Michigan Personal and Dependent Exemptions: Amounts and Filing

For the 2026 tax year, Michigan personal and dependent exemptions are worth $5,900 each. You claim one for yourself, one for your spouse if you file jointly, and one for each qualifying dependent. Every exemption reduces your Michigan taxable income dollar for dollar, and at the state’s flat 4.25% rate, each one saves you about $250.75 in tax.¹ Because Congress eliminated the federal personal exemption permanently through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Michigan’s exemption is now one of the few remaining ways families shelter income on a per-person basis.²

Who Gets a Personal Exemption

Every Michigan taxpayer gets one personal exemption. A joint-filing spouse gets one too. The one restriction is important: you cannot claim a personal exemption if someone else, usually a parent, is eligible to claim you as a dependent on their federal return. That rule applies even if the other person chooses not to actually claim you.³

If you can be claimed as someone else’s dependent, you still get a smaller benefit on your own Michigan return. With an adjusted gross income above $1,500, you receive a reduced $1,500 exemption. If your AGI is $1,500 or less, you don’t get an exemption, but you are entitled to a full refund of any Michigan tax withheld from your pay.³

There is no income phase-out. Whether your AGI is $40,000 or $400,000, the exemption is the full amount.

Who Counts as a Dependent

You can claim a $5,900 exemption for each person who qualifies as your dependent. Michigan uses the same tests the IRS formerly used for federal dependency: a relationship test, an age test, a residency test, and a support test. A qualifying child generally must be under 19, or under 24 if a full-time student, must have lived with you for more than half the year, and must not have provided more than half of their own financial support.³

The dependent must also be someone you claim, or are eligible to claim, on your federal return. That federal link controls the count. If your federal return shows three dependents, your Michigan return starts from the same three. A qualifying relative who doesn’t meet the age or residency test for a qualifying child may still count if their gross income falls below the IRS threshold and you provide more than half their support.

What the Exemptions Save You

Each exemption subtracts $5,900 from Michigan taxable income at the 4.25% flat rate, so every exemption is worth roughly $250.75 off your state tax. A married couple filing jointly with two qualifying children claims four exemptions, reduces taxable income by $23,600, and cuts state tax by about $1,003.¹

The amount is adjusted annually for inflation under a formula in Michigan’s Income Tax Act. The exemption was $5,800 in 2025 and $5,600 in 2024, so recent increases have been steady.⁴

Special Exemptions That Stack on Top

Michigan gives additional exemptions on top of the standard personal and dependent amounts for certain people. Each has its own line on Form MI-1040 and its own dollar value.

Disability Exemption

An extra exemption is available for any person on your return, whether that’s you, your spouse, or a dependent, who is deaf, blind, hemiplegic, paraplegic, quadriplegic, or totally and permanently disabled. For the 2025 tax year the amount was $3,400 per qualifying person.⁴ Only one disability exemption can be claimed per person, even if the person meets more than one of the conditions.

The definitions are narrower than most people expect. “Blind” means the better eye permanently has 20/200 vision or less with corrective lenses, or peripheral vision of 20 degrees or less. “Deaf” means the person’s primary way of receiving communication is through a sense other than hearing, such as lip reading or sign language. “Totally and permanently disabled” follows the Social Security definition under 42 USC 416.⁵

An age limit applies. If you have reached Social Security full retirement age by a date the year’s instructions specify, you cannot claim the “totally and permanently disabled” exemption for yourself. For 2025, the cutoff was reaching age 66 by February 28, 2025.⁵ You don’t have to attach medical documentation, but keep records in case Treasury asks for proof. And if a dependent qualifies for the disability exemption but also files their own return, only one return can claim it.

