Michigan

Short-term rental company sues Michigan over $18.7M tax bill

Published

2 weeks ago

December 26, 2025

Short-term rental company sues Michigan over .7M tax bill

A nationwide short-term rental company is suing the state of Michigan over a tax audit that found the company owes about $18.7 million in unpaid use taxes to the state.

HomeAway, a Texas-based company best known for its vacation rental platform Vrbo, received a September bill for taxes due from the Michigan Department of Treasury for unpaid use taxes and interest in 2020, 2021 and 2022, totaling $18.7 million, according to the lawsuit filed in the Michigan Court of Claims.

HomeAway maintained in its Dec. 18 filing that it is the homeowners themselves who are responsible for collecting use taxes related to the short-term rental of their homes and remitting those taxes to the state.

“All funds representing use tax collected from guests were disbursed to the hosts,” the company said in its filing.

The state Department of Treasury and HomeAway declined to comment on pending litigation.

The tax fight comes amid a separate, but related, years-long fight in communities across the state and in the Legislature over how to best regulate and, in some cases, tax short-term rentals, which began to grow in popularity in Michigan after the 2008 housing crisis.

The Legislature has toyed with the idea of banning any local regulations over short-term rentals, putting some limits on those local regulations or establishing a statewide policy for short-term rental housing. State Rep. Mark Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills, helped introduce bills this fall that would allow communities to hold a vote on whether to tax short-term rentals locally to pay for essential services such as police or fire. The legislation has yet to receive a hearing.

In its suit filed Dec. 18 in the Michigan Court of Claims, HomeAway maintained that it was cognizant of the state’s 6% use tax and made provisions for its collection. But the ultimate remittance of that tax to the state is left to the homeowner.

When onboarding, according to the suit, a host or homeowner is given options regarding how they collect taxes. In Michigan, they could make it a percentage of the rental amount at booking or collect and remit the tax separately.

In either case, HomeAway argued, the host was responsible for paying the use tax. If the host made it a percentage of the rental amount due at booking, the taxes charged in the booking process were sent back to the host for remittance to the state. If the host indicated he or she would collect and remit on their own, the entire process was left to the host, according to the filing.

“The host acknowledged and represented that the host would handle tax collection from guests independent from HomeAway’s online checkout process,” HomeAway wrote in its filing. “…HomeAway never received or retained any tax amounts.”

In January 2023, the Department of Treasury began an audit of the prior three years, and in June 2025, the department issued a bill for taxes due for the audit period. The department found HomeAway wasn’t responsible for paying taxes if the host indicated he or she would collect and remit on their own. But the department maintained the company was responsible for remitting taxes where the host picked the option requiring the tax to be a percentage of the rental amount due at booking, the lawsuit said.

On Sept. 19, 2025, the Department of Treasury issued an $18.7 million bill, with about $15.1 million owed in use taxes and $3.6 million owed in interest. The bill included a total of $676,246 in use tax and interest for 2020, $8.6 million for 2021 and $9.5 million for 2022.

“The department — for the first time during the audit — alleged that for all bookings for which tax was collected on behalf of and at the request of the host, HomeAway unjustly enriched itself by failing to remit the collected taxes to the department,” the filing said.

The state treasury bills, attached to the lawsuit as exhibits, only note that the money due is for use tax and interest following an audit. There is no mention in the bills of which type of rentals HomeAway was responsible for when it came to remittance of the use tax.

HomeAway, in its lawsuit, denied that it was unjustly enriched, arguing the company didn’t keep any of the tax payments, but instead forwarded them to homeowners to remit to the state.

“It was the hosts — not HomeAway — that were responsible for remittance of use tax to the departments,” the filing said.

HomeAway also alleged the department’s audit violated the federal and state Equal Protection Clauses because it treated HomeAway differently from other similarly situated taxpayers.

“There is no precedent to support the department’s allegation, nor has the department applied this theory to similarly situated taxpayers,” the filing said.

eleblanc@detroitnews.com

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Michigan

Michigan basketball isn’t invincible, and its first loss shows why

Published

1 hour ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Michigan basketball isn’t invincible, and its first loss shows why

Michigan basketball’s first loss of the 2025-26 season – a 91-88 thriller on Saturday, Jan. 10 – was likely a surprise to most.

