Walker local tax guide
Who pays Walker's local tax
Walker residents owe 1% on all wages. Many work in Grand Rapids, which withholds its 0.75% nonresident tax; Walker credits that tax only up to its own 0.5% nonresident rate, worth $375 on a $75,000 salary, so the other $375 is still owed to Walker. People who live elsewhere and work at Walker's factories, warehouses, and stores owe 0.5% on pay for work done in the city. Nonresidents do not owe Walker tax for days worked from home outside the city.
How Walker's income tax works
Walker is a city of about 25,000 people bordering Grand Rapids to the west and north. It adopted its income tax in 1988 at the default rates in Michigan's uniform city ordinance: 1% on residents and 0.5% on nonresidents. The city administers the tax itself rather than through Michigan Treasury.
Because Walker is one of only two taxing cities in Kent County, its tax mostly matters to two groups: people who live in Walker, and people who commute in from neighbors without a city income tax, such as Grandville and Wyoming. Your city return lets you subtract a personal exemption that our estimate leaves out.
What a $75,000 salary looks like in Walker
At $75,000, a single filer pays $7,670 in federal tax, $2,937 in Michigan tax, $4,650 in Social Security, and $1,088 in Medicare. A resident who works in Walker adds $750 of city tax and takes home $57,905, or $4,825 a month. A commuter pays $375 and keeps $58,280.
Against the $58,655 a worker keeps with no city tax at all, living in Walker costs $750. A Grand Rapids resident at the same salary pays $1,125, so choosing Walker over Grand Rapids for your home address saves $375 a year if you work in the city where you live.
Living in Walker and working in Grand Rapids
This is the most common cross-border case. Your Grand Rapids employer withholds 0.75% for Grand Rapids. Walker then charges its 1% resident tax but credits Grand Rapids tax up to 0.5%. At $75,000 you end up owing Grand Rapids its nonresident tax and Walker the remaining $375.
A Grand Rapids employer is not required to withhold Walker tax, so the Walker balance often shows up when you file. Ask payroll whether it will withhold for Walker as a courtesy, or make estimated payments to the city.
The reverse commute works differently. A Grand Rapids resident who works in Walker pays Walker 0.5%, and Grand Rapids credits all of it, because its credit limit is its own higher 0.75% nonresident rate.
Tips for Walker paychecks
Expect a Walker bill if you work in Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids withholding does not settle your Walker resident tax. Plan for about $375 per $75,000 of wages on the Walker return.
Check whether your street is in Walker
Walker shares long borders with Grand Rapids and nearby townships. Confirm your address on the city's property records before filling out a withholding certificate.
Compare rents across the city line
At $75,000, a Walker address saves $375 a year in city tax over a Grand Rapids address. Use the Grand Rapids calculator to compare both.