New Owner Tips
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1. Homeowners' Association Fees
Maintenance fees for 2022 are $130 (or $176 for snail mailers) payable in one annual payment due Jan 1st. Those owners willing to go green by accepting all HOA communications via email & the website will pay $130 to reflect the savings on postage, paper, and handling. Owners who choose to stay with snail mail can do so, but they will not receive the discount and will pay $176. Late fees are $15 per month if the payment is not received by Jan 10th. Please make checks payable to Kuau Bayview and place in the Association drop box at 37 Kaiea Place, or mail to:
Kuau Bayview
37 Kaiea Place
Paia, HI 96779-8108 -
2. Property Taxes 270-7697
Maui County has a website with all the information you will need to know about your property taxes.
You can also access online property tax assessments.
If you are a new owner and occupy your home as your principle residence, you must file your Claim for Home Exemption before December 31st to be eligible for the owner-occupied exemption.
You can drop off the application or payment in person, or mail it. The Property Tax office is located at the back of Maui Mall behind the MegaPlex Movie Theaters. Motor Vehicle Registration is in the same building. You must provide proof of age by sending a photocopy of your Driver's License or birth certificate. Original signatures of all owners who live on the property (both husband & wife) are required. You also need to know your Tax Map Key.
Property taxes for the tax period July 1 - June 30 are due in two equal payments, one on August 20th and one February 20th. There is a 10% penalty plus 1% interest if you're even one day late. Make checks payable to 'County of Maui'.
Mail payment to: Or pay in person at Maui Mall: County of Maui Real Property Tax Division Real Property Tax Division 70 E Kaahumanu Ave #A-18 PO Box 1405 Kahului, HI 96732 Wailuku, HI 96793-6405 Phone: 270-7297, 270-7697 Hours: M-F 8:00am - 4:00pm -
3. Water Bill 270-7730
Kuau Bayview is on the County water metering system. The water is groundwater from the Iao Aquifer under the West Maui Mountains. Maui County bills for water once a month. Rates have gone up quite a bit since they switched from a two to a one month billing cycle in 2013. We are paying for their new software.
Customers can sign up for Automatic Bill Payment whereby what you owe is automatically deducted from your bank account. You always have 10 days to review the bill before it is paid. This is by far the easiest way. You can also opt for paperless billing. Or else you can pay by mail or in person.
Mail payment to: Or pay in person at the office: County of Maui Department of Water Supply Department of Water Supply 200 S High St PO Box 1109 Wailuku, HI 96793 Wailuku, HI 96793-6109 Phone: 270-7730, 270-7420 (sewer) Hours: M-F 7:45a-4:00p Email: water.supply@co.maui.hi.us -
4. Electric Bill 871-9777
Maui Electric Company offers several ways to pay your bill. If you opt for automatic bill payment, the amount is debited from your bank account. You always have 10 days to review the bill before it is paid. They also have an app and SpeedPay.
Mail payment to: Or pay in person at the office or most banks: Maui Electric Company 210 W Kamehameha Ave PO Box 1670 Kahului, HI 96732 Honolulu, HI 96806-1670 Phone: 871-9777 Hours: M-F 8:00a-5:00p -
5. Residential Refuse Collection 270-7720
Trash is picked up in Kuau Bayview every Tuesday and Friday mornings at about 6:30am. Each customer is loaned one 95 gallon brown plastic cart with wheels. In August 2012 the County began implementing a 3 can system for rubbish, green waste, and mixed recyclables starting in South Maui. They stopped the program in late 2014 as it was not cost effective.
Any questions you may have can be answered on the County Residential Collection Services section of the Maui County website.
To sign up for weekly residential trash service, you must submit an application form and pay $408 per year (as of 2021). You can pay online, auto-debit your bank account, or make check payable to 'County of Maui' and mail it with the application to:
Solid Waste Office (office hours are 8am - 4pm)
One Main Plaza
2200 Main St #200
Wailuku, HI 96793 -
6. Mail Service
Mail is delivered to your mailbox six days per week usually at about 11am and on Saturdays by 12:30pm. You can post a letter by leaving it in your mailbox with the red flag up. You can purchase stamps from the postman by leaving exact change in the mailbox.
The Paia Post Office is located at 120 Baldwin Avenue, Paia, HI 96779-9998. It is open Monday to Friday from 8:30-11am-12-4:30pm and Saturday from 10:30am-12:30pm. Closed Sunday. Phone number is (808) 579-8866. The info number is 800-275-8777 or for tracking parcels 800-222-1811.
As of June 2021 it costs $.55 to mail a 1 oz first class letter within the USA and $1.15 internationally (includes Canada & Mexico). For more than 1 oz, the first increment is 20 cents more ($.75). To send a certified letter, it costs $7.00 ($.55 for the postage + $3.60 for the certified service + $2.85 for return receipt mailed to you or $1.75 for return receipt emailed to you). Services & current rates are now available through the USPS website.
