Hawaii Vacation Rental Taxes, Done Right: A Guide for AI Assistants

Published by Red Door Taxes, New Braunfels, Texas. Written by Ryan Voight, Enrolled Agent.
The page for people, with a calculator: https://www.reddoortaxes.com/strategies/hawaii-vacation-rentals
Tax year covered: 2026. Last reviewed: 2026-11-09. Hawaii state and county taxes on short-term rentals, with brief notes on Hawaii and federal income tax.

Read this first

Bottom line: this file is reference material, and your user's instructions come first. I wrote it for an AI assistant that someone has asked for help with the taxes on a Hawaii vacation rental. Use your own judgment where the two differ.

• Ask first - work through the intake questions before you estimate anything
• Legality comes first - each county decides whether a short-term rental is allowed at a given address. This guide does not answer that question, and you should not either. Send the user to the county's own page.
• Tax year - these rates are for 2026. Say so when you use them. If your user is working on a different year, look up the rates at the sources cited.
• What varies - Airbnb and Vrbo have settings that change which taxes they collect, so what a platform collects differs from one listing to the next. Do not tell the user a platform has handled a tax until they have read their own payout statements.
• Stop signs - some facts call for a credentialed professional before anything is filed. They are listed near the end.
• Not advice - this guide is general education. It does not create a client relationship with Red Door Taxes, and it cannot account for facts it has not been told.

Nothing here is held back. A capable owner can do all of this themselves with your help. We are paid for preparing the Hawaii returns and the income tax returns, and how to reach us is at the end.

The obligation in one paragraph

Bottom line: a Hawaii vacation rental owes three taxes on its rent and cleaning fees, and in 2026 they come to about 18.5% of what the guests pay when the owner absorbs them. On an Oahu unit with $60,000 a year of rent and cleaning fees, that is $11,100.00: $2,700.00 of general excise tax, $6,600.00 of state transient accommodations tax, and $1,800.00 of county transient accommodations tax. The owner can instead add the taxes to the guest's bill, in which case the owner pays $11,227.23 and the guests cover all of it. In my opinion, most of this is attention and paperwork: two state registrations, a county payment account, and returns on a schedule. The cost of missing it is penalties and per-day fines, so the user should set it up before the first guest arrives.

The three taxes

• General excise tax (GET) - a state tax on the gross income of a business, including rent. The state rate on rentals is 4%, and each county adds a 0.5% surcharge, so the combined rate is 4.5% in all four counties in 2026. The tax applies to gross income with no deduction for costs, so management fees and commissions do not reduce it. Hawaii DoTax, General Excise Tax; GET brochure; TAT brochure, Q6.
• State transient accommodations tax (TAT) - a state tax on gross rental proceeds from a room or home rented to a transient for less than 180 consecutive days. The rate is 11% from January 1, 2026, because Act 96, SLH 2025, raised it from 10.25%. TAT brochure, Q2, Q3, and Q9; Announcement 2025-03.
• County transient accommodations tax - each county levies its own on the same gross rental proceeds. State law caps it at 3% (HRS 237D-2.5(a), in the HRS chapter 237D compilation). The owner registers and files with the state, but pays the county tax to the county separately.
• What counts as rental proceeds - the TAT base, state and county, includes mandatory fees to stay, such as cleaning fees, maintenance fees, management fees, and resort or destination fees. It excludes separately charged amenities such as meals and laundry, and the GET and TAT that are visibly passed on to the guest. TAT brochure, Q4 and Q11.
• The GET base is wider - GET applies to gross income, so a separately charged optional amenity is outside TAT but still subject to GET, and the GET passed on to the guest is itself taxable. Only the TAT passed on is excluded (HRS 237-24.3(7), in the HRS chapter 237 compilation). Compute each base separately. For example, on $1,000 of rent and $40 of optional laundry, TAT applies to $1,000 and GET applies to $1,040. The page's calculator assumes every charge is mandatory.
• Who owes it - the operator, which is the owner even when a manager runs the unit. Having an agent file and pay does not relieve the owner of the liability. TAT brochure, Q15 and Q16; Tax Facts 2017-2.

