Honolulu Property Tax Exemption: Amounts, Filing, and Trusts

The Honolulu home exemption reduces your property’s taxable value by $120,000 (or $160,000 if you’re 65 or older) and qualifies your home for the city’s lowest residential tax rate, but only if you own and live in the property and file a one-time application by September 30. On a home assessed at $1.6 million, the combined effect can cut the annual tax bill by more than $5,600.¹

How the Exemption Lowers Your Bill

Two things happen when the exemption is on your property. First, either $120,000 or $160,000 comes off the assessed value before tax is calculated. Second, and often more valuable, your property is classified as Residential rather than Residential A.

For the 2025–2026 tax year, the Residential rate (with a home exemption) is $3.50 per $1,000 of net taxable value. Without the exemption, a home assessed at $1 million or more falls into Residential A: $4.00 per $1,000 on the first million, then $11.40 per $1,000 on everything above that.² On a $1.6 million home, that difference takes the yearly bill from roughly $10,840 down to about $5,180.¹

Under $1 million, the gap between $3.50 and $4.00 per $1,000 still matters over time, and you still get the value reduction. If your assessed value is below the exemption amount itself, you owe no property tax.

Who Qualifies

You must be an individual, not a corporation or partnership, and you must own and occupy the property as your principal home on the assessment date. Your deed has to be recorded at the Bureau of Conveyances by September 30 preceding the tax year you’re claiming.³

A few rules catch people off guard:

One exemption per person, on one home only.
Married couples cannot claim separate exemptions on different homes unless they’re living apart, and each spouse in that case receives only half of one exemption.³
If part of your home is used for business, only the residential portion qualifies.
The city can require a state tax clearance showing you filed a Hawaii resident income tax return. If low income meant you weren’t required to file, you’ll need other proof of residency.⁴

If You’re Temporarily Not Living There

Two situations let you keep the exemption while absent. If you move into a licensed long-term care facility or adult residential care home in Hawaii, the exemption continues as long as the home isn’t rented, leased, or sold. You have to designate the care facility on the appropriate form.³

If you move out temporarily for renovations, the exemption also stays in place, provided you submit a change-in-status report with your building permit number, the renovation start date, and a temporary address within the city.

Homes Held in a Trust

A home owned through a trust can qualify. If you created the trust and live in the property, you’re eligible; a beneficiary can also qualify after the trust creator’s death. Trust creators submit a certificate of trust or short-form trust marked confidential. Beneficiaries must provide the full trust document plus the creator’s death certificate.⁵

How Much You Get

The base exemption in the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu is $100,000, adjusted annually.³ For 2025–2026:

Under age 65: $120,000 reduction in assessed value.
Age 65 or older by June 30 preceding the tax year: $160,000 reduction.

The senior amount kicks in automatically, but only if the Real Property Assessment Division has your date of birth on file. To make sure it does, submit a copy of your driver’s license, state ID, birth certificate, or another government-issued document showing your date of birth.⁶

How to Apply

The form is BFS-RPA-E-8-10.3, Claim for Home Exemption. You can file online through the Real Property Assessment Division’s website, mail it, or bring it in person to RPAD.⁶ The deadline is September 30 preceding the tax year. Honolulu’s tax year runs July 1 to June 30, so an application filed by September 30, 2025 applies to the tax year starting July 1, 2026.

Have these ready:

Your Tax Map Key (TMK). This parcel identifier appears on your assessment notice. For county purposes it’s typically the first eight digits of the 12-digit parcel number; the state version adds a division prefix (1 for Oahu) for a nine-digit format.⁷
A government-issued photo ID, such as a Hawaii driver’s license or state ID.
Proof of age if you’re claiming the senior exemption.
Trust documents if the property is in a trust: a certificate of trust for the creator, or the full trust document plus the creator’s death certificate for a beneficiary.⁶

The form asks for a Social Security number, but providing it is voluntary and won’t block your exemption. Leaving it off may slow the eligibility review.

Brand-new parcels created in the past 12 to 18 months may not yet appear in the online system. Download the paper form, fill it out, and mail it or hand-deliver it with your supporting documents.⁶

After You’re Approved

You do not need to refile each year. The exemption continues automatically as long as you keep meeting the requirements: you still own the home, you still live in it, and you haven’t rented it out.

If any of that changes — you sell the property, move out, or start renting it — you must report the change to RPAD on Form P-43 within 30 days. Missing that window can trigger a penalty plus back taxes and interest for the period the exemption was improperly claimed.⁴ The city audits exemptions, and rollback taxes on a high-value Honolulu property add up quickly.

Assessment notices go out around December 15. Your notice shows the assessed value, any exemptions applied, and the resulting net taxable value. Check it. If your exemption is missing or the assessed value looks off, you have a short window to respond.

If the Exemption Is Missing From Your Notice

The annual appeal period runs from December 15 to January 15. You can file in person or by mail at RPAD’s offices at 842 Bethel Street in downtown Honolulu or 1000 Uluʻohiʻa Street in Kapolei.⁸ That one-month window is firm; anything submitted afterward is treated as a late filing and requires a different form (M-8-12) with the tax year specified.

Before you file a formal appeal over a missing exemption, contact RPAD directly. Administrative errors are sometimes fixed without going through the full appeal process. If the issue is the assessed value itself, comparable sales data from your neighborhood is the strongest evidence you can bring.

1
City and County of Honolulu. Real Property Assessment Division – Residential A
2
City and County of Honolulu. Real Property Tax Rates for Tax Year July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026
3
City and County of Honolulu. Revised Ordinances of Honolulu – Section 8-10.4 Homes
4
Honolulu Code of Ordinances. Revised Ordinances of Honolulu – Section 8-10.3 Exemption Homes
5
City and County of Honolulu. Understanding the Home Exemption Program
6
City and County of Honolulu. Real Property Assessment Division – Exemption FAQ
7
Hawaii Department of Health. What Is My Tax Map Key TMK Number
8
City and County of Honolulu. File an Appeal