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HRS §231-51

Why the state can keep your tax refund

This section explains that the state may hold back your income tax refund if you owe money to the state, are behind on child support, defaulted on a student loan, owe federal taxes, or got a Medicaid overpayment. It sets up the rules in the following sections.

borrowersdebtors

The statute, as written — Purpose

The purpose of sections 231-52 to 231-59 is to permit the retention of state income tax refunds of those persons who owe a debt to the State, who are delinquent in the payment of child support pursuant to section 576D-1, who have defaulted on an education loan note held by the United Student Aid Funds, Inc., who owe federal income taxes to the United States Treasurer, or who receive a medicaid overpayment subject to recovery under section 346-59.6.
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗as published Jan 6, 2026our copy taken Aug 20, 2026

Sections this one refers to

§231-52 Who is covered and what counts as a debt

§576D-1 Child Support Definitions

LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.