But U-M players and and coaches saw the seeds planted for the result over the past two weeks, with four consecutive games without the Wolverines feeling like they’d played up to their standard.

“The right team won,” Dusty May said after his team’s first loss.

Michigan led by 14 with 7:38 left in the first half, but let Wisconsin back into the game with a 20-7 run going into halftime. The run included three 3-pointers, part of the Badgers’ season-high 15 3s.

“Give Wisconsin credit,” May continued. “They came in here, took a punch early, they responded and went in at halftime with positive momentum. They came out in the second half and knocked us on our heels a little bit.

“They made plays; our plan, our coaching, our playing wasn’t up to our standard.”

It was similar to U-M’s game earlier in the week, when the Wolverines allowed Penn State to go on a 12-0 second-half run before escaping with a 74-72 victory in Happy Valley.

At Crisler Center, however, the bill came due for the Wolverines not going hard in practice – where U-M had done the work behind its 14-0 start to the season.

“To be honest, the only thing I’m disappointed in is when we started playing, competing at a high level, it looked different,” May said. “We can’t be a team, with what we’re playing for, that has two different levels of intensity.

“That’s what happened … but I don’t want to take anything away from Wisconsin. They came in here, they took it.”

‘They exposed some things’

One of Michigan’s few flaws is in dealing with stretch bigs. That’s especially apparent now after freshman Aleksas Bieliauskas drilled five 3-pointers, including four in less than three minutes of the second half.

Aday Mara is a fantastic rim protector, but he’s not built to move out to the arc; when bigs who can shoot are able to pull him away from the basket, it’s a problem.

“We changed our coverages, changed our personnel, we didn’t do a good enough job,” May said. “We worked three days on that. … We knew it was coming, you know it’s coming … When they make the first couple, there’s such an overreaction.

“They exposed some things with our plan and our team that we thought were going to be issues this year,”

The Wolverines began sticking the Badgers harder on the perimeter, fighting over screens instead of going under them. The change slowed Wisconsin’s 3-point shooting – the Badgers closed the game at just 3-for-10 beyond the arc after making 12 of their first 23 – but it also allowed more dribble-drive penetration, mostly by Nick Boyd.

He scored 22 against U-M and May, his coach at Florida Atlantic. That was second only to Wisconsin’s John Blackwell, who had 26 points – the third double-digit scoring game in four tries by the Birmingham Brother Rice alumnus against the school that passed on him.

“They did a good job of exploiting the mismatches and finding a way to get open,” said Nimari Burnett, who scored 10. “Something we’ll look at in film –we can take this lesson and apply it to other games.”

‘Processes have to improve’

Michigan solid on offense, at least, topping 80 points for the 13th time in 15 games.

Elliot Cadeau – who sat much of the first half in foul trouble – frequently thrived in one-on-one situations en route to 19 points, his second-best total this season. Morez Johnson Jr. missed just one shot and finished with 18 points.

But for the fourth game in a row, U-M shot under 33% on 3s, going 8-for-25 (32%) against Wisconsin.

“We’ve got to find some solutions to get better shots,” May said.

Shooting comes and goes, as May and Co. have tried to point out. Effort should not, though.

But on Saturday, Wisconsin got more second-chance points (15-8) and was virtually even in rebounding – U-M finished with a 32-30 edge, but Wisconsin prevailed, 15-11, in the second half.

Michigan won its first 14 games of the season in large part because of superior talent. While that’s a prerequisite for a deep March run, the grind behind the scenes is every bit as important.

Of Michigan’s three days of prep from Tuesday-Saturday, Cadeau and May said, only one was acceptable.

“Our processes have to improve, our practice habits, our day-to-day habits have to be at a championship level,” May said. “Or we’re simply going to rely on the other team not playing up to their standard, or our talent. That’s not a real healthy way to get through the Big Ten season.”

The Penn State win offered solace that when the going got tough, the Wolverines would find a way. Faltering against Wisconsin wiped away that illusion.

Michigan’s goals – a Big Ten title, a March Madness run – are all still attainable. But only if U-M feels this sting and plays with the same desire opponents are now bringing against the Wolverines, night in and night out.

Even in practice.