Qualified Disabled Veteran Exemption

A $500 exemption is available for any qualified disabled veteran on your return, whether that’s you, your spouse, or a dependent.⁴ The same person cannot be claimed for this exemption on more than one return. This income tax exemption is separate from the property tax exemption for disabled veterans under MCL 211.7b, which has its own eligibility rules and requires a 100% service-connected disability rating or individual unemployability determination from the VA.⁶

Stillbirth Exemption

If a stillborn child was delivered during the tax year and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services issued a Certificate of Stillbirth, you can claim a full personal exemption for that child. For 2025 the stillbirth exemption was $5,800.⁴ Attach a copy of the certificate to your MI-1040. If you don’t have the certificate, contact MDHHS at 517-335-8666 to request an application.⁵

If You Lived in Michigan Only Part of the Year

Part-year residents and non-residents get prorated exemptions. The formula divides your Michigan income subject to tax by your total AGI from all sources, and that ratio is applied to your exemption amount.⁷

One important exception in joint returns: if one spouse lived in Michigan all year, that spouse claims the full exemption with no proration. The other spouse’s exemption is prorated using the income ratio. Dependent exemptions in this scenario are prorated using the couple’s combined Michigan income divided by their combined total AGI.³

If you leave Michigan permanently and file a final return covering less than 12 months, you prorate based on the number of months in Michigan divided by 12. If a taxpayer dies during the year, no proration is required for that person’s exemption.⁷

How to Claim Exemptions on Form MI-1040

All exemptions go on the Michigan Individual Income Tax Return, Form MI-1040. Count your standard personal and dependent exemptions and multiply by that year’s exemption value ($5,900 for 2026). Add the separate dollar amounts for any special exemptions on the following lines. The combined total is your Exemption Allowance, which is subtracted from your federal AGI to arrive at Michigan taxable income.¹

If someone else can claim you as a dependent, check the box on line 9e, enter zero for your personal exemptions on line 9a, and enter $1,500 on line 9e. The disability exemption goes on line 9b and the stillbirth exemption on line 9d.⁵

Fixing a Missed Exemption

If you forgot an exemption or claimed the wrong number, file an amended return using Schedule AMD attached to a corrected MI-1040.⁸ The refund deadline is four years from the date the original return was due.⁹ A return due April 15, 2026 can be amended through April 15, 2030.

This is worth doing even for a single missed exemption. At $5,900 times 4.25%, each overlooked exemption is about $251 in overpaid tax. Families that forgot a newborn, a newly qualifying dependent, or a disability exemption often recover a meaningful refund.

What Happens If You Claim Too Many

The Department of Treasury can assess additional tax, interest, and penalties within four years after your return’s due date or the date you actually filed, whichever is later.¹⁰ That window covers cases where the state believes you claimed too many exemptions or took a special exemption you didn’t qualify for.

Fraud extends the timeline. Treasury has two years from the date it discovers fraud to assess back taxes, penalties, and interest. Intentionally claiming dependents who don’t exist or fabricating a disability is a felony, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, up to five years in prison, or both. Knowingly swearing to a false return carries a separate perjury charge. Even a non-fraudulent violation of the tax act is a misdemeanor carrying up to $1,000 in fines and up to one year in jail.¹¹ Claim every exemption you legitimately qualify for. Don’t claim ones you don’t.

1
Michigan Department of Treasury. 2026 Michigan Income Tax Withholding Guide
2
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026
3
State of Michigan. Individual Income Tax 2024 Michigan Tax Text Chapter 4
4
Michigan Treasury. What Are the Current Tax Rate and Exemption Amounts
5
State of Michigan. 2025 Michigan Individual Income Tax MI-1040 Instructions
6
Michigan Legislature. MCL Section 211.7b – Exemption of Real Property for Disabled Veterans
7
Cornell Law School. Michigan Admin Code R 206.13 – Exemption Allowance Proration
8
Michigan Legislature. Taxpayer’s Guide
9
Michigan Department of Treasury. Revenue Administrative Bulletin 2023-14
10
Michigan Legislature. MCL Section 205.27a
11
Michigan Legislature. MCL Section 205.27