Property Tax in Hawaii: Rates, Exemptions, and Appeals

Property tax in Hawaii is run entirely at the county level: Honolulu, Maui, Hawaii County, and Kauai each set their own rates, exemptions, and deadlines, and no state agency touches the money. The tax year runs July 1 through June 30, bills come in two installments due August 20 and February 20, and the county where your property sits controls virtually every number on your bill.

How Your Bill Gets Calculated

Each county’s Real Property Assessment Division values land and buildings at fair market value, meaning the price a willing buyer would pay a willing seller under normal conditions.1Hawaii County. Real Property Tax Division Assessors look at recent comparable sales, construction costs, and, for rentals and commercial properties, income potential. Every owner gets an annual assessment notice showing the county’s market value and any exemptions on file.

From that value, the county subtracts any exemptions you qualify for, classifies the property by actual use (owner-occupied, residential investment, hotel, commercial, and so on), and applies the rate the county council sets each year during budget season. Rates are quoted per $1,000 of net taxable assessed value.

Property Tax Rates by County

Rates swing hard depending on both the county and how the property is used. What follows are the FY 2025–2026 figures.

City and County of Honolulu

Owner-occupied residential is $3.50 per $1,000. Residential A, which generally covers non-owner-occupied homes, is tiered: $4.00 on the first $1,000,000 of value and $11.40 on everything above. Hotel and resort properties pay $13.90, commercial and industrial are both $12.40, and short-term vacation rentals run $9.00 on the first $800,000 and $11.50 above that.2City and County of Honolulu. Real Property Tax Rates For Tax Year July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026

Maui County

Maui tiers almost every classification. Owner-occupied homes pay $1.65 on the first $1,300,000, $1.80 from $1,300,001 to $4,500,000, and $5.75 above $4,500,000.3Maui County, HI – Official Website. Real Property Tax Rates Non-owner-occupied homes are much steeper: $5.87 on the first $1,000,000, $8.60 up to $3,000,000, and $17.00 above that. Hotel and resort is $11.80, and short-term rentals start at $12.50.

Hawaii County

The Big Island splits residential by whether the owner lives on-site. Owner-occupied homes pay $5.95. The general residential class is tiered at $11.10 on the portion below $2,000,000 and $13.60 on the portion at or above $2,000,000.4County of Hawaiʻi Real Property Tax Office. Hawaii County Tax Rates Qualifying for the owner-occupied exemption effectively cuts your rate roughly in half.

Kