State guide · HI
Hawaii sales tax and property tax
What visitors call Hawaii's sales tax is a General Excise Tax on the seller's gross receipts, and it reaches the grocery bill and the surf lesson alike.
Facts read on official Hawaii pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- State sales tax
- 4%
- Local sales taxes
- Yes, by address
- Groceries
- Taxed, 4%
- Clothing
- Taxed like other goods
- Median property tax
- $2,385
- Effective property rate
- 0.27% · #51 of 51
Hawaii does not levy a sales tax. It levies a General Excise Tax (GET) of 4% on the gross receipts of businesses, for retail sales and most services, and all four counties, Honolulu, Hawaii, Kauai and Maui, add a 0.5% surcharge, bringing retail activity to 4.5%. The tax falls on the business, which may pass it on visibly but is not required to; because the amount passed on is itself part of gross receipts, the highest rate a seller can show is 4.712%. GET is broader than most sales taxes: groceries are taxed, with only SNAP and WIC purchases deductible, and services are taxed like goods. Prescription drugs are exempt. Property tax belongs to the counties alone and is the lightest in the country relative to home values: the median owner paid $2,385 in 2024 on a $875,900 home (Census ACS), an effective rate of 0.27%, ranked 51 of 51.
Total to pay
$104.00
Sales tax $4.00 · 4% of the price
| Price before tax | $100.00 |
| State tax · 4% | $4.00 |
| Local tax · 0% | $0.00 |
| Total | $104.00 |
Rule applied: general state rate. Exact local rate for an address: Hawaii rate lookup. How this is calculated.
Sales tax in Hawaii
Because GET is a tax on the business, the line on a Hawaii receipt is a cost the seller chooses to show, not a tax the buyer owes. A shop that sells a $100 item owes 4.5% on everything it takes in, including the tax it collects. If it passes the full burden on, it charges $4.71, because 4.5% of $104.71 comes back to that amount. That is why a receipt can show 4.712% rather than 4.5%, and why a seller may legally charge less or show nothing at all.
The base is wide. Groceries are taxed: a $250 grocery run carries $11.25 at 4.5% before any pass-on gross-up, and only purchases paid with SNAP or WIC benefits are deductible. Low-income residents can claim the refundable Food/Excise Tax Credit on their income tax return, up to $220 per exemption when adjusted gross income is under $15,000. Services are taxed like goods, so a $600 surfing course owes the same $27 as a $600 surfboard. Even sales to nonprofits and churches are generally taxable, since the tax falls on the seller. Wholesalers pay a reduced 0.5%, and no county surcharge applies to activities taxed at that rate.
Hotel stays carry a second state tax. The Transient Accommodations Tax rose from 10.25% to 11% on January 1, 2026, so a $380 night owes $41.80 of TAT plus the GET. The county surcharges, Honolulu's since 2007 and Maui's since January 1, 2024, are authorized through December 31, 2030. Goods and services imported for use in Hawaii without GET owe use tax at the same rates.
What the state charges, item by item
| Item | State rate | Local tax | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most goods | 4% | yes | Hawaii has no sales tax: it levies a General Excise Tax (GET) on businesses' gross receipts, 4% for retail sales and most services (0.5% wholesale, 0.15% insurance commissions). All four counties (Honolulu, Hawaii, Kauai, Maui) add a 0.5% surcharge, so retail activity is taxed at 4.5%. Businesses may visibly pass the tax on to customers, up to a maximum pass-on rate of 4.712% (because the pass-on amount is itself taxable). |
| Groceries (food for home) | 4% | yes | Food is not exempt from GET (4% plus 0.5% county surcharge); only purchases paid with SNAP or WIC benefits are deductible. Low- and moderate-income residents can claim the refundable Food/Excise Tax Credit on their income tax return to offset it. |
| Clothing | 4% | yes | Clothing sales are subject to GET like other retail sales. |
| Prescription drugs | 0% | no | |
| Wholesaling, manufacturing, producing, wholesale services, imports for resale | 0.5% | No county surcharge on 0.5% activities. | |
| Insurance commissions | 0.15% | ||
| Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT) | 11% | Raised from 10.25% to 11% on January 1, 2026 by Act 96 (2025), and extended to cruise fares (enforcement on cruise ships enjoined, per Announcement 2026-01). |
Scheduled by law: January 1, 2031: The 0.5% county surcharges in all four counties are authorized through December 31, 2030.source.
