.
- One 6% sales-tax rate in QuickBooks, with taxable and exempt sales separated.
- No Ann Arbor city income tax set up for Ann Arbor work locations.
- A fixed-asset register current enough to complete the personal property statement.
- Form 5076 on the calendar for February 20 if the small-business exemption applies — confirmed with your CPA or the Assessor.
What it costs, and where to go next.
Monthly bookkeeping is published at $400–$2,500+/mo and cleanup at $1,500–$15,000+, each a fixed fee against a written scope. The same service runs statewide from the Michigan page and nationally as monthly bookkeeping.
There is no TechBrot office in Ann Arbor and nobody visits: the work happens in your own QuickBooks file, reviewed by TechBrot’s founder, a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. Your CPA files.
Ann Arbor bookkeeping questions.
Does Ann Arbor have a city income tax?
What sales tax do Ann Arbor businesses charge?
Do Ann Arbor businesses need a sales tax license?
What is the business personal property statement?
Do you have an office in Ann Arbor?
Michigan services, delivered to Ann Arbor businesses remotely.
Each engagement below is written for Michigan’s own rules and delivered inside your own QuickBooks file. The Michigan page has the full picture.
By industry: Saas · Not sure where your file stands? Start with the free QuickBooks file review.
Ann Arbor business?
Get the Michigan records kept in one place.
Book a free 30-minute discovery call. We look at your sales tax, payroll and assets, and if the fit is right you get a written fixed-fee scope within 3 business days. Remote; there is no TechBrot office in Ann Arbor.