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1. Am I a Walker resident subject to the tax?

View the Walker Street Directory for resident addresses (PDF). 

2. Who needs to file a Walker Resident income tax return?

Every resident or part-year resident of Walker, including renters, who had taxable income in a tax year must file a return by April 30 of the following tax year. See Taxable Income-Residents paragraph below.

Married persons may file either a joint return or separate returns. The following examples may be used to assist you in determining if a return is required:

• Filing as a single person-if your income is $600 or more you must file a return.
• Married, filing jointly-if your income is $1,200 or more you must file a return.
• Filing as a single person and you are age 65 or older-if your income is $1,200 or more you must file a return.
• Married, filing jointly and both you and your spouse are age 65 or older-if your income is $2,400 or more you must file a return.

Walker residents are required to report the same kinds of taxable income on their city return as they report on their federal return, with the following exceptions:

• Gifts, inheritances and bequests are not taxable income.
• Pensions (including disability pensions), social security, annuities, IRA distributions after age 59 ½, and rollover of amounts from IRAs to ROTH IRAs are not taxable income.
• Proceeds of insurance (except that payments from a health and accident policy paid for by your employer are taxable to the same extent as provided by the Internal Revenue Code).
• Unemployment compensation and supplemental unemployment benefits are not taxable income.
• Interest from obligations of the United States, the states, or subordinate units of government of the states, and gains or losses on the sales of obligations of the United States are not taxable income.
• Military pay of members of the National Guard and the Armed Forces of the United States including Reserve pay is not taxable income.
• Michigan State Lottery prizes won before January 1, 1988 are not taxable income. Michigan State Lottery prizes won after December 31, 1987 are taxable income.

If you are a shareholder in a corporation that has elected to file under Subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code, you are not required to report any distributed income from Federal Schedule K-1 lines 1 through 11, nor may you deduct your share of any loss or other deductions distributed by the corporation. Distributions from an S corporation are taxable as if paid by a regular corporation as dividends.

3. Who needs to file a Walker Non-Resident income tax return?

Every nonresident who had income subject to Walker City income tax in a tax year must file a return by April 30 of the following tax year. See Taxable Income-Non-Residents paragraph below.

• Married persons may file either a joint return or separate returns. The following examples may be used to assist you in determining if a return is required:
• Filing as a single person-if your income is $600 or more you must file a return.
• Married, filing jointly-if your income is $1,200 or more you must file a return.
• Filing as a single person and you are age 65 or older-if your income is $1,200 or more you must file a return.
• Married, filing jointly and both you and your spouse are age 65 or older-if your income is $2,400 or more you must file a return.

Taxable Income-Non-Residents

The following income is subject to tax:

• Compensation received for work done or services performed in Walker-compensation includes, but is not limited to; salary, bonus, wages, commissions, vacation pay, holiday pay, sick pay, incentive pay to leave employment, incentive pay for "early retirement", lump-sum distribution of vacation pay, lump-sum distribution of sick pay, employee savings plans, retirement stock purchase plans and profit-sharing plans. (Please note that these examples do not cover every possible filing situation. If you have any questions, please contact the Walker City Income Tax Department at 616-791-6880.)
• The net profits from the operation of a business or profession are attributable to the business activity conducted in Walker whether or not such business is located in Walker.
• Net profits from the rental of real and tangible property located in Walker.
• Gain from the sale or exchange of real and tangible personal property located in Walker.
• Premature distribution of an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) when a deduction(s) has been taken on a Walker income tax return in the previous year(s).

4. My employer is not located in Walker and will not withhold Walker income tax. What do I need to do to avoid penalty and interest?

If you expect that your Walker income not subject to withholding will be more than $10,000 for a resident after deductions or $20,000 for a non-resident after deductions ($100 in tax) in any calendar year, you must file quarterly estimated tax payments using form W-1040ES. For the tax year 2020, payments are due at the end of April, June, and September of 2020, and January of 2021. View the W-1040ES forms for the tax year 2020 (PDF).

Failure to file form W-1040ES and make the required payments will result in the assessment of penalty and interest for the late payment of tax. To avoid penalty and interest charges, you must pay in through withholdings and/or quarterly estimated payments at least 70% of your current year or prior year liability, whichever is lower.

If at any time during the year your income increases to such a level that one hundred dollars tax or more will be due at the end of the year, form W-1040ES must be filed with the appropriate payment. Please contact the Income Tax Department at 616-791-6880 if you need help calculating safe estimates.