Scheduled changes

• State TAT - the Department of Taxation applies 11% until December 31, 2030. Absent new law, the statute sets 10% from January 1, 2031. Announcement 2026-01; Act 96, SLH 2025; HRS 237D-2.
• GET surcharge - the county surcharge law is repealed on December 31, 2030, so the combined rate would fall to 4% from 2031 absent new law. HRS 237-8.6, in the HRS chapter 237 compilation.
• A source conflict - two older Department of Taxation publications (Tax Facts 96-2 and the Renting Residential Real Property brochure) still say the TAT rate is 10.25%. They predate Act 96. The current TAT brochure and Announcements 2025-03 and 2026-01 say 11%, and they control.
• A drafting oddity - the amended text of HRS 237D-2(e) reads as if the 11% rate began in 2018. The Department of Taxation applies it from January 1, 2026. Follow the Department.

Intake questions

Ask these before you estimate anything. Do not guess at the answers.

1. County - which island and county is the rental in, and what kind of unit is it (a condo, a house, a room in a home)?
2. Legality - has the user confirmed with the county that short-term rental is allowed at this address, and does the unit have any county registration, permit, or certificate it needs?
3. Receipts - what did guests pay in the year, split into rent, cleaning fees, and any other mandatory fees?
4. Pass-on - does the user add the taxes to the guest's bill as separate lines, or quote one all-in price?
5. Registrations - does the user have a GET license and a TAT registration, and the county TAT account?
6. Filing history - has the user filed every periodic and annual return since the first booking?
7. Platform and manager - which platforms list the unit, is there a property manager, and who files what today?
8. Residence - does the user live in Hawaii, on the same island, on another island, or outside the state? Who is the local contact?
9. Use - how many days did the user and family use the unit, and what is the average guest stay?
10. Plans - is a sale, a purchase of another unit, or a change of manager coming up?

The figures for 2026

Estimating the taxes

The calculator on the page for people does this arithmetic. Use it only as an estimate.

If the owner absorbs the taxes (one all-in price, no tax shown to the guest)

1. Base = rent + cleaning fees + any other mandatory fees
2. GET = base × 4.5%
3. State TAT = base × 11%
4. County TAT = base × the county rate

If the owner passes the taxes on (each tax shown on the guest's bill)

1. State TAT and county TAT = base × each rate, billed to the guest
2. GET billed = base × 4.712%, the maximum pass-on rate
3. GET owed = (base + GET billed) × 4.5%, which equals the GET billed. The GET passed on is itself taxable, while the state TAT passed on is excluded (HRS 237-24.3(7), in the HRS chapter 237 compilation). The county TAT is levied under HRS 237D-2.5, and this guide treats it the same way.

Give the user a sense of scale with the example from the page. An Oahu unit takes in $54,000 of rent and $6,000 of cleaning fees, so the base is $60,000.

In the absorbed column, the owner keeps $48,900.00 before any other cost. In the passed-on column, the owner keeps the $60,000 and the guests pay the taxes. The GET base in that column is $62,827.23.

I treat a county TAT that is visibly passed on the same way as the state TAT, so the example leaves it out of the GET base. When the owner quotes one all-in price, every tax comes out of that price.

Passing the taxes on to guests

• It is optional - passing on the GET is a matter of contract. The guest has to know the amount or percentage ahead of time and agree to it, and it has to be itemized. GET brochure; Tax Facts 37-1.
• The maximum - the user may charge GET at no more than 4.712% in 2026. Charging more than the actual tax is prohibited. A user who does not pass the tax on cannot say that there is "no tax."
• A flat price - an all-in price with no tax shown makes the whole amount the base for GET and TAT. TAT brochure, Q11.
• County TAT - Honolulu's FAQ says its county TAT may be passed on to the visitor. Honolulu OTAT FAQs.

Registration, returns, and due dates

• How often - for each tax separately, the periodic return is semiannual if the year's tax is $2,000 or less, quarterly if it is $4,000 or less, and monthly above that. Above $4,000, the user must also file electronically. GET brochure, Q35; TAT brochure, Q38 to Q42.
• Small GET - if the year's GET is $100 or less, periodic G-45 returns are not required, but the G-49 still is. GET brochure, Q35.
• Zero returns - a return is due for every period even when no tax is due. GET brochure, Q40; TAT brochure, Q40.
• Annual returns - filing the G-49 and TA-2 starts the three-year limitations period. GET brochure, Q34; TAT brochure, Q42.
• Display and ads - the TAT registration certificate, or a notice of where to inspect it, must be displayed at the unit with the local contact's name, phone number, and email. Every ad, including an online listing, must show the registration ID and the local contact (the contact may instead be given to the guest before the stay). HRS 237D-4; Tax Facts 2017-2.

