PDF document
- 1 -
   2019 INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING FORM L-1120, CORPORATION INCOME TAX RETURN                                               
 CORPORATIONS REQUIRED TO FILE                                Administrator may extend the time for filing up to six 
 Every corporation “doing business” in Lansing whether or     months. When an extension is requested, the tentative 
 not it has an office or place of business in Lansing, is     tax must be paid. 
 required to file an annual Corporation Income Tax  
 Return, Form L-1120. Attach a copy of federal Form           An extension is automatically granted upon payment of 
 1120, 1120-A, 1120S, or other corporate return form          the balance due (Form L-7004, line 3). Failure to pay the 
 along with Schedule K and all ancillary schedules            balance due invalidates the extension request. Interest 
 filed with the IRS to the L-1120 return.                     and penalty will be assessed on taxes paid late even if  
                                                              an extension of time to file is granted. 
 Corporations cannot elect to file and be taxed like          REMITTANCE 
 partnerships. A tax option corporation (S corporation, 
 REIT, etc.) is treated as a C corporation.                   The tax due must be paid when filing the return. Make 
                                                              check or money order payable to the City of Lansing. 
 The  Michigan City Income Tax Ordinance specifically         MAILING ADDRESS 
 exempts financial institutions from taxation. “Financial 
 institutions” are defined as state and national banks, trust Lansing Income Tax Department 
 companies, building and loan associations, savings and       124 W Michigan Ave, 1st Floor 
 loan associations, credit unions, safety and collateral      Lansing, MI 48933. 
 deposit companies, and any other association, joint stock    EFFECTIVE DATE OF TAX 
 company or corporation at least 90% of whose assets          The effective date of the City of Lansing’s income tax is 
 consist of intangible personal property and at least 90%     01/01/1968. 
 of whose gross income consists of dividends, interest or 
 other charges resulting from the use of money or credit.     PAGE 1 INSTRUCTIONS 
 RENAISSANCE ZONE DEDUCTION                                   Lines 1 - 7. Follow the instructions printed on the return 
 TOOL AND DIE RECOVERY ZONE DEDUCTION                         form. 
 A qualified corporation located and “doing business” in a 
 Renaissance Zone or Tool or Die Recovery Zone of a           Line 8. Corporations qualified to claim a Renaissance 
 city listed in Appendix C may be eligible to claim the       Zone deduction use Schedule RZ of L-1120 to calculate 
 Renaissance Zone deduction. This deduction allows the        the deduction. Enter the deduction as calculated on 
 corporation to deduct the portion of its income earned in    Schedule RZ, line 15. Corporations qualified to claim a 
 the applicable city Renaissance Zone or Tool and Die         Tool and Die Recovery Zone deduction use Schedule TD 
 Recovery Zone from income subject to that city’s income      of L-1120 to calculate the deduction. Enter the deduction 
 tax. A taxpayer is not qualified to claim the deduction if   as calculated on Schedule TD, line 15. 
 the corporation is delinquent for any Michigan or local      Line 9. Enter the net income (line 7 less line 8). 
 taxes. A corporation income tax return must be filed to 
 claim this deduction. Schedule RZ of L-1120 is required      Line 10. Enter adjustments after Apportionment 
 to be attached to the corporation return when claiming       (Schedule G, line 4). 
 the Renaissance Zone deduction. Schedule TD of L- 
 1120 is required to be attached to the corporation return    Line 11. Enter total income subject to tax (line 9 less line 
                                                              10). 
 when claiming the Tool and Die Recovery Zone 
 deduction.                                                   Line 12. Compute the tax by multiplying the total income 
                                                              subject to tax (line 11) by the corporation tax rate of 1% 
 A taxpayer claiming the RZ or TD deduction uses              (0.01) and enter the amount of tax. 
 Schedule RZ or Schedule TD  respectively to  compute 
 the deduction. Schedules RZ and TD of L-1120 are             TAX PAYMENTS 
 designed to handle all calculations relative to the          Line 13a. Enter the credit forward from the prior year’s 
 deductions. The calculation is complicated by the fact       return. 
 that the RZ and TD deductions are reduced in each of  
 the last three years of the zones existence and the fact     Line 13b. Enter the total estimated income tax paid for 
 that the reduction factors are based on a calendar year.     the tax year. 