“It’s like a smack in our face,” Burnett said. “No team is going to go undefeated – obviously, we hoped to do it – but like I said, just need to learn from it.”

Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.

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What time is Michigan basketball’s game vs Wisconsin today? TV, stream

Published

13 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

What time is Michigan basketball’s game vs Wisconsin today? TV, stream

Michigan basketball finally got tested last game for this first time in almost two months.

Ever since a tough win on the road at TCU on Nov. 14, the Wolverines have been absolutely steamrolling everyone on their schedule. But Penn State finally offered some resistance that Michigan just hasn’t been seeing.

In Michigan’s third true road game of the season, the Wolverines were pushed to the brink in University Park, Pennsylvania, as the Nittany Lions found a way to keep it close without their leading scorer, freshman Kayden Mingo, who was scratched just before the game.

Michigan led by as much as 15 in the second half against the Nittany Lions, but Penn State just kept chipping away. Ultimately it came down to a final shot for Penn State’s Freddie Dilione V, who seemingly lost track of the clock and was forced to jack up a prayer that didn’t go in. As they say, an ugly win is better than an ugly loss, especially for a Michigan team who has been nearly flawless in every other game.

On Saturday, the Wolverines will return to the friendly confines of the Crisler Center for an early afternoon tipoff against the Wisconsin Badgers (CBS, 1 p.m.) for a chance to get back to the dominant style they were playing before.

Here’s what you need to know for Michigan’s game against Wisconsin on Saturday:

What channel is Michigan basketball vs Wisconsin

Michigan basketball will face Wisconsin in a nationally televised game on CBS.

How to stream Michigan vs Wisconsin basketball

Michigan basketball vs Wisconsin start time today

Date: Saturday, Jan. 10.
Time: 1 p.m. ET.
Where: Crisler Center, Ann Arbor.

Michigan basketball schedule 2025-26 next 5 games

Find the Wolverines’ full 2025-26 schedule.

Saturday, Jan. 10: Wisconsin, 1 p.m. ET, CBS.
Wednesday, Jan. 14: at Washington, 10:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network.
Saturday, Jan. 17: at Oregon, 4 p.m. ET, NBC.
Tuesday, Jan. 20: Indiana, 7 p.m. ET, Peacock.
Friday, Jan. 23: Ohio State, 8 p.m., Fox.

Michigan vs Wisconsin prediction

Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press: Morez Johnson Jr.’s early foul trouble against Penn State was a big factor in that close finish; as deep as U-M is, it does not have a replacement for his motor and ability to switch on defense. Presumably, that narrow win was a wakeup call for Michigan, and while it’s hard to expect the Wolverines to beat teams by 30 or 40 a night, this one could be lopsided by the end. The pick: U-M 92, Wisconsin 73.

Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.

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Butler WR transfer Braydon Alford commits to Michigan football

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Butler WR transfer Braydon Alford commits to Michigan football

Butler wide receiver transfer Braydon Alford, the son of Michigan offensive run game coordinator and running backs coach Tony Alford, has committed to U-M under new head coach Kyle Whittingham, he announced on social media Friday evening.

The 5-foot-8, 175-pound Dublin, Ohio, native didn’t appear in any games in his two seasons at Butler and has three years of eligibility remaining.

From Alford’s bio while at Butler: “Set his school’s single-season receptions record with 90 catches during his senior year… Had 1,487 all-purpose yards that year and scored 10 touchdowns… Named First Team All-Conference, First Team All-District and Third-Team All-State as a senior… Team captain… Had an outstanding game against Hilliard Bradley in Week 5 which included 14 catches for 195 yards and three touchdowns.”
Alford entered the transfer portal earlier this week and quickly became a Michigan commit.
Whittingham took the Michigan job Dec. 26 and quickly built his staff. One of three holdovers on the group of assistant coaches was Tony Alford, who’s entering his third season in Ann Arbor. Whittingham had a previous connection with Tony Alford’s family.
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“Tremendous football coach. I was blessed to have at Utah, his brother, Aaron Alford, before he passed away, worked for us for several years,” Whittingham said at his introductory press conference. “So I know the Alford family. Great family. Tony, I got a ton of respect for him and we’ll see how things work out in that direction.”
Alford was an unranked recruit out of Dublin (Ohio) Jerome.

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