Hawaii General Excise Tax (GET) Food Credit: Amount, Claiming, Military

Hawaii’s GET food credit, formally the refundable food/excise tax credit, pays up to $220 per qualifying person to help households offset the General Excise Tax built into the price of groceries. You qualify if you file a Hawaii income tax return, aren’t claimed as someone else’s dependent, were physically present in Hawaii for more than nine months of the tax year, and have a federal adjusted gross income under $40,000 if you file single or under $60,000 for other filing statuses. Because the credit is refundable, you can receive it as a direct payment even if you owe no Hawaii income tax.¹

Who Qualifies

The credit is governed by Hawaii Revised Statutes section 235-55.85. Three conditions decide whether you can claim it at all, and then income decides how much you get.

First, you have to file a Hawaii individual income tax return, and no one else can claim you as a dependent on their federal or Hawaii return. If you had no taxable income, you can still file a return and claim the credit, as long as you aren’t someone else’s dependent.¹

Second, each person you include in the credit must have been physically present in Hawaii for more than nine months during the tax year. This test applies to you, your spouse, and each dependent individually. If one of your children spent the school year on the mainland, you might claim them as a dependent federally but not count them for this credit. Short absences for vacation or travel don’t break the nine-month rule as long as you keep your home in Hawaii.

Third, certain people are excluded even if they otherwise fit:

Anyone who can be claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer’s federal or Hawaii return.
Anyone convicted of a felony and physically confined in prison for the entire tax year, and anyone convicted of a misdemeanor and jailed for the full year.
Anyone who would otherwise qualify as a dependent but spent the full tax year in a youth correctional facility.¹

How Much the Credit Is Worth

The dollar amount depends on your federal adjusted gross income and the number of qualified people you can claim. Lower-income households get more per person, and the credit phases out at higher incomes. The per-exemption amounts set by statute are:¹

Under $15,000: $220 per exemption
$15,000 to under $20,000: $200 per exemption
$20,000 to under $25,000: $170 per exemption
$25,000 to under $30,000: $140 per exemption
$30,000 to under $40,000: $110 per exemption
$40,000 to under $50,000: $90 per exemption (joint, head of household, and other non-single filers only)
$50,000 to under $60,000: $70 per exemption (joint, head of household, and other non-single filers only)
$40,000 and over for single filers, or $60,000 and over for everyone else: $0²

Single filers lose the credit entirely at $40,000. Married couples filing jointly, heads of household, and qualifying surviving spouses get two additional brackets before dropping to zero at $60,000. Married couples filing separately use the joint table but base the credit on their combined AGI.

To find your amount, multiply the per-exemption figure for your income bracket by the number of qualified exemptions. A married couple filing jointly with two children and federal AGI of $22,000 would calculate $170 times four, for a credit of $680.³

Counting Your Qualified Exemptions

Your qualified exemptions include yourself, your spouse if filing jointly, and your dependents, but only those who meet the nine-month presence test and aren’t otherwise excluded. There’s one wrinkle worth knowing. You can’t count the extra exemptions Hawaii normally allows for being 65 or older or for having a disability. Those bonus exemptions apply to your income tax calculation but not to this credit.¹ A married couple in their 70s with no dependents counts two qualified exemptions for the food credit, not four.

How to Claim It

You claim the credit on Form N-311, Refundable Food/Excise Tax Credit, attached to your Hawaii resident income tax return (Form N-11).² Part-year residents and nonresidents use Form N-15, though every person claimed still has to meet the nine-month presence requirement.

To fill out Form N-311 you’ll need your federal adjusted gross income, your filing status, and the names and Social Security numbers of everyone you’re claiming. The form doesn’t ask for specific dates of physical presence. You list the qualifying individuals and certify they meet the requirements. The instructions include a worksheet that walks you through matching your income to the credit table and multiplying by your exemption count.

You can file electronically through Hawaii Tax Online at no cost, or mail a paper return. Direct deposit speeds up the refund once your return is approved.⁴

Watch the deadline. The regular Hawaii return is due April 20, and a six-month extension to file is automatic if you pay any estimated tax by that date. But for refundable credits like this one, Hawaii law imposes a hard twelve-month cutoff after the close of the taxable year. Miss it and the credit is gone, with no appeal.

If You’re in the Military

Active-duty service members stationed in Hawaii run into a specific issue with the nine-month presence rule. If you’re a Hawaii resident deployed outside the state for more than three months during the tax year, you won’t meet the test for your own exemption, though a spouse and children who stayed in Hawaii can still qualify for theirs.

Residency and physical presence are separate questions here. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, active-duty members can keep their legal residence in their home state regardless of where they’re stationed. A Hawaii-resident service member stationed on the mainland still files Hawaii taxes on military pay but won’t satisfy the presence requirement for the food credit. Going the other way, a service member from another state stationed at a Hawaii base for the full year isn’t a Hawaii resident and wouldn’t file a Hawaii return at all, unless they earned non-military income in the state.

Will the Credit Show Up on Your Federal Return?

For most people who qualify, no. State tax refunds and refundable credits can be taxable federally under the IRS tax benefit rule, but only if you itemized deductions on your federal return the previous year and deducted Hawaii state income taxes.⁵ Hawaii will send you a Form 1099-G if the credit is $10 or more.⁶

Most households in the income range that qualifies for this credit take the standard deduction rather than itemize. If that’s you, the credit isn’t federal taxable income and the 1099-G doesn’t change your federal return. If you did itemize and deduct Hawaii income taxes, hold on to the 1099-G and report the amount next year.

1
Justia. Hawaii Code 235-55.85 – Refundable Food/Excise Tax Credit
2
Hawaii Department of Taxation. Form N-311 – Refundable Food/Excise Tax Credit
3
Hawaii Department of Taxation. Hawaii Food/Excise Tax Credit Flyer
4
Hawaii Department of Taxation. E-Services Information
5
Internal Revenue Service. Taxable Refunds, Credits or Offsets of State or Local Income Taxes
6
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1099-G