HomeMy WebLinkAboutTAT Bulk Filers Instructions - HCTAT (Rev. 01-23)
COUNTY OF HAWAI`I HCTAT BULK FILERS PROGRAM HANDBOOK
TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS TAX
BULK FILERS PROGRAM HANDBOOK
(Revised January 2023)
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
HAWAI`I TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS TAX (HCTAT)
INTERNAL CONTROL DIVISION - TAT OFFICE
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COUNTY OF HAWAI`I HCTAT BULK FILERS PROGRAM HANDBOOK
I. INTRODUCTION
The County of Hawai`i Transient Accommodations Tax (HCTAT) Bulk Filers Program (BFP) is based
on a mutually acceptable arrangement made between various agencies and the Department of
Finance, Internal Control Division.
The BFP enables reporting agents to remit one payment for multiple State TAT ID numbers
through an Automated Clearing House (ACH) debit and submission of a file with detailed
information supporting the ACH payment. Making debit payments through this system is free.
This reference and procedure manual is expressly for the County of Hawai`i only and does not
apply to other jurisdictions within the State of Hawaii.
II. CONTACT INFORMATION
The Internal Control Division will coordinate this program for the County of Hawai`i.
Physical address: COUNTY OF HAWAI`I
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
TAT OFFICE
25 AUPUNI STREET STE 1101
HILO, HI 96720
(808) 961-8793
Email: hawaiicountytat@hawaiicounty.gov
Mailing address: Same as physical address.
Contact hours: Our contact hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Hawaii Standard Time (HST). Our office will be closed on weekends and on
all State of Hawaii holidays. Holidays which fall on Saturdays are observed
on the preceding Friday; holidays which fall on Sundays are observed on
the following Monday.
III. PARTICIPANT ELIGIBILITY
To participate in the HCTAT BFP you must meet at least one of the criteria listed below:
1. Reporting Agent: A Reporting Agent is a company (not individuals) that provides services
to other businesses by making required tax deposits and tax information filings to the
federal government, state, and local governments. For example, tax preparer, property
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COUNTY OF HAWAI`I HCTAT BULK FILERS PROGRAM HANDBOOK
management company and others who prepare returns/file taxes for multiple clients or
multiple locations for the same client. A Reporting Agent performs the following acts on
behalf of a taxpayer:
a) Sign and electronically file TA-1 and TA-2 forms to the State of Hawaii Department of
Taxation (DOTAX).
b) Sign and file on paper (to the extent the Hawaii Revised Statutes does not require
filing electronically) the forms set forth by the DOTAX.
c) Make tax deposits electronically via the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System
(EFTPS) and submit tax information electronically as described in Section VI of this
procedure.
d) Receive duplicate copies of all official notices, correspondence, deposit requirements,
or other information.
e) Receive duplicate copies of all official notices, correspondence, deposit requirements,
or other information with respect to tax deposits.
2. Direct Transmitter: Receives prepared returns and serves as a pass-through, transmitting
the returns to the appropriate agencies on behalf of the taxpayer. The transmitter
receives acknowledgments from taxing agencies which are forwarded on to their clients.
The transmitter has authority to communicate with taxing agencies on behalf of their
clients regarding the success of the transmission but does not have authority to
communicate with taxing agencies regarding the data that is transmitted.
3. Software Developer: A company that provides desktop or online software to aid
taxpayers and reporting agents in filing taxes. The software user could then add on
additional services such as a transmitter model to file their taxes electronically.
If you are enrolled with State of Hawaii’s Bulk Filing System program, you are not automatically
enrolled with the County of Hawai`i’s BFP. You will need to register separately with the County
of Hawai`i.
IV. TAXPAYER AUTHORIZATION
Taxpayer must complete Form HCTAT-3 Reporting Agent Authorization Form and provide the
completed form to the Reporting Agent before the Reporting Agent is able to pay and represent
the taxpayer through the HCTAT.
The Reporting Agent must retain this form for its record and will not need to submit this form
unless requested by HCTAT.
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COUNTY OF HAWAI`I HCTAT BULK FILERS PROGRAM HANDBOOK
The Reporting Agent is responsible for notifying the taxpayer of the Reporting Agent’s eligibility
to participate in the HCTAT BFP.
V. REGISTRATION
New Registration:
The Reporting Agent must submit Form HTAT-2 Bulk Filers Program Registration. The completed
form must be submitted to the TAT Office by email at
HawaiiCountyTATBulkFilers@hawaiicounty.gov.
The Internal Control Division will contact the Reporting Agent once registration has been
completed via email. Please allow 5-7 business days for processing the registration application.
The Reporting Agent will be provided with a Bulk Filers ID number, which will be used to submit
the detailed file supporting an ACH payment.
Amended Registration:
If there are changes or updates to the Form HTAT-2 Bulk Filers Registration, please submit an
amended Form HTAT-2 to the contact information as provided in the New Registration section
above.
VI. PAYMENT
All payments must be completed via ACH debit from an established banking institution. The
Reporting Agent will be required to email HawaiiCountyTATBulkFilers@hawaiicounty.gov to
notify the Internal Control Division of an incoming payment as well as submit the accompanying
detailed file. Bank information will be provided to the Reporting Agent sections IV and V are
completed, and the applicant is accepted into the HTAT BFP program.
