Question: Will you please inform your readers that several of the federal tax forms and publications are not yet available at the Internal Revenue Service office?
I found that to be the case when I went to that office recently. Instead, they gave me a piece of paper with a telephone number to call: 800-829-3676.
Answer: If you call that number, you can request that the forms and publications be mailed to you.
The IRS announced in 2010 that it no longer would automatically mail forms, tables and instructions because electronic filing had become so popular, and to reduce costs.
Post offices have stopped carrying the forms, but certain public libraries, including the Hawaii State Library at Punchbowl and King streets, still do so. To find a list of those libraries, go to www.librarieshawaii.org/ and scroll down to “Internal Revenue Service forms and procedures.”
“I would also strongly recommend that people consider downloading the forms and/or publications from our website, www.irs.gov,” said IRS spokesman David Tucker II.
The forms also should become available at IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers. In Honolulu, the center is located in the Prince Kuhio Federal Building, 300 Ala Moana Blvd.
For additional information, go to www.irs.gov/formspubs/article/0,,id=96760,00.html.
Question: Besides going online (www.hawaii.gov/tax) and printing the required federal and Hawaii tax forms/instructions, are there locations to pick up hard copies of these publications?
Answer: State tax forms and instructions can be picked up at the state Department of Taxation’s district offices. On Oahu, that would be in the Keelikolani Building at 830 Punchbowl St.
Forms also will be available at public libraries statewide, as part of a continuing partnership between the Hawaii State Public Library System and the Department of Taxation.
Library staff will supply the forms, but are not trained to assist with tax questions, a spokesman said. You are advised to call your local library first to check on the availability of state tax forms before going.
For answers to other tax questions, call the Tax Information Line: 587-4242 on Oahu (from neighbor islands, toll-free 800-887-8974).
Question: How can I make a claim with the city regarding tire damage from a pothole?
Answer: Call the city Corporation Counsel’s office at 768-5222 to get a claim form.
For damage incurred on state roadways, call the state Department of Transportation’s Highways Division, Oahu District Office, 831-6703.
Mahalo
To the two men who picked up my elderly mother’s wallet at the Times Waimalu parking lot on Jan. 16 and handed it to my husband, who was waiting in the car for us. She had gone into the market not knowing she had dropped her wallet. They could’ve picked it up and walked away without any of us noticing. It’s wonderful to still see honest and kind people around. We don’t even want to think of the inconvenience it would’ve caused us if her wallet wasn’t returned. — Ruthie
Auwe
To the driver of a restaurant van who ran a red light one Sunday morning in December. Our family had parked at the Hale Koa parking facility and was waiting to cross the street to the hotel. The light turned green so we could cross, when all of a sudden, the van pulled around a car that had stopped for the red light, then sped through the intersection! The driver could have killed someone as there were several people just about to cross. We hope the restaurant owner takes some action. — Appalled
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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
