Deadline closes in for submitting federal, state taxes

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Monday is the deadline to file federal taxes, while taxes for the state of Hawaii are due Wednesday.

Tax experts say help is hard to come by especially this time of year.

Hank Erwin, owner of Hank’s Tax Services says it’s one of his busiest seasons. His office is working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.

“We’re getting everybody to drop off their documents so we can stay here late and get it all in the computer so we can get them through faster,” Erwin said.

Erwin explained that the demand for help is up because many tax preparers have retired.

“Because of either COVID or they’re older,” said Erwin. “A lot of people my age are just giving up.”

He adds that they’re also dealing with new tax issues.

They must ask clients if they’ve been buying or selling virtual currency and whether they received last year’s stimulus check.

“A lot of people don’t remember what happened a year ago, and they give the wrong answer then when they get their tax return back, the IRS says, ‘Oh, no, we gave you all that money,’” Erwin explained. “So, they get a different tax refund than they thought.”

While tax preparers like Erwin are booked, you can file for an extension.

But Tom Yamachika, president of Tax Foundation Hawaii said if you think you owe money, you must pay it before the deadline.

“The extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay,” said Yamachika. “You do need to make sure that you’ve estimated what you think you might owe and get that in before the deadline — April 18 for federal, and April 20 for state.”

“Otherwise, there may be penalties when you do file,” he added.

If you are looking for ways to benefit, Yamachika encourages people to look at the tax credits available to Hawaii residents.

You need to read the instructions carefully to find credits you qualify for.

“Some of these credits and things are not easy to find,” said Yamachika. “And it looks like our Department of Tax may have made them that way, but don’t let them win.”

“There’s also a food and excise tax credit for those people making less than a certain amount of money.”

Yamachika says if you’ve already filed and find out that there is a tax credit that you do qualify for but didn’t claim it, you can amend your return.