VII. FILE SPECIFICATIONS
To complete the BFP process successfully, please adhere to the following specifications:
1. General Specifications:
a. Submitter is required to have a Bulk Filers Program number.
b. There are no limitations on the number of taxpayers, however a minimum of 50
taxpayers is required to enroll in the program.
c. A worksheet must be submitted per ACH transaction.
2. Worksheet Specifications:
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COUNTY OF HAWAI`I HCTAT BULK FILERS PROGRAM HANDBOOK
a. Do not include blank rows within your data set. A blank row is interpreted as the
end of your file. Payment data entered after the blank row will not be imported.
b. The first row is reserved for column headings. Return data entered in Row 1 will
result in a file being rejected by Internal Control Division.
c. Each row represents one Hawaii Tax ID Number.
d. A separate column must be used for each piece of information.
e. File type must be in Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) format. Please refer to File Naming
Standard section of this Handbook for naming the worksheet.
f. The workbook’s worksheet tab name must not be modified or renamed.
g. Non-currency fields should be formatted as a text.
h. Include dashes in Hawaii Tax ID Number.
i. Do not include duplicate Hawaii Tax ID Numbers.
j. If an amount field is imported as blank, the Internal Control Division will process
it as zero.
k. Amounts containing cents must contain a decimal.
l. All amounts must be positive.
m. ACH payment submitted to the online portal must equal to the sum of the column
“Amount of Payment”.
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COUNTY OF HAWAI`I HCTAT BULK FILERS PROGRAM HANDBOOK
VIII. WORKSHEET SPECIFICATIONS
The following tables define the column headings for the worksheets required by HCTAT for each ACH transaction:
Field Name Type Column Field Specifications Notes/Description
Hawaii Tax ID Number Char A TA-###-###-####-## TA-###-###-####-##
Taxpayer’s Name Char B Limit to 75 characters Registered Taxpayer Name
Date Paid Char C YYYYMMDD Enter 4-digit year, 2-digit month and 2-digit day
Filing Period Char D YYYYMMDD Enter 4-digit year, 2-digit month and 2-digit day for the filing
period (i.e. Month of January 2021 = 20210131; Quarterly
Period of January 2021 through March 2021 = 20210331)
Amount of Payment Num E ###,###,###,###.##
Payment Type Char F ACH Only ACH payments accepted for BFP
Method Char G BULK Bulk Filer Program
Transaction ID Char-H HC-XXXX Bulk ID account number
Num
Amended Char I Y = Yes; N= No If you filed an Amended Return, enter Y for Yes. If not, enter
N for No
Return Type Char J TA-# (i.e. TA-1) TA-1 or TA-2
Gross Rental Proceeds Num K ###,###,###,###.## From Taxpayer’s State Form TA-1 or TA-2, Part I, Line 3,
Column A
Exemptions/Deductions Num L ###,###,###,###.## From Taxpayer’s State Form TA-1 or TA-2, Part I, Line 3,
Column B
Taxable Proceeds Num M ###,###,###,###.## From Taxpayer’s State Form TA-1 or TA-2, Part I, Line 3,
Column C (Column K less Column L)
Total Fair Market Rental Value Num N ###,###,###,###.## From Taxpayer’s State Form TA-1 or TA-2, Part II, Line 7
Total Amount Taxable Num O ###,###,###,###.## Sum of Taxable Proceeds and Total Fair Market Rental
(Column M plus Column N)
Total Taxes Due Num P ###,###,###,###.## Multiply Total Taxable Amount by 3% (Column O x 3%)
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COUNTY OF HAWAI`I HCTAT BULK FILERS PROGRAM HANDBOOK
IX. FILE NAMING STANDARD AND SUBMISSION
File type must be in Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) format. All Excel files MUST be named utilizing the
following standard:
\[Bulk filer ID number\] \[Filing Period\] \[Company Name\].xlsx
e.g.: HC-0001 June 2022 Big Island Rentals.xlsx
Files must be submitted via email to TAT Office at HawaiiCountyTATBulkFilers@hawaiicounty.gov
as soon as the ACH payment has been submitted. Payment made online without file submission
will not be processed and may be subject to penalties and/or interest for late payments.
X. TIMELINESS OF PAYMENT FILING AND TYPE OF PAYMENT
ACCEPTED
An ACH payment transmitted and accepted with a settlement no later than 11:59 p.m. Hawaii
Standard Time (HST) on the due date will be considered timely paid. To avoid payment request
date error, the payment must be submitted within the timeframe of HST Monday through Friday
10:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Penalties and/or interest
will be assessed for late payments.
To avoid late payments, it is recommended the BFP participants schedule transmission to allow
for timely correction and retransmission in the case of a rejected transaction. It is your
responsibility to find out your financial institution’s specific schedule and arrange for a payment
to be made in a timely manner.
HCTAT does not accept International ACH transactions. HCTAT payment option allows ACH Debit
where the taxpayer authorizes HCTAT’s financial institution to debit the taxpayer’s bank account
and credit HCTAT’s bank account for the purpose of making a tax payment.
Using a paper check as a form of method is not allowed under the BFP. The only other method
of payment is using the HCTAT’s direct biller system which accommodates individual online
payments for each Hawaii Tax ID number.
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