Question: I mailed in my tax returns before the deadline last April. I received my refund from the state, but I never received my refund from the federal government. I have called the IRS and I can never get through. Should I refile my federal return?
Answer: The Internal Revenue Service says on its website that people still awaiting last year’s refund should not resubmit their federal tax return unless all of the following are true: You are due a refund, you filed on paper more than six months ago and the agency’s “Where’s My Refund?” online tracker shows the IRS has not received your return.
We know that two of the three are true in your case, but you didn’t mention whether you had checked the status of your return on the IRS website. You can do so through the “Where’s My Refund?” link at irs.gov/refunds Opens in a new tab. You’ll need to input your Social Security number or taxpayer ID number, your filing status and the exact refund amount on the return you filed. If the online tool shows that your return has not been received, you should resubmit it, electronically if possible, according to the IRS.
In late December the IRS said it had 1.91 million unprocessed individual returns it had received in 2021, including 414,000 paper returns. The total included returns for tax year 2021 and those that had been filed late for prior years.
As the 2023 tax-filing season opens, the IRS urges taxpayers to file returns for the 2022 tax year electronically and to receive refunds by direct deposit. Electronic processing is quicker and more efficient, it says.
Q: For the red-light cameras, what happens if you enter the intersection when the light is green but because of traffic, you are not able to clear the intersection before it turns red. Will you still get a ticket?
A: No, not according to the state Department of Transportation, which says enforcement applies to vehicles that enter the intersection on the red light. The DOT website says 416 citations had been issued through Honolulu’s red-light camera systems as of Jan. 17.
Citations are being issued at the intersections of Vineyard Boulevard and Palama Street, Vineyard Boulevard and Liliha street, and Vineyard Boulevard and Nuuanu Avenue. They soon will be issued at the intersections of Pali Highway and Vineyard Boulevard and Pali Highway and School Street, where only warnings are being issued for now; 144 warnings had been issued at those two intersections as of Jan. 17, according to the DOT.
We’ve received a few Auwes from drivers who say that motorists trying to beat the cameras cause gridlock by entering an intersection when the light is green but traffic is backed up.
Q: Will the city announce when all of its parking meters are fixed and full enforcement will resume?
A: Yes, Honolulu’s Department of Transportation Services has said it will alert the public when nonpayment violations are once again being enforced at its digital parking meters, which have a slot for a payment card. The city failed to update the meters before Verizon shut down the 3G wireless network on which the meters had relied, which is why they no longer work. It’s expected to take about six months before the meters are upgraded to current technology. Be aware that nonpayment violations are being enforced as usual at coin-only parking meters.
Auwe
Auwe to the tree-trimming company (name unknown) that left huge cut branches on the access ramp and sidewalk at the Waimalu Plaza Shopping Center in Aiea last week. — Reader
Mahalo
Thank you to the kind person who found and turned in my fanny pack with my wallet and headphones inside. It was turned in to the police station. I am so grateful for your good service. It made my entire day! — Emily S.
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.
