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Home My WebLink AboutTAT Public Hearing Rules presentation 07.01.2025Finance Director Rules Public Hearing Wilson Crider, Internal Controls & TAT Manager County of Hawai’i, Transient Accommodations Tax Public Hearing – July 1, 2025 1 2025 1 Rules – July 1, 2025 Public Hearing RULE STATUS HCC DESCRIPTION OF RULE PAGES #’S OF DRAFT/ PROPOSED RULE New 2-269 Purpose 1 New 2-260 Definitions 1 - 2 New 2-59 Imposition of County transient accommodations tax 2 - 3 New 2-259/ Application of transient accommodations tax; 3 2-263 presumption of transient purpose New 2-261/ Exemptions from imposition of transient accommodations tax 3 2-262 New 2-269 Certificate of registration; display of certificate; enforcement by state 3 New 2-261/ Returns and payments; tax refunds 3 - 6 2-262 New 2-264 Assessment upon failure to make payment; receipt of any 6 - 7 payment; limitation period; extension by agreement New 2-267 Penalty and interest; waivers of penalty and interest 7 - 8 New 2-269 Payment plans 8 New 2-269 Notices; how given 9 New 2-269 Timely mailing treated as timely filing and paying 9 New 2-269 Complete submittal required; signature presumed authentic 9 New 2-265 Appeals 9 New 2-266 Collection by suit; injunction 9 - 10 2 2025 2 New Rules New Rule – Definitions (HCC 2-260) a. To list definitions defined in HRS 237D-1 New Rule – Imposition of County transient accommodations tax (HCC 2-259) Any taxpayer required to pay State TAT shall also pay County TAT Tax shall be imposed on gross rental No person shall be excused from payment or delinquent penalties or interest by reason of failure to receive a tax bill The County Finance Director shall have all the rights and powers of the State director of taxation provided under chapter 237D, Hawaii Revised Statues Any person required to collect, account for, and pay over County TAT, who willfully fails to do so may be guilty of a class C felony Exemptions are defined here and new rule – this item will be deleted 3 2025 3 New Rules New Rule – Application of transient accommodations tax; presumption of transient purpose (HCC 2-259) Any rental less than 180 consecutive days shall be presumed applicable to the tax Any rental 180 or more consecutive days shall not be presumed either applicable or not The taxpayer shall have the burden of proving whether a rental is not applicable New Rule – Exemptions from imposition of transient accommodations tax (HCC 2-259) Exemptions are listed in section 237D-3 of Hawaii Revised Statues 4 2025 4 New Rules New Rule – Certificate of registration; display of certificate; enforcement by state (HCC 2-269) Certificate of registration shall be obtained from the State director of taxation Any required permits shall be obtained from the County department of planning New Rule – Returns and payments; tax refunds (HCC 2-261, 2-262, 2-263) All TAT returns shall be filed with the State department of taxation as well as any changes (amended returns) Filing frequency shall be determined by the State director of taxation All filings and payments are due on the 20th day of the month Annual returns and payments (if applicable) are due on the 20th day of the fourth month following the close of the year Form of payment include mailed check (payable to Director of Finance); online via payment website (https://tat.ehawaii.gov) or bulk filer program (third party) 5 2025 5 New Rules New Rule – Returns and payments; tax refunds (cont.) Refunds of payments require completed refund request form Refunds must be claimed within 3 years of annual reconciliation due date Taxpayer may elect to roll over refund to another tax year New Rule – Assessment upon failure to make payment; receipt of any payment; limitation period; extension by agreement (HCC 2-264) If taxpayer fails to make payments as required, the director shall assess the tax due based upon best information available; Director shall give written notice to the taxpayer and make demand upon the taxpayer for payment; The assessment is presumed correct unless proven by the taxpayer upon appeal as provided in section 2-265 of the County Code, as amended 6 2025 6 New Rules New Rule – Assessment upon failure to make payment; receipt of any payment; limitation period; extension by agreement (cont.) Director is authorized to examine payments and may conduct additional audits or investigations as necessary; If the director determines there is a deficiency in payment, the director shall assess the tax and interest due, give written notice and demand payment; The assessment is presumed correct unless proven by the taxpayer upon appeal as provided in section 2-265 of the County Code, as amended Partial tax payments – payments will be applied in the following order: interest, penalties then tax Taxes shall be assessed within 3 years of the due date prescribed for the filing of the annual tax return; tax may be collected by levy or court proceeding withing 15 years of the assessment Limitation period may be extended by written agreement 7 2025 7 New Rules New Rule – Penalty and interest; refunds (to be removed); waivers of penalty and interest (HCC 2-267) Penalty – Director may add a 25% penalty for failing to pay due to neglect or intentional disregard; a 50% penalty may be added for fraud Penalty – If a return is filed timely, a 20% penalty may be added to the unpaid tax after 60 days Interest may be added at a rate of 2/3 of 1% a month or fraction of a month on the unpaid tax one calendar day after the prescribed payment date 8 2025 8 New Rules New Rule – Payment plans (HCC 2-269) At the discretion of the director, a written payment plan for unpaid taxes may be established Term – 12 months which may be extended to maximum of 24 months Taxpayer must remain current with payments both the plan and future tax owed If the account becomes delinquent, upon written notice all unpaid tax, penalty and interest shall be immediately due; director may allow grace period of 20 days upon written notice to pay the delinquent tax New Rule – Notices; how given (HCC 2-269) Notices shall be deemed given on the date when the notice was mailed to the addressee at the addressee’s last know address or place of business 9 2025 9 New Rules New Rule – Timely mailing treated as timely filing and paying (HCC 2-269) Payments shall be deemed received based on the post office cancellation mark New Rule – Complete submittal required; signature presumed authentic (HCC 2-269) Forms shall be completely filled out and signed, as necessary; incomplete forms shall be returned An individual’s name signed on a document shall be evidence that document was actually signed by individual 10 2025 10 New Rules New Rule – Appeals (HCC 2-269) Any taxpayer may appeal an assessment in accordance with section 2-265 of the County Code, as amended New Rule – Collection by suit; injunction (HCC 2-269) Director may collect taxes due and unpaid under article 48 of the County Code by filing suit or other appropriate proceeding in an appropriate venue Director may join any proceeding filed by the State department of taxation to assert the County’s claims 11 2025 11 Thank you for your time Wilson Crider, Internal Controls & TAT Manager County of Hawai’i, Transient Accommodations Tax Public Hearing – July 1, 2025 12 2025 12