Filing your Home Heating Credit Claim MI-1040CR-7 can be done by mail or digitally. If you are needed to file a Michigan Individual Tax Return MI-1040, send a completed MI-1040CR-7 with your Individual Tax Return. If you are not needed to file an MI-1040, then send a completed MI-1040CR-7 on its own.

If you are not able to print the Home Heating Credit Form, MI-1040CR-7, it is offered at your regional library, MDHHS workplace, community companies or the Michigan Department of Treasury. Submit the form by mail or electronically.

Frequently Used Home Heating Credits Forms and Instructions

MI-1040CR-7.
MI-1040CR-7 Instructions.
Form 4976 MI-1040CR-7 Supplemental.
Form 3174 Direct Deposit of Refund.
Form 5049 Worksheet for Married, Filing Separately and Divorced or Separated Claimants

What is the Home Heating Credit?

The Home Heating Credit is a way the State of Michigan assists low-income families pay a few of their heating expenses if they are a certified Michigan property owners or tenants. You should finish the Home Heating Credit Claim MI-1040CR-7 to see if you get approved for the credit. The deadline for sending this kind is September 30, 2025.

Considered that each taxpayer has unique scenarios that identify their eligibility for the credit, the Michigan Department of Treasury encourages you to evaluate the info listed below and/or call a tax professional if you have additional questions.

The credit is based on income (total household resources), home size, and a comparison in between either your standard credit allowance or your real heating costs.

Who receives a Home Heating Credit Claim?

You may receive a home heating credit if all of the following apply:

- You own or were contracted to pay rent and inhabited a Michigan homestead.
- You were NOT a full-time student who was declared as a based on another individual's return.
- You did NOT live in college or university ran housing for the whole year.
- You did NOT live in a certified care center for the entire year.
- Your income was within the limitations in Table A and Table B

What if I do not certify or need extra help?

If you do not get approved for the home heating credit, you may be eligible for other help through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) aims to fund programs to assist low-income households with energy requirements, such as high energy expenses, shut down notifications, and home energy repair work.

Find MDHHS Emergency Relief

Why is the amount of my credit various from what I expected?

Before calling or composing, we suggest you utilize the Home Heating Credit Checklist.

How do I Check the Status of my Home Heating Credit Claim?

You may inspect the status of your home heating credit by utilizing the Individual Income Tax eService.

There are two options to access your account information: Account Services or Guest Services.

Account Services

Select "My Return Status" once you have visited.

When you create a MiLogin account, you are only needed to address the verification concerns one time for each tax year. If you have actually formerly developed a MiLogin account, you may use the exact same username and password for multiple state company gain access to. (Treasury, Secretary of State, Unemployment/UIA)

Guest Services

Select "Where's My Refund" and you will be asked to enter the following information for security factors:

- Primary filer's Social Security number.
- Primary filer's last name.
- Tax year.
- Filing status.
- Adjusted gross earnings (AGI)/ Total Household Resources (THR) - If your AGI is a negative number, enter "-" after the number. Example: 1045-

Payment Process

You pay your heating bills

If you are accountable for paying your heating costs, State law requires the Michigan Department of Treasury to provide your credit in the type of a State of Michigan Energy Draft. You can only utilize the draft to pay heat costs. Give the draft to your registered heat provider who will use it to present or future heating expenses for your home. If the quantity of your draft is more than you owe, you may ask for a refund of the difference by inspecting package on line 18.

Your heat is included in your rent

If you get a draft and your heat is consisted of in your rent, or your heat service is in somebody else's name, return the draft with a note of explanation and a copy of your lease agreement( s) and/or residential or commercial property tax declarations to: Michigan Department of Treasury, P O Box 30757, Lansing, MI 48909. We will examine your description and, if appropriate, reissue your credit in the kind of a check. If you are notified of an adjustment or rejection and you disagree, you must submit your appeal in composing.