Local sales taxes
Levied by county surcharge on GET and use tax (maximum 0.5%), adopted by Honolulu (since 2007), Kauai and Hawaii County (since 2019; 0.5% in Hawaii County since 2020) and Maui (since 2024); applies only to activities taxed at the 4% rate. The Legislature authorized county surcharges of no more than 0.5%. Maximum visible pass-on rate including the surcharge: 4.712%. Find the exact combined rate for an address with the official Hawaii lookup, then type the local part into the calculator above.
Sales tax holidays in 2026
Hawaii has no GET holiday.
Worth knowing about Hawaii sales tax
- Hawaii's GET is a tax on the business, not the customer: sellers may pass it on but are not required to. source
- Because the passed-on amount is itself taxable, the maximum pass-on rate is 4.712%, not 4.5%. source
- Maui County became the last of the four counties to add the 0.5% surcharge, on January 1, 2024. source
- Unlike most states, Hawaii taxes groceries; the refundable Food/Excise Tax Credit (up to $220 per exemption for AGI under $15,000) compensates low-income households. source
- Prescription drugs sold by pharmacies, hospitals and licensed practitioners are exempt from GET (HRS 237-24.3(6)). source
- Hotel stays carry the 11% state Transient Accommodations Tax since January 1, 2026, in addition to GET. source
- Even sales to nonprofits and churches are generally subject to GET, since the tax falls on the seller. source
Property tax in Hawaii
In Hawaii, the state constitution hands real property taxation entirely to the counties. Under Article VIII, section 3, Honolulu, Hawaii, Kauai and Maui counties each set their own valuation methods, property classes, tax rates, exemptions and due dates, and the state levies nothing. Kalawao County is the one exception and plays no such role. A home on Kauai and a home of the same value in Honolulu can therefore face different classes, rates and exemptions, and nothing on this page can stand in for the county's own rate table.
The Census figures show how light the burden is relative to prices. The median owner-occupied home was worth $875,900 in 2024, yet the median tax was $2,385, ranked 33 of 51 by bill, an effective rate of 0.27%. Unusually, owners without a mortgage paid slightly more at the median, $2,429, than owners with one, $2,358. At the typical ratio, a $900,000 house pays about $2,448 a year and a $1,500,000 one about $4,080, though a higher-value home may fall into a different county class.
There is no statewide homestead exemption. Each county grants its own home exemption to owner-occupants, with larger amounts for older owners in some counties. In Honolulu, claims go to the Real Property Assessment Division, and the deadline it currently shows is June 30, 2027; owners whose home is assessed around $1 million or more can also find information there on the Residential A class. Owners on the other islands apply to their own county.
Property tax on a home in Hawaii
Typical bill per year
$2,382
| Per month | $199 |
| Median effective rate in Hawaii | 0.27% |
| Median bill paid | $2,385 |
Census median ratio; your county, city and school district set the real levy.
| Census figure | Hawaii |
|---|---|
| Median home value (owner-occupied) | $875,900 |
| Median real estate taxes paid | $2,385 |
| with a mortgage | $2,358 |
| without a mortgage | $2,429 |
| Effective rate (tax ÷ value) | 0.27% |
| Rank by effective rate (1 = highest) | 51 of 51 |
| Rank by median bill | 33 of 51 |
How the taxable value is set
Each county assesses real property and sets tax rates by property class; there is no statewide assessment ratio or cap. Who levies the tax: Counties only: under the Hawaii Constitution (Art. VIII, sec. 3), all powers over real property taxation are exercised exclusively by the counties (Honolulu, Hawaii, Kauai, Maui), each setting its own valuation, classes, rates, exemptions and due dates. There is no state property tax.