State distributes over $600K in one-time tax refunds

The State of Hawaiʻi has finished distributing over 600,000 state tax refunds to eligible taxpayers who filed their 2021 Hawaiʻi individual tax returns on time.

A total of 606,674 refunds were issued, totaling $307.9 million. That includes 288,590 direct deposits and 318,084 paper checks. Taxpayers received either $100 or $300 for each eligible person, depending on the taxpayers’ income, filing status, and qualified exemption(s) reported on their Hawaiʻi individual income tax returns.

The refunds were part of Act 115, a law signed by Gov. David Ige this year that authorized the State of Hawaii Department of Taxation to issue a one-time tax refund to qualifying resident taxpayers who filed an individual income tax return for the 2021 tax year. Tax returns must do so by Dec. 31, 2022, to be eligible to receive the Act 115 refund.

For any qualified taxpayer who hasn’t received the refund, state officials say, there are several reasons why the refund might be withheld. Over 2,000 refund checks that were mailed to taxpayers were returned by the postal service due to incorrect addresses. Taxpayers whose current address is different than what was stated on their 2021 tax return may email [email protected] for information on how to receive their refund.

Over 4,000 refunds were intercepted by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or external agencies such as child support payments due to outstanding debts. These taxpayers must work directly with the external agencies to address questions on the refund offsets.

Additionally, the Department of Taxation mailed letters to a limited number of taxpayers, requesting additional information on their 2021 return. Refunds will be held until the information has been verified or corrected.