You receive family independence program assistance or MDHHS benefits

If you get FIP help or other MDHHS advantages or you are registered with MDHHS for direct payment, the law requires your credit to be sent directly to your heat company, who will then apply it to your account.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistakes may delay your credit payment. Some typical errors are:

- Filing after the due date of September 30th.
- Failure to report overall home resources from all sources including presents of cash/expenses paid in your place and Social Security advantages got on behalf of a dependent.
- Entering month-to-month amount of earnings (various types) rather of yearly quantity in overall family resources.
- Incorrect or missing out on Social Security number( s) for qualified filers and/or dependents.
- Entering incorrect heat amount.
- Failure to mark box 10 if your heating costs are currently included in your lease.
- Entering figures on the incorrect lines or not going into figures on necessary lines.
- Illegible writing.
- Using a name and address label with inaccurate details.
- Computation errors (addition, subtraction, etc)

Standard Credit

The basic credit calculation uses basic allowances developed by law. Use Table A to find the standard allowance for the variety of exemptions you claimed. If your heat costs are currently consisted of in your rent, you should examine package on line 10 of the Home Heating Credit Claim.

You may be eligible to use the Standard technique if:

- You resided in Michigan for any amount of time in the year of claim. You will require to prorate the basic allowance for the time you lived in Michigan if it is less than 12 months.
- You claimed heat expenses for your Michigan home, not a villa or a business account.
- Your overall home resources level was within the limitations for this credit found in Table A.

Alternate Credit

The alternate credit uses heating expenses to compute a home heating credit. Add the quantities you were billed for heat from November 1, 2023 through October 31, 2024. If you acquired bulk fuel (oil, coal, wood, or bottled gas), add your invoices to get your total heating cost. Treasury may ask for invoices to confirm your heating costs. You might claim heating expenses on your Michigan homestead just. You might not declare heating costs on a villa or a home exterior of Michigan.

You are NOT eligible to calculate the credit using the Alternate approach if:

- You were not a Michigan resident for a full 12 months for the year of the claim.
- Your heating expenses were consisted of in your rent at the time you filed your claim.
- You declared heat costs for your villa or an industrial account.
- You were a claimant filing a departed taxpayer's home heating credit claim in the year they passed.
- Your total household resources level was above the limitations for this credit discovered in Table B.

What is a "Homestead"?

Your homestead is the location where you have your long-term home. It is the place to which you prepare to return whenever you go away. You must be the owner and resident or be contracted to pay rent and inhabit the house. You can only have one homestead at a time. Cottages, 2nd homes and residential or commercial property you own and rent/lease to others does not qualify as a homestead.

Note: College or university ran housing does not certify as a homestead. This includes dormitories, residence halls and/or houses.

What are Total Household Resources?

Total Household Resources (THR) are the total earnings (taxable and nontaxable) of both partners or of a bachelor preserving a family. Losses from service activity may not be used to decrease overall home resources. For a listing of income sources to include in total home resources, view Income and Deductible Items.

Note: Gifts of cash and all payments made on your behalf needs to be included in THR.

What Are Qualified Health Insurance Premiums?

Some certified paid medical insurance premiums might be subtracted from overall household resources.

View Qualified Medical Insurance Premiums

Special Situations

1. Shared Housing - If you share a home however are not the owner or you do not have an agreement to pay rent, you can not declare a credit.

When two or more single grownups share a home, each might declare a credit if each has contracted to pay lease or owns a share of the home. Each ought to submit a home heating credit based on his or her total household resources and his/her share of the standard allowance. First, determine the standard allowance, from Table A, by adding the personal exemptions of all the complaintants sharing a home. Divide this standard allowance by the number of complaintants in the home.

Example: Three guys share an apartment. Each has actually a signed lease and pays 1/3 of the lease. The standard allowance for three exemptions is $958. Everyone needs to use a standard allowance of $319 ($ 958 ÷ 3 = $319) to compute his credit.