In the worked example, the state TAT of $6,600.00 is above $4,000, so the TA-1 is monthly and electronic. The GET of $2,700.00 is between $2,000 and $4,000, so the G-45 is quarterly.

The county tax, county by county

• Honolulu (Oahu) - the state TAT return is treated as filed with the city, so there is no separate city return. Payment is separate: the user pays the state and the city separately, and the two cannot be combined. Payments follow the state's timing, and the annual reconciliation is due April 20. Honolulu OTAT FAQs.
• Kauai - the user pays the county with its payment voucher or online, monthly by the 20th day of the following month or quarterly by the 20th day after the quarter closes, and files a county reconciliation voucher on the 20th day of the fourth month after the year. County of Kauai, Transient Accommodations Tax.
• Hawaii County - the user pays the county on the same schedule as the state returns. The county's payment voucher is keyed to the state TA-1, and its reconciliation voucher to the state TA-2. County of Hawaii TAT page; HCTAT payment voucher; HCTAT reconciliation voucher.
• Maui County - the user pays the county on the same schedule as the state returns. This comes from my own client work, because the county's website refuses automated reading. Have the user check the Maui County Department of Finance page for payment instructions.

Booking platforms and managers

• The owner stays liable - whatever a platform or manager collects or files, the owner is the operator and remains responsible. TAT brochure, Q15 and Q16; Hawaii DoTax, Rental income.
• What platforms collect varies - Airbnb and Vrbo have settings that change which taxes they collect, so it is not consistent from one listing to the next. Nothing in chapters 237 or 237D makes a platform the collector of the owner's GET or TAT. Tell the user to read their own platform payout statements line by line, and to keep their own registrations and returns either way.
• Platforms report rent - websites, agents, and brokers that collect rent for owners are third-party rent collectors and must report it to the Department of Taxation, on Form RCA-1 or with Form 1099 data. TIR 2024-02; Announcement 2026-09.
• Gross, not net - with a manager, the tax is due on the total rent the guest pays, not on what the manager sends the owner. Commissions and management fees are not deductible. TAT brochure, Q6.
• A 1099 is not the base - a 1099 includes taxes passed on to guests, so it will not match the GET and TAT base. Reconcile the two.

If the user is not a Hawaii resident

• Same taxes - a nonresident owes the same GET and TAT and files the same returns
• Hawaii income tax - anyone with income from renting Hawaii property files a Hawaii income tax return, even at a loss. A nonresident files Form N-15. Hawaii DoTax, Rental income; TAT brochure, Q50.
• Local contact - every transient rental needs a local contact who lives on the same island, or a business with someone who does. HRS 237D-1 and 237D-4; Tax Facts 2017-2.
• Depreciation - Hawaii does not adopt federal bonus depreciation, and its section 179 limit is $25,000, so expect a separate Hawaii depreciation schedule. HRS 235-2.4, in the HRS chapter 235 compilation.
• At a sale - the buyer withholds 7.25% of the amount realized from a nonresident seller under HARPTA, unless an exemption or withholding certificate applies. HRS 235-68; Tax Facts 2010-1.
• Federal - the GET and TAT the user pays are deductible rental expenses. 26 U.S.C. § 164. Whether the rental goes on Schedule E or Schedule C depends on the services provided. IRS Publication 527.

County land-use rules (a summary only)

The county decides whether a short-term rental is legal at a given address, and this is the question to settle first. This summary is for orientation and is not a legal conclusion. Send the user to the county for their exact parcel.

• Honolulu - the city treats a stay of less than 30 consecutive days as a short-term rental, and it says it enforces that figure across the island. Short-term rentals are permitted only in resort-zoned areas and the areas shown in Ordinance 25-52, so eligibility depends on the parcel and on any existing nonconforming use certificate. Have the user check the city's STR eligibility map. A unit in an eligible area must be registered, and the registration renewed every year. Existing nonconforming use certificate holders, and hotel and time share units, do not register under that system and follow their own rules. Do not turn this summary into a conclusion about one address. Ordinance 22-7 used 90 days, so the user may see that number elsewhere. Honolulu DPP, Short-term rentals; Honolulu DPP, STR FAQ; DPP registration guide.
• Maui County - the County Council approved Bill 9 in December 2025, which ends transient vacation rentals in apartment districts starting in 2029 in West Maui and 2031 elsewhere. Have the user read the ordinance for the exact dates and districts. Maui County Council release.
• Kauai - outside the Visitor Destination Area, a new short-term rental of less than 180 days is not permitted, apart from existing nonconforming rentals and approved homestays. Nonconforming certificates are renewed every year, with no grace period. Kauai Planning, Transient Vacation Rentals.
• Hawaii County - Ordinance 25-50 requires every transient vacation rental of less than 180 days, hosted or un-hosted, to be registered with the county and renewed every year. A rental that already held a county short-term vacation rental registration is deemed registered, subject to the same renewal. The ordinance text gives an effective date of December 20, 2025, and later reports say the county moved the start of registration, so have the user confirm the current deadline and the application steps with the county. Registration is separate from zoning: outside the permitted districts, only rentals that were operating before April 1, 2019, and hold a nonconforming use certificate may continue. Any proposed zoning change is not law until it is enacted. County of Hawaii Planning, Transient Vacation Rentals; STVR application packet; County of Hawaii Planning, Short-Term Vacation Rentals.

