Kokua Line: What happens to tax rebate if direct-deposit account is closed?

Question: Regarding the tax rebate, what if I got a refund this year by direct deposit but have since closed the account? What do I do?

Answer: No action is needed on your part; you will receive your rebate in the form of a mailed, paper check, according to the state Department of Taxation, which said this answer applies to any eligible Hawaii filer in your situation. The check will be issued about two weeks later than if your direct-deposit account information had been current, in which case you would have received the money that way.

DOTAX expects to begin issuing Act 115 rebates at the end of August.

Q: I’ve been filing yearly tax returns with the Hawaii tax office. For the past couple of years, I haven’t gotten a refund or had to pay. My last refund was over two years ago, and it was done by electronic transfer to my checking account that I had at that time. I’ve since closed that account and am now using a different bank/account but have never provided that account information to the tax department. They only have my previous account information. Would you be able to find out what will happen to my rebate this year and whether there’s any way I can update my new direct deposit bank information?

A: You also can expect your rebate in the form of a mailed, paper check. The delivery method will be based on your 2021 tax year filing, not a prior year. Only filers who received a refund by direct deposit for the 2021 tax year will receive the Act 115 rebate by direct deposit, DOTAX said, if their account information is current. Filers who received a refund by paper check, or who did not receive a refund (like you), will receive the rebate by paper check, it said.

As for your second question, no, you cannot update your account information to receive the rebate by direct deposit, it said.

Q: Regarding the tax rebate, is it only for residents of six months or more in Hawaii? I have family who visited a few months and worked and paid/filed Hawaii taxes as well as in their state of residency.

A: Nine months is the minimum mentioned in Act 115, which provides a rebate to every qualifying resident taxpayer who files a 2021 Hawaii income tax return by the end of this year. “As used in this Act, ‘qualifying resident taxpayer’ means an individual taxpayer who has been a resident of the State, as defined in section 235-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, for at least nine months regardless of whether the qualifying resident was physically in the State for nine months,” the law says (808ne.ws/3cvQROR).

Q: I want to get a secure mailbox, one that locks. Is there a postal rule to follow, or can I just buy/order one and install it myself if it says “approved by the postmaster general” on it? This is for a residential address with curbside mailbox delivery. … Grown men are cruising around on bicycles, wearing backpacks and looking for stuff to steal. The doorbell camera records them passing my house at all hours, but my mailbox isn’t in the view so I don’t know exactly what is happening.

A: “Customers seeking to replace their mailboxes should check with their local post offices before making any purchases. The new mailbox must meet USPS regulations, as determined by the Postal Service, not a manufacturer. Customers also must get approval for the locations of their replacement mailboxes,” said Duke Gonzales, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service, who also answered questions from other readers about mail theft.

“Customers who suspect their mail has been stolen should report their concerns to local police as well as to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service,” he said. The latter can be reached at 877-876-2455 or via www.uspis.gov/report.

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.