 See the forms for additional information.                    Line 13c. Enter the amount of tax paid with an extension 
 TAX RATE                                                     request for the tax year. 
 The Lansing corporation tax rate is 1% (0.01).               Line 13d. Enter the amount of tax paid a partnership on 
 FILING DATE                                                  behalf of the corporation for the tax year. When reporting 
 Taxpayers on a calendar year are required to file by April   tax paid by a partnership, attach a separate schedule 
 30, 2020 Those on a fiscal year must file by the last day    listing the partnership name, federal employer 
 of the fourth month following the end of the fiscal year.    identification number and the amount of tax paid by the 
 Returns shall be for the same calendar year, fiscal year     partnership. 
 or other accounting period as the taxpayer uses for          Line 13e. Enter the total of lines 13a through 13d. 
 federal income tax purposes. 
                                                              TAX DUE 
 EXTENSIONS                                                   Line 14. . If tax (line 12) is greater than the total 
 A six month extension is automatically granted without a     payments (line 13e) subtract line 13e from line 12 and 
 request if all tax due has been paid by the due date of      enter the balance due. 
 the return. 
                                                              To pay with a check or money order make the check or 
 Upon filing an Application for Extension of Time to File a   money order payable to the City of Lansing and mail the 
 Corporation Income Tax Return, Form L-7004, on or            payment with the return to  City of Lansing Income    Tax 
 before the due date for filing a return, the Income Tax 
                                                           Page 1 



- 2 -
2019 INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING FORM L-1120, CORPORATION INCOME TAX RETURN 
Department, 124 W Michigan Ave,1stFloor, Lansing, MI           basis in determining or loss; or (2) by multiplying the loss 
48933.                                                         for the entire holding period, as computed for federal 
OVERPAYMENT                                                    income tax purposes, by a fraction, the numerator being 
                                                               the number of months the property was held prior to the 
Line 15. If the total tax payments (line 13) is greater than   effective date and denominator being the total number of 
the tax (line 12) subtract line 12 from line 13 and enter      months the property was held. 
the overpayment. 
                                                               Capital losses from U.S. Government obligations 
Line 16. Enter all or any portion of the overpayment to        included in income reported on page 1, line 1, are not 
be credited forward and applied as a payment against           deductible. Remove these losses by including  them  in 
the corporation’s tax liability for the subsequent tax year.   the amount reported on line 3. 
Line 17. See If you wish to make a donation of any             Line 4. Reserved for future use. 
portion or all of your overpayment, enter the amount of 
the overpayment you  wish  to  donate  on  lines   17a,        Line 5. Other. Enter on line 5a the losses from entities 
17b  and/or 17c, otherwise  leave  blank. Enter the total      filing as partnerships included in taxable income reported 
of the donations on line 17d.                                  on page 1, line 1. Enter and explain on lines 5b and 5c, 
                                                               any other items deducted on the corporation’s federal 
Lines 18 and 19. Enter the amount of your overpayment          return but not deductible on Lansing return. 
to be refunded. A refund will be issued via a  paper 
refund check unless you elect to receive the refund via        Column 2 –  Deduct  –  Items Not Taxable and 
direct deposit to the corporation’s bank account. To elect     Allowable Deductions 
to receive the refund via an electronic direct deposit,        Line 7. Enter the amount of interest income from 
mark (X) the box on line 19a, Refund – Direct Deposit          obligations of the United States, the  states  or 
and enter the bank routing number (line 19c), the bank         subordinate units of government of the state that is 
account number (line 19d) and the account  type,               included in taxable income reported on page 1, line 1. 
checking (line 19e1) or savings (line 19e2). 