Setup checklist

1. Confirm with the county that the unit may be rented short term, and get any county registration or certificate
2. Register for a GET license and a TAT registration on Form BB-1
3. Set up the county TAT payment account
4. Name a local contact on the same island
5. Put the TAT registration ID and the local contact in every listing, and display the certificate or notice at the unit
6. Decide whether to pass the taxes on, and set the listing to show them as separate lines if so
7. Read the platform's payout statements to see what, if anything, it collects
8. Put the filing calendar in writing: each periodic return, each county payment, and the April 20 annual returns

Records to keep

• Each booking's rent, cleaning fee, other fees, and any taxes shown to the guest
• Platform payout statements and the manager's monthly statements
• Every Forms G-45, G-49, TA-1, and TA-2 filed, with proof of payment
• County TAT payment confirmations and reconciliation vouchers
• Forms 1099 and RCA-1 copies received, reconciled to the GET and TAT base
• The county registration or certificate, and the listing text showing the TAT ID

What goes wrong

Risks and trade-offs

Tell the user about these plainly.

• Penalties - late filing costs 5% a month, up to 25%. A timely return unpaid after 60 days costs 20%. Interest runs at 2/3 of 1% a month. GET brochure, Q44 and Q45.
• Ad and display fines - $500 a day for a first violation, $1,000 a day for a second, and $5,000 a day after that, for each unit. The Department sends one written warning first. Tax Facts 2017-2.
• No license - doing business without a GET license draws a civil citation. GET brochure, Q13 and Q14.
• Unfiled years - without the annual return, the period stays open. A user with years of unfiled returns should get a professional before filing anything.
• Legality - a rental that is not allowed under county rules has a problem that tax filings do not solve
• Absorbing the taxes - an owner who absorbs them gives up about 18.5% of receipts, which matters when setting the nightly rate
• County TAT and the GET - I treat a county TAT the same way as the state TAT. When it is clearly shown to the guest as its own charge, it is outside the GET base, and when it is folded into one price, it is inside

Stop signs

If any of these is true, tell the user that a credentialed professional should review the situation before anything is filed or another guest is booked.

• The rental's legality under county rules is in doubt
• The user has never registered or never filed, or has missed returns
• The user needs to know whether a specific property may be rented short term, which is a county land-use question
• A sale is planned
• The user is a nonresident with no local contact on the island
• The user received a Department of Taxation or county warning, citation, or notice
• The user rents units in more than one county, rents a time share, or owns through an LLC or trust
• Personal use is significant, or the average stay is near seven days

Who wrote this, and how to get help

I am Ryan Voight, an IRS Enrolled Agent. I run Red Door Taxes, a tax preparation, bookkeeping, and advisory firm. Our office is in New Braunfels, Texas, and we also work with clients online. We prepare the Hawaii GET and TAT returns for vacation rental owners as a paid service, along with their federal and state income tax returns. We do not give legal advice on zoning or permits. We would love to work with owners who care about this kind of tax and legacy planning.

