Question: My 17-year-old grandson is visiting Hawaii. I’m a resident of Hawaii. Will he be able to enter Hanauma Bay as my dependent during kamaaina hours?
Answer: No, valid Hawaii ID is required for local residents ages 13 and up who want to enter without a reservation from 6:45 a.m. to 9 a.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, according to the Department of Parks and Recreation’s online reservation system for the East Oahu marine preserve, pros6.hnl.info/hanauma- bay.
However, the popular snorkeling site does maintain about 20% to 25% of daily admissions for walk-ins (people without reservations), said Nate Serota, a DPR spokesman.
Serota said a balanced system of local, reserved and walk-in access is working well. He recommends that you try to make an online reservation for you and your grandson. If you are unsuccessful (reservations fill quickly), you should arrive by the start of that day’s nonreservation period for kamaaina, and your grandson should seek entry as a walk-in, Serota said.
There may be a bit of a wait, but “he will very likely get a spot into the nature preserve with his grandma,” Serota said.
Q: I read where in early 2022 the IRS would be sending Letter 6475, which provides the total amount of the third Economic Impact Payment and any plus-up payments. Do you know whether this letter has been issued?
A: The Internal Revenue Service says it began issuing “Letter 6475, Your Third Economic Impact Payment,” to third-round stimulus recipients in late January and will continue to do so through March. Recipients who have an online account with the IRS should also be able to access the letter there, via irs.gov, the agency says.
Tax filers need to know how much third-round stimulus they received (if any), including plus-up payments, to be able to accurately claim the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit. Married individuals filing jointly each need to know their portion. Letter 6475 confirms the amount an individual received for tax year 2021.
“Letter 6475 only applies to the third round of Economic Impact Payments, which were issued in March through December of 2021. The third round of Economic Impact Payments, including ‘plus-up’ payments, were advance payments of the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit that would be claimed on a 2021 tax return (filed in 2022). Plus-up payments were additional payments the IRS sent to people who received a third Economic Impact Payment based on a 2019 tax return or information received from the Social Security Administration, Railroad Retirement Board or Veterans Affairs. Plus-up payments were also sent to people who were eligible for a larger amount based on their 2020 tax return.”
Medicare update
“People in either Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage will be able to get over-the-counter COVID-19 tests at no cost starting in early spring,” the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said in a news alert Thursday. This reverses the exclusion of Original Medicare members from a federal program that requires insurance companies to cover the cost (up to $12 per test) of eight over-the-counter, at-home COVID-19 tests per month, per insured individual (808ne.ws/kline130). And it makes all Medicare Advantage members eligible, replacing previous patchwork coverage, which varied according to the person’s plan. CMS said that details would be forthcoming, but summarized by saying that starting in early spring, “people with Medicare will be able to go to eligible pharmacies and other entities that are participating in this initiative to receive over-the-counter COVID-19 tests for free through their Medicare part B coverage.” This is the first time that Medicare will cover an over-the-counter test at no cost to beneficiaries, CMS said, and it is overcoming “a number of issues” to extend the coverage.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