                                                               Line 8. If you reported dividend income, enter on this line 
DISCLOSURE OF RETURN INFORMATION BETWEEN                       the amount of the dividend-received deduction allowed 
CITY AND PREPARER                                              by the federal Internal Revenue Code for dividends 
Line 20. By marking (X) the “Yes” box (line 20a), the          received. 
corporation is authorizing the applicable city income tax 
department to: contact the  preparer for  answers  to          Lines 9 & 10. Taxpayers may deduct income, war profits 
any questions that may arise relating  to  its  return;        and excess profits taxes imposed by foreign countries or 
and answer any questions from the preparer about the           possessions of the United States, allocable to income 
return. Also, by marking  (X)  the  “Yes”  box  (line          included in taxable net income, any part of which would 
20a), the corporation is authorizing the preparer to:          be allowable as a deduction in determining federal 
provide the applicable income tax  department  with            taxable income under the applicable provisions of the 
any information about or missing from the return;              federal Internal Revenue Code. 
contact the income tax department for information              If a foreign tax credit, rather than a foreign tax deduction, 
about the return or the status of any related refund or        was claimed on your federal return, enter on line 9 the 
payments; and respond to notices about math errors,            portion of the foreign tax credit which was grossed up 
offsets and return preparation.                                and  included in your corporation common return as 
PAGE 2 INSTRUCTIONS                                            dividends received. 
 SCHEDULE S                                                    Enter on line 10 the "foreign taxes paid or accrued" 
Tax option corporations (S corporations, etc.) must file       portion of the foreign tax credit claimed on the federal 
as C corporations. Schedule S is used to reconcile the         return, not in excess of the federal limitations. The 
amount reported on Form L-1120, line 1, page 1, with the       balance of your foreign tax credit is not deductible. 
amounts on federal Form 1120S and Schedule K.                  Line 11. Enter on line 11 the nontaxable portion of a gain 
SCHEDULE C – Adjustments prior to Apportionment                from the sale or exchange of property acquired prior to 
Column 1 – Add – Items Not Deductible                          the effective date of the tax. See Appendix A for effective 
Line 1. Enter on line 1 all expenses (including interest       dates. The portion of the gain occurring prior to the 
expense) incurred in connection with the derivation of         inception of the tax is not recognized. Refer to the 
income not subject to the applicable city’s income tax.        instructions for Schedule C, line 3 for computation 
                                                               instructions. 
Line 2. Enter on line 2 the amount of applicable city’s 
income paid or accrued during the tax year.                    Capital gains from US Government obligations included 
                                                               in income reported on page 1, line 1, are not taxable. 
Line 3. Enter on line 3 the nondeductible portion of a         Remove these gains by including them in the amount 
loss from the sale or exchange of property acquired prior      reported on line 11. 
to the effective date of the tax. See Appendix A for 
effective dates. The portion of the loss occurring prior to    Line 12. Other Items not taxable. Enter on line 12a 
the inception of the income tax is not recognized. The         income from entities filing as partnerships included in 
amount of loss occurring prior to the effective date of the    taxable income reported on page 1, line 1. Enter on line 
tax is determined by either (1) computing the difference       12b the amount of wages claimed as a credit on the 
between the total gain or loss for the property as             corporation’s federal income tax return. 
reported for federal income tax purposes and the               SCHEDULE D 
applicable city taxable portion of the loss computed by        The business allocation percentage formula must be 
substituting the fair market value of the property on the      used  by corporations  “doing  business”  both  within and 
effective date, (closing price for traded securities) for  the 
                                                        Page 2 



- 3 -
       2019 INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING FORM L-1120, CORPORATION INCOME TAX RETURN                                         
 outside the applicable city who have not been approved        for the amount reported on this line including the name 
 to use separate accounting.                                   and taxpayer identification number of the partnership. 
 Elective use of the Multistate Tax Compact                    Line 2. Enter on this line the net capital loss carryover 
 apportionment provisions is no longer allowed. On             applicable to the taxing city and utilized this tax year. Net 
 09/14/2014 the Multistate Tax Compact provisions of           capital losses sustained by a corporation may be carried 
 Michigan law were retroactively repealed effective  forward in the same manner as under the federal Internal 
 01/01/2008.                                                   Revenue Code. If all business was not conducted in the 
                                                               applicable city in the year in which the loss was 
 Line 1a. Enter in column 1 the average net book value of      sustained, use the business allocation percentage 
 all real and tangible personal property owned by the          formula for the year of the loss to calculate  the  
 business, regardless of location, and in column 2, show       deductible portion of the loss. Attach a schedule showing 
 the net book value of the real and tangible personal          your computation of the amount reported on this line. 
