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.
If your file needs our paid diagnostic first, its fee is credited in full against the cleanup. Either way, you get a fixed fee in writing before any work starts.
Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Michigan. Sales tax is Michigan’s 6%, with no city or county add-on. Ann Arbor levies no city income tax, so there is no city withholding. Business personal property is reported to the City Assessing Office, with the small-business exemption on Form 5076 by February 20. TechBrot keeps the books; your CPA files.
They took something that felt overwhelming to me as a first-year business owner and made it simple.
What stood out the most was TechBrot Inc’s attention to detail.
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.How an Ann Arbor engagement runs.
- STEP 1
Discovery call
Free, 30 minutes: what you sell, where your staff work, and the state of the file. - STEP 2
Access to your own file
Accountant-user access to your QuickBooks Online company; no export, no parallel system. - STEP 3
Sales tax set up once
One 6% Michigan rate, taxable and exempt sales separated, the license renewal on the calendar. - STEP 4
Payroll liabilities tied
Michigan withholding and unemployment accounts reconciled to the filed forms each period; no Ann Arbor city tax to set up. - STEP 5
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 $500–$2,500+/mo and cleanup at $1,200–$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 a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor before delivery.
Michigan services, delivered remotely.
Michigan services
Each engagement below is written for Michigan’s own rules and delivered inside your own QuickBooks file. The Michigan page has the full picture.Searching for a QuickBooks ProAdvisor near me in Ann Arbor? TechBrot works remotely, inside your own QuickBooks file, so distance does not change the work.
By industry: Saas · Not sure where your file stands? Start with the free QuickBooks file review · moving off Desktop? QuickBooks Desktop to Online migration · state-by-state tax quirks.
Ann Arbor bookkeeping questions.
Does Ann Arbor have a city income tax?
No. Michigan Treasury lists the 24 Michigan cities that levy an income tax, and Ann Arbor is not on the list, so an Ann Arbor work location adds no city withholding.
What sales tax do Ann Arbor businesses charge?
Michigan’s 6%. Treasury states that Michigan does not allow city or local units to impose sales tax, so there is no Ann Arbor or Washtenaw County add-on.
Do Ann Arbor businesses need a sales tax license?
Businesses making taxable sales register with Michigan Treasury for a sales tax license, which is valid from January 1 through December 31.
What is the business personal property statement?
A report of business equipment and furnishings to the City Assessing Office. Small businesses under $80,000 in combined true cash value can claim an exemption on Form 5076 by February 20; confirm eligibility with your CPA or the Assessor.
Do you have an office in Ann Arbor?
No. TechBrot is fully remote and has no Ann Arbor office; the work happens in your own QuickBooks file.
Do I need a bookkeeper based in my state?
No. QuickBooks Online work happens in your own file, so it does not depend on where the bookkeeper sits. TechBrot works remotely and has no local office. What matters is that the books follow your state’s sales-tax, payroll and entity rules, and your CPA or EA files the returns.