The Hawaii hotel tax increase that took effect January 1, 2026 raised the state Transient Accommodations Tax from 10.25% to 11% through a new 0.75% environmental surcharge known as the green fee.1Office of the Governor. Gov. Green Signs Historic Senate Bill 1396 Codifying a Green Fee to Mitigate Climate Impacts in Hawaii Add the 3% county TAT that all four counties now charge, plus the General Excise Tax operators pass on to guests, and the total tax on a Hawaii hotel room can approach 19% of the nightly rate.
What the New Rate Looks Like on Your Bill
Hawaii’s lodging tax has two layers. The state TAT sat at 10.25% from 2018 through the end of 2025 under HRS 237D-2.2Justia. Hawaii Code 237D-2 – Imposition and Rates It is now 11%. On top of that, each county is authorized under HRS 237D-2.5 to charge its own County Transient Accommodations Tax of up to 3%, and the City and County of Honolulu, Maui County, Kauai County, and Hawaii County have all adopted the full 3%.3Hawaii Department of Taxation. Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 237D – Transient Accommodations Tax The combined TAT is 14% everywhere in the state.
The TAT is not the only tax on a hotel bill. Hawaii’s General Excise Tax applies to lodging as a business transaction, and operators are allowed to pass on up to 4.712% to customers after accounting for the 4% base rate plus each county’s 0.5% surcharge.4Hawaii Department of Taxation. County Surcharge on General Excise and Use Tax
On a $300 nightly rate in 2026, that works out to:
- TAT at 14%: $42.00
- GET pass-on at 4.712%: $14.14
- Total taxes: $56.14, or roughly 18.7% of the room rate
The real total can run slightly higher. The TAT applies to gross rental proceeds, and when an operator bakes the GET into the posted room price rather than listing it as a separate line, the TAT is calculated on that larger figure. Hotels that itemize the GET separately avoid this compounding; many do not.
Why the Rate Went Up: The Green Fee
The 0.75% increase comes from Act 96, which Governor Green signed after the legislature passed Senate Bill 1396. Rather than creating a separate charge, the law folds the surcharge directly into the TAT, so a guest sees one combined rate on the bill instead of a new line item. The state projects the green fee will generate about $100 million a year, earmarked for environmental protection and climate adaptation projects.1Office of the Governor. Gov. Green Signs Historic Senate Bill 1396 Codifying a Green Fee to Mitigate Climate Impacts in Hawaii
Act 96 also extends the TAT to cruise ships for the first time. Passengers who previously stayed aboard their vessels while docked in Hawaii ports paid no transient accommodations tax. That ended on January 1, 2026.
What the Tax Applies To
The TAT reaches more than the base room rate. Gross rental proceeds include cleaning fees, maintenance fees, management fees, and mandatory resort fees charged for property amenities or services.5Hawaii Department of Taxation. An Introduction to the Transient Accommodations Tax Itemizing those charges separately on the receipt does not take them out of the taxable total. If you book a room advertised at $300 but see a $45 resort fee and a $75 cleaning fee added on, the 14% TAT applies to all of it.
Charges for genuinely separate services sit outside the tax. Meals, phone calls, and laundry are not part of gross rental proceeds as long as they are billed as distinct charges a guest could decline, rather than bundled into the nightly rate.5Hawaii Department of Taxation. An Introduction to the Transient Accommodations Tax
The rules reach beyond hotels. Any living space rented for fewer than 180 consecutive days qualifies as a transient accommodation under Hawaii law, including vacation rentals, condominiums, beach houses, motels, and even vehicles with sleeping quarters.6Hawaii Department of Taxation. Transient Accommodations Tax The same 14% combined TAT and GET pass-on apply.
A Note for Short-Term Rental Hosts
If you rent a vacation property in Hawaii through Airbnb or Vrbo, the platform does not collect the TAT or GET for you. Hawaii is unlike most mainland states on this point. Operators are solely responsible for registering with the state and county, collecting both taxes from guests, filing their own returns, and remitting what they owe. Assuming the platform handles compliance because it does elsewhere is the single most common way new hosts end up with unpaid tax liabilities and penalties.