The City Commission on Tuesday approved updating the city's local income tax form to add an option for city taxpayers to donate to charity or city projects.
Donation of income tax refunds is an option in 12 of the 22 Michigan city's with income taxes.
The local form, BC-1040, will be modified to allow taxpayers to donate some or all of their tax overpayment/refund to one of the following:
-United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region
-City of Battle Creek, limited to:
*helping purchase flags for the graves of veterans at cemeteries in the city limits
*City of Battle Creek Parks and Recreation Department
*annual City of Battle Creek employee appreciation picnic
-Other - tax payers will be able to write in a selection of their choice, as long as it is a local 501(c)(3) organization
The Income Tax Department is required to issue a federal Form 1099G to an individual taxpayer when the donated overpayment/refund combined with other refunds, credits and/or offsets totals more than $10. The city also will institute a receipt policy, in which the city will issue a receipt for donations of $10 or more, so that a donor has documentation to support an itemized deduction claimed on the donor's federal tax return.
Based on the experience of others, Battle Creek estimates receiving approximately $1,500 from 2015 tax returns filed in 2016.