Question: Last year the IRS office was open some Saturdays during tax season. Will they do that this year? I haven’t heard anything yet.
Answer: Yes, the federal Taxpayer Assistance Center in Honolulu is scheduled to be open March 16 and April 13 — both Saturdays — from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for in-person service without an appointment, according to the IRS website.
TACs in many other states are open four Saturdays, but only the aforementioned two Saturdays are listed for Hawaii, and only for the TAC in Honolulu, at 300 Ala Moana Blvd. The IRS website says to “check frequently for new information as availability may change without notice.”
TACs usually are open weekdays by appointment, it says.
TAC staff will not prepare your federal tax return. For information about TAC services, and to check for updates, go to 808ne.ws/irsftf.
Q: Will there be a St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Waikiki? I wasn’t sure because it falls on a Sunday.
A: Yes, the annual parade is scheduled to kick off at noon as usual. The parade, sponsored by the Society of the Friends of St. Patrick, will proceed down Kalakaua Avenue from Saratoga Road to Monsarrat Avenue, ending at Kapiolani Park, according to the city Department of Transportation Services’ website, which lists major parades and street activities scheduled this year. Affected roads will close at 11:30 a.m. and should reopen at about 1 p.m., the website says. It says the parade is expected to have about 200 marchers, 40 vehicles and four bands. For details, go to friendsof stpatrickhawaii.com.
Q: Why don’t all of Oahu’s satellite city halls renew driver’s licenses?
A: Because four of Oahu’s nine satellite city halls have a full-service driver’s license center next door. “So when there’s physically a DLC right next to the satellite we don’t ask the satellite to take on that additional service, because it’s available right next door,” said Kim Hashiro, director of Honolulu’s Department of Customer Services.
Driver’s license and state ID renewals and duplicates are offered at four satellite city halls — Downtown, Hawaii Kai, Pearlridge and Windward City — that are not adjacent to full-service DLCs. As we’ve emphasized before, these satellites do not offer written tests or road tests and they do not issue initial licenses or state IDs, just renewals or duplicates.
Q: How long will the Kaneohe library be closed?
A: At least a year, according to the library’s website, which says “at this time, the construction project is scheduled to be completed by Spring 2025.”
The Kaneohe Public Library, which opened at its present location 61 years ago, will be closed starting Monday, the website says. Starting March 17, a small pop-up location inside Windward Mall will offer limited library services, according to the website, which says “patrons will be able to borrow from a small collection of materials, pick up holds, return borrowed items, use computers and wi-fi service.”
Q: Is Tax-Aide available on Maui?
A: Yes, but “Tax-Aide volunteers do not have training on casualty losses or net operating losses that may result from a disaster, such as the August 2023 wildfires, so we will not be able to assist affected taxpayers,” according to Hawaii’s website for the free federal and state income-tax preparation service, which is sponsored by the AARP Foundation. The Tax-Aide program has summarized federal and state tax information that may be helpful to the wildfire survivors via links at 808ne.ws/49MNcEB.
As for Tax-Aide’s locations, including on Maui, find them via links at 808ne.ws/hitaxaarp.
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.