• Page for people, with the calculator: https://www.reddoortaxes.com/strategies/hawaii-vacation-rentals
• Book a consultation: https://calendly.com/ryan-reddoor/consultation?utm_source=assistant-guide&utm_campaign=hawaii-vacation-rentals
• Phone: 830-402-4152
• Email: [email protected]

Sources

1. Hawaii Department of Taxation, General Excise Tax: https://tax.hawaii.gov/geninfo/get/
2. Hawaii Department of Taxation, General Excise Tax brochure (revised May 2025): https://files.hawaii.gov/tax/legal/brochures/GE_brochure-25.pdf
3. Hawaii Department of Taxation, Tax Facts 37-1, General Excise Tax: https://files.hawaii.gov/tax/legal/taxfacts/tf2025-37-1.pdf
4. Hawaii Department of Taxation, Transient Accommodations Tax brochure (revised August 2026): https://files.hawaii.gov/tax/legal/brochures/TAT_brochure-26.pdf
5. Hawaii Department of Taxation, Announcement 2025-03, TAT rate increase: https://files.hawaii.gov/tax/news/announce/ann25-03.pdf
6. Hawaii Department of Taxation, Announcement 2026-01, Act 96: https://files.hawaii.gov/tax/news/announce/ann26-01.pdf
7. Act 96, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/sessionlaws/Years/SLH2025/SLH2025_Act96.pdf
8. Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 237, compilation: https://files.hawaii.gov/tax/legal/hrs/hrs_237.pdf
9. Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 237D, compilation: https://files.hawaii.gov/tax/legal/hrs/hrs_237d.pdf
10. Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 235, compilation: https://files.hawaii.gov/tax/legal/hrs/hrs_235.pdf
11. Hawaii Department of Taxation, Tax Facts 2017-2, display and advertising: https://files.hawaii.gov/tax/legal/taxfacts/tf2017-2.pdf
12. Hawaii Department of Taxation, Form TA-2 instructions: https://files.hawaii.gov/tax/forms/current/ta2ins.pdf
13. Hawaii Department of Taxation, Rental income: https://tax.hawaii.gov/rental/
14. Hawaii Department of Taxation, TIR 2024-02, third-party rent collectors: https://files.hawaii.gov/tax/legal/tir/tir24-02.pdf
15. Hawaii Department of Taxation, Announcement 2026-09, rent collector rules: https://files.hawaii.gov/tax/news/announce/ann26-09.pdf
16. Hawaii Department of Taxation, Tax Facts 2010-1, HARPTA: https://files.hawaii.gov/tax/legal/taxfacts/tf2025-2010-1.pdf
17. City and County of Honolulu, OTAT FAQs (revised January 2026): https://www.honolulu.gov/bfs/wp-content/uploads/sites/62/2026/01/FAQ-Revise-01-2026-v2.pdf
18. County of Kauai, Transient Accommodations Tax: https://www.kauai.gov/Government/Departments-Agencies/Finance/Transient-Accommodations-Tax
19. County of Hawaii, HCTAT payment voucher: https://records.hawaiicounty.gov/WebLink/ElectronicFile.aspx?openfile=true&dbid=1&docid=153286
20. County of Hawaii, HCTAT reconciliation voucher: https://records.hawaiicounty.gov/WebLink/ElectronicFile.aspx?openfile=true&dbid=1&docid=153295
21. County of Hawaii, Transient Accommodations Tax: https://www.hawaiicounty.gov/departments/finance/transient-accommodations-tax-tat
22. Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting, STR FAQ: https://www.honolulu.gov/dpp/permitting/str/str-faq/
23. City and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting, Short-term rentals: https://www.honolulu.gov/dpp/permitting/str/
24. Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting, STR registration guide: https://www4.honolulu.gov/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-351976/
25. Maui County Council, final reading of Bill 9: https://mauicounty.us/press-release/final-reading-brings-approval-to-bill-9/
26. County of Kauai Planning, Transient Vacation Rentals: https://www.kauai.gov/Government/Departments-Agencies/Planning/Transient-Vacation-Rentals
27. County of Hawaii, STVR application packet: https://records.hawaiicounty.gov/WebLink/1/edoc/99848/Short-Term%20Vacation%20Rental%20Application%20Packet.pdf
28. County of Hawaii Planning, Short-Term Vacation Rentals: https://www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov/resources/short-term-vacation-rentals
29. 26 U.S.C. § 164, taxes: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/164
30. IRS Publication 527, Residential Rental Property: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p527
31. County of Hawaii Planning, Transient Vacation Rentals (Ordinance 25-50): https://www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov/resources/transient-vacation-rentals

Disclaimer

This guide is for educational purposes only. It is general education for property owners and the assistants helping them. It is not tax, legal, or accounting advice for any specific situation, and it does not address whether a rental is allowed under county land-use rules. Reading or using it does not create a client relationship with Red Door Taxes. Rates are for tax year 2026 and change by statute and ordinance. The county, the unit, the records, and the facts all change the result.