Administrators of Pension and Retirement Benefits Required to Withhold Income Tax on Taxable Payments

The Michigan Department of Treasury has issued the 2012 pension withholding guide for personal income withholding tax purposes.  Effective January 1, 2012, administrators of pension and retirement benefits are required to withhold income tax on taxable payments.  Qualified pension and retirement benefits include most payments reported on Form 1099-R for federal tax purposes. For example, defined benefit pensions, IRA distributions, and most payments from defined contribution plans are included.  However, on the other hand, payments received before the recipient could retire under plan provisions or benefits from 401(k), 457, or 403(b) plans attributable to employee contributions alone are not considered pension and retirement benefits.

Taxpayers are required to complete Form MI W-4P (Withholding Certificate for Michigan Pension or Annuity Payments) for each pension or annuity.