5. I only lived in Walker for part of the year--how do I file?

If you lived in Walker for part of the year and did not work in Walker as a non-resident, you need to file a Walker resident return (Form W-1040R). Report on this form only your taxable income while a resident, regardless of the source of the income. Check the part-year resident box under the name and address block on the form and fill in your dates of residency.

6. I am having trouble preparing my Walker return. How do I get help?

We would be happy to prepare your Walker return free of charge. Call 616-791-6880 for an appointment. You will need to bring your completed federal return, W-2, and 1099 forms.

7. My mailing address is Grand Rapids. How do I know if I live in Walker?

All Walker addresses have a Grand Rapids mailing address.  Don't rely on your mailing address to determine if you are a resident of Walker. View the Walker Street Directory (PDF).

8. I can’t pay my Walker income tax on time. What interest rate do you charge?

By law, we charge both penalty and interest on the unpaid balance of tax. The penalty is calculated at the rate of 1% per month up to a maximum of 25%.

The interest rate is set by the State of Michigan and changes every six months. It is currently 5.63% per year. It is calculated on a daily basis, which is 0.0001538.

9. I received a distribution from a pension plan and/or an IRA that was reported to me on Form 1099-R. How do I know if it is taxable?

View a pensions and retirement benefits document (PDF) containing the pension and retirement benefit taxability rules.

10. How do I obtain a Walker withholding booklet?

The City of Walker Employer's Withholding Tax Forms and Instructions booklet are no longer mailed. Forms must be printed from our employer withholding tool page.

Follow the directions to fill out and print forms. If you have any questions concerning the forms, contact Nancy at phone number 616-791-6869, by fax at 616-791-6808, or by email.

11. What are the withholding rates?

The Withholding Tax Guide contains instructions for withholding the Walker income tax from employees’ pay. It includes withholding tables at 1% (resident rate) and 1/2% (non-resident rate). The personal exemption rate for individuals subject to the Walker income tax is $600 per exemption. View the Withholding Tax Guide (PDF).

12. I made a deductible IRA contribution for federal purposes. How do I calculate my Walker IRA deduction?

Download The Walker IRA Deduction spreadsheet (XLS) that will help with this calculation.

13. What mailing address should I send my completed Walker income tax return to?

All Walker individual, corporate, partnership, and employer withholding income tax returns should be mailed to:

City of Walker
Income Tax Department
P.O. Box 153
Grand Rapids, MI 49501-0153

14. I am a non-resident who worked for a Walker employer in 2021 and/or 2022. Does remote work have an impact on my 2021 and/or 2022 Walker tax return?

You may be able to allocate wages for work performed remotely outside of Walker for your Walker employer. 

For 2021:

The W-COV form will help you calculate what dates may be excluded from Walker tax. You may allocate wages for days on which you worked remotely outside of Walker for hours approximating your regular shift. You may not allocate wages for vacation days, holidays, days for which you collected unemployment, and days on which you were not in Walker but only answered occasional work-related emails and phone calls. Unemployment compensation is not taxable to Walker. Examples of wage allocation for the W-COV can be found here.

You must attach the following three items to your 2021 W-1040NR (Walker non-resident return) if you are allocating wages for COVID-related work from home:

1.   A signed copy of form W-COV/CF-COV. (CF-COV is generated by tax preparation software)
2.   A letter from your employer that is on company letterhead, confirms the dates you worked remotely outside of Walker and is signed by your supervisor or Human Resources Department. A sample employer letter can be found here.
3.   A work log showing days worked in Walker, days worked by remote, holidays, vacation and sick days. An editable work log can be found here. Work logs that do not show holidays, sick and vacation days will not be accepted.

For 2022:

You may allocate wages for days on which you worked remotely outside of Walker for hours approximating your regular shift.  You may not allocate wages for vacation days, holidays, days for which you collected unemployment, and days on which you were not in Walker but only answered occasional work-related emails and phone calls.  To exclude these days from the calculation of Walker tax, you must keep a record regardless of whether you are paid on a salaried or hourly basis.  You can use the work log here to keep track of days worked in Walker and days worked by remote.

You must attach the following two items to your 2022 W-1040NR (Walker non-resident return) if you are allocating wages for remote work:

1.  A letter from your employer that is on company letterhead, confirms the dates you worked remotely outside of Walker and is signed by your supervisor or Human Resources Department. A sample employer letter can be found here.
2.  A work log showing days worked in Walker, days worked by remote, holidays, vacation and sick days. An editable work log can be found here. Work logs that do not show holidays, sick and vacation days will not be accepted.

Form W-COV/CF-COV is no longer used beginning in tax year 2022.

If you anticipate working by remote in 2023, an editable work log can be found here to keep track of days in and out of Walker.