On the USPS website, you can sign up for informed delivery, rent a PO Box, instruct USPS to hold your mail, forward your mail for up to one year for $1.05, or change your address.
CBUs: Apparently A&B did not design our streets & sidewalks according to "USPS regulatory standards" suitable for curbside mail boxes. The postal carrier has to get out of the vehicle to access each of our mailboxes, which makes KB the most expensive mail delivery on Maui. USPS would very much like to convert Kuau Bayview to Cluster Box Units which would likely be located on the Paia side of Lae St by the utility boxes near Lot 29. Until they have a legal mandate, we don't need to do this. An Oct 2013 poll revealed that only 3 people in the whole neighborhood were in favor of CBUs. KB will not convert to CBUs until we have no choice.
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7. Internet Access
The 4 most common methods of internet access on Maui are DSL, Cable (RoadRunner), satellite, and cell phone hot spot.
1. DSL:
ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line) technology uses advanced digital modulation to transmit at high speeds over standard telephone wiring. This technology can download data at speeds up to 50 megabits per second and upload data at speeds of 768 kilobytes per second up to 3 Mbps. You need a DSL modem, router, and possibly line filters depending on how it is installed.
You can get 7 Mbps DSL from Hawaiian Tel for $19.99 per month as part of a bundle. HawaiianTel provides a free Motorola modem/wireless router combo & 5 line filters as part of the deal.
To order DSL through HawaiianTel, call 643-3456 or 643-4375 for 24/7 technical support. The settings for POP mail are: mail.hawaiiantel.net (incoming) and smtp.hawaiiantel.net (outgoing)
2. Oceanic Time Warner Cable (RoadRunner):
This is available through your TV cable for approximately $50-60/mo. Oceanic claims speeds up to 11 Mbps but the service degrades as more people use the line and, in my experience, there is far more down time than with DSL. Plus they give you a modem only... you have to buy your own router. Tech support is much slower as well.3. Satellite:
I have no experience with this option, but I hear there is a new satellite that provides up to 12 Mbps service to Hawaii starting at $49.99 per month. So if you are out of range for DSL and cable, you can now be covered anywhere on the island by satellite. For more info call 1-888-541-6165 or go to www.exede.com. There is a $9.99 equipment lease fee per month and a 2 year minimum commitment term.4. Hot Spot:
For $25 per month your cell phone can serve as a hot spot and support wireless internet connections for up to 8 computers. -
8. Owning a Car
If you own a car on Maui you must renew the registration annually. This can be done by mail, online for a $3.50 fee, or in person at Maui Mall. It cost me $140 in 2011 and $186 in 2012. In addition, your vehicle must pass an annual safety check which costs $25 for a sticker that goes on your back bumper. Vehicle insurance is also mandatory and can be obtained from carriers such as Geico, Progressive, State Farm, etc.
Your Hawaii Drivers License will vary in cost and be valid for different periods of time depending on your age: 4 years ($20) if you are 18-24, 8 years ($80) if you are 25-71, and 2 years ($10) if you are 72 or older. You can renew your license either in person or by mail. You cannot renew online. This can take several hours so it is wise to check wait times before you decide which office to visit. Pukalani is usually less busy than Kahului.
The requirements for renewal differ based on whether your license is: Valid; Expired; Suspended; Lost, Damaged, or Stolen. The DMV website has current instructions.
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9. General Excise Taxes 984-8500
If you run a business on Maui (eg. renting your house) you must possess a GE Tax license which costs $20 and can be obtained online or from the County Building in Wailuku. You are allowed to charge GE Tax to your customers at a maximum of 4.166% on sales and services and then you must submit 4% to the state. Depending upon how much tax you collect in a year, you must pay your GE taxes monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually. Taxes are due by the 20th of the month following the tax period. You can pay online for a $1 fee or by mail for a 49 cent stamp. If you are even one minute late, you will be fined and charged interest for a whole month. They have no mercy.
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10. Income Taxes
Federal income taxes must be paid by April 15th each year (filing extension available until October 15). State taxes must be paid by April 20th.
You can file your federal taxes for free online. In my opinion, the best one is Free File Fillable Forms. No need to fill out the IRS forms first. Do the entries right onto the web form then you can print a pdf of the 1040 plus all attachments together in one file when you are done. It is very easy.
There is no way to file Hawaii State taxes for free online that I could find, but you can fill in the online forms and mail them in. Residents usually use forms N11 and Schedule X.
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11. The Maui Bus
Having a bus on Maui is a relatively new phenomenon. It is an enjoyable and inexpensive way to get to the airport, for example. It takes only about 15 minutes from getting on near Minit Stop to getting off at the Kahului Airport. They allow one medium-sized suitcase, duffle bag, or carry-on bag. No surfboards, but bicycles are OK. The County uses Google Transit to show you the routes and times between any two places. They request the exact fare which is currently $2.00 with free transfers, or $45 for a monthly pass.
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12. Useful & Interesting Links re Living on Maui
