Question: What do we do if we never received our Act 115 rebate or any notice about it? We filed our 2021 state income tax return on time and owed money, so we had expected to receive a paper check eventually, per previous public communications from the state. My understanding is that the state caught up on issuing the checks, but we never received ours.

Answer: Contact the state Department of Taxation by email (tax.refunds@hawaii.gov) or phone (808-587-4242) to follow up. Although the vast majority of Act 115 refunds were delivered, several thousand were not, either because the U.S. Postal Service returned the check to DOTAX as undeliverable; a different government agency intercepted the money to pay a debt to that agency; or DOTAX needed more information from the Hawaii resident before issuing the rebate, according to a news release former Gov. David Ige issued before leaving office this month.

Undeliverable mail generally involved taxpayers who had moved since they filed their 2021 Hawaii state income tax return but did not update their address with DOTAX; checks were mailed to the address on file. Affected taxpayers can correct their address via Hawaii Tax Online or by mailing Form ITPS, according to the DOTAX website. It’s not possible to update an address by phone call or unsecured email, it says. For more information, see tax.hawaii.gov/act-115-ref. As of Monday several thousand addresses needed to be updated so those refunds could be sent out again, said Nicki Ann Thompson, DOTAX taxation services administrator.

As for rebates offset by external agencies, affected residents should have received a letter from the intercepting agency and should contact that agency directly with questions or concerns, said Thompson. If a resident does not recall receiving such a letter, DOTAX can look up the account, but the resident still must follow up with the external agency with any concerns about the offset. More than 4,000 Act 115 rebates were intercepted, the news release said. Rebates could be intercepted to pay outstanding child support, unpaid University of Hawaii tuition, certain home property liens and federal income tax bills, to name some examples.

Finally, a “limited number” of Act 115 refunds were withheld because DOTAX needed more information on the filer’s 2021 tax return, the news release said. In those cases, DOTAX mailed letters to affected taxpayers with instructions on how to verify information so that the refund could be issued, Thompson said.

A total of 608,999 Act 115 refunds totaling $309 million were issued as of Dec. 1, according to DOTAX. That included 289,209 direct deposits and 319,790 paper checks. Qualified residents have until year’s end to file a 2021 individual Hawaii income tax return and receive this rebate.

Q: What if I am not the one driving my car when a red-light camera catches it running a red light?

A: As the registered owner, you would receive the ticket, according to the state Department of Transportation’s website. The current fine for running a red light on Oahu is $97, but state law allows a fine as high as $200 for a first-time violation, it says.

Under state law (HRS 291J-7), someone can contest a ticket generated by the red-light camera system by providing evidence of any of the following: They were not the registered owner when the ticket was issued; the vehicle or its license plates had been reported stolen at the time; or the vehicle proceeded through the red light at a law enforcement officer’s direction, to yield to an emergency vehicle or as part of a funeral procession escorted by police.

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.