Example, if you are qualified for a special exemption or a reliant exemption: Catherine and Betty share a home and each pay one half of the lease. Catherine is age 59 and Betty is age 65 and absolutely and completely disabled. They submit separate MI-1040CR-7 claims. They must first divide $760 (the standard allowance for two exemptions) by two. Catherine's allowance is $380 ($ 760 ÷ 2 = $380).

Betty's allowance is likewise $380, however, she qualifies for a special exemption for being disabled (as she is entitled to a disabled exemption until she is eligible for complete Social Security at age 66 and 4 months). She might also add an additional $198 to her basic allowance, because the difference in between the standard allowance for 3 exemptions ($ 958) and the standard allowance for 2 exemptions ($ 760) is $198.

$ 958 - $760 = $198 + $380 = $578

The standard allowance Betty is qualified to claim is $578.

2. Part-Year Resident or Occupied Homestead Less Than 12 Months - You must prorate your basic allowance for the variety of days you owned or rented and occupied your Michigan homestead. For example, you relocated to Michigan on September 1. It is 122 days from September 1 to December 31. Divide 122 by 365 days and multiply the outcome by your basic allowance. Enter the prorated standard allowance on line 38 of your claim. If you are a part-year citizen, you need to include all income received from any sources while a Michigan citizen in total household resources.

3. Adult Foster Care, Licensed Home for the Aged, Assisted Living Home, and Drug Abuse Treatment Centers - If you live in a certified care facility, typically you do not receive the home heating credit. Licensed care centers include adult foster care homes, certified homes for the aged, nursing homes, and compound abuse treatment centers. Subsidized senior apartment or condos are not certified care facilities. If you live in a subsidized elderly person home, you may look for a credit.

If you lived in a certified care facility just part of the year, you could receive a partial credit for the duration you lived outside the facility. (See instructions on page 5 of the MI-1040CR-7 pamphlet.) If your partner lives in a licensed care facility and you live in the family homestead, you may still certify for a credit. File a joint credit claim and do not inspect a box on line 15.

If you are single and preserve a homestead (that is not leased to another person) while living in an adult foster care, accredited home for the aged, nursing home or substance abuse treatment center, you may claim a credit for the heating costs paid on your homestead. You need to provide evidence of heating costs paid on your homestead.

4. Deceased Claimants -If the taxpayer passed away during 2023, the personal representative may declare the basic heating credit but may not declare the alternate heating credit. If your spouse died in 2023, use the same variety of exemptions you would have used had your spouse lived all year.

The making it through partner may submit a joint claim for 2023. Write your name and the deceased's name and both Social Security numbers on the MI-1040CR-7. Write "DECD" after the deceased's name. You should report the deceased's income. Sign the claim on the deceased's signature line, write "Filing as enduring partner." Enter the deceased's date of death in the "Deceased Taxpayers" box on the bottom of page 2 of the form.

If filing as a personal agent or plaintiff for a single deceased taxpayer or when both taxpayers are deceased:

- You need to attach a U.S. Form 1310 or Michigan Claim for Refund Due a Departed Taxpayer (MI-1310) and a death certificate
- Enter the name of the departed person( s) in the Filer and Spouse name fields with "DECD" beside the name( s) and the representative's or claimant's name, title and address in the home address field
- Use the deceased's Social Security number on the type
- Enter date( s) of death in the designated boxes on bottom of page 2
- You need to prorate for the number of days from January 1 till the date of death, see page 5 for prorating credit.

Other Helpful Information

Homestead Residential Or Commercial Property Tax Credit - This credit is a method the State of Michigan provides relief to qualified Michigan homeowners or tenants. Homestead Residential Or Commercial Property Tax Credit Information

How to Choose a Tax Preparer Who's Right for You - Need support in completing your types? You can hire a professional to prepare your taxes or you might get approved for complimentary (or low cost) tax preparation services.