 property owned and located or used in Lansing. The 
 average net book value of real and tangible personal          Line 3. Net operating losses carried forward are to be 
 property may be determined by adding the net book             reported on this line. There is no provision for carrying 
 values at the beginning of the year and the net book          back losses to prior tax years. Carryover losses are 
 values at the end of the year and dividing by two.            allocated to the applicable city at the same  
                                                               apportionment percentage reported for the year in which 
 Line 1b. Enter in column 1 the gross annual rent              the loss was sustained. If all business was not conducted 
 multiplied by 8 for all rented real property regardless of    in the applicable city in the year in which the loss was 
 location. In column 2 show the gross annual rent              sustained, use the business allocation percentage 
 multiplied by 8 for rented real property located in the       formula to arrive at the deductible portion of the loss. 
 applicable city. Gross annual rent refers to real property    Attach a schedule showing the computation for the 
 only, rented or leased during the taxable period, and         amount reported on Line 1. 
 should include the actual sums of money or other 
 consideration paid, directly or indirectly, by the taxpayer   ESTIMATED INCOME TAX PAYMENTS 
 for the use or possession of such property.                   1. WHO MUST FILE: Every corporation subject to the tax 
                                                               on all or part of its net profits must make estimated 
 Line 2. Enter in column 1 the total compensation paid to      income tax payments using Form L-1120ES.  
 all employees during the year, and in column 2 show the       Estimated income tax payments are not required from 
 amount of compensation paid to employees for work or          corporations if the estimated tax is two hundred fifty 
 services performed within the applicable city during the      dollars ($250.00) or less. 
 year. 
                                                               2. WHEN AND WHERE TO FILE AND PAY: 
 Line 3. Enter in column 1 the total gross revenue from all    A. Calendar year taxpayers must make the first 
 sales or services rendered during the year, and in            estimated payment on or before April 30th of the 
 column 2 show the amount of revenue derived from              year. The estimated tax is payable in equal 
 sales made or services rendered in Lansing during the         installments on or before April 30th, June 30th, 
 year. A corporation must be “doing business” outside of       September 30th of the tax year and January 31st of 
 the applicable city to allocate net profit (or loss).         the following year. 
 Separate Accounting - The taxpayer may request, or the        B. A corporation filing on a fiscal year or a short tax 
 administrator may require, use of the  separate               year basis must make the first quarterly estimated 
 accounting method. If such method is requested, the           income tax payment within four (4) months after the 
 administrator may require a detailed statement to             beginning of each fiscal year or short period. For 
 determine whether the net profits attributable to Lansing     example, if a fiscal year begins on April 1st, the first 
 will be apportioned with reasonable accuracy.                 quarterly payment is due on or before July 31st of 
 Generally, a corporation that is unitary in nature (i.e., has the tax year. The remaining installments must be 
 central management, purchasing, warehousing,                  paid on or before the last day of the 6th, 9th and 
 advertising, etc.) cannot use separate accounting.            13th months after the beginning of the tax year. 
 Taxpayers allocating on any basis other than separate         C. Filing and Payment: City of Lansing Income Tax 
 accounting shall include all interest, dividends and other    Department, 124 W Michigan Ave, 1stFloor, 
 non-operating income to arrive at the total income            Lansing, MI 48933. The estimated tax may be paid 
 subject to the allocation percentage.                         in full by the due date of the first quarterly 
 Taxpayers using separate accounting shall include in          installment. 
 income subject to tax a proportionate share of dividends,     NOTICE 
 interest and other non-operating income of the total          These instructions are interpretations of  the  Michigan 
 corporation. This type of income is apportioned to            City Income Tax Ordinance. The city’s Income Tax 
 applicable city activity on the same basis as general         Ordinance will prevail in any disagreement between the 
 administrative and overhead costs are apportioned.            instructions and the Ordinance. 
 SCHEDULE G                                                                                    Revised 01/17/2020 
 Line 1. A corporation who is a partner in a business 
 activity taxed as a partnership that has business activity 
 in the applicable city must enter on this line their portion 
 of the applicable city’s taxable income or loss from the 
 partnership. Attach a schedule showing the  computation 

                                                       Page 3 






PDF file checksum: 2601667535

(Plugin #1/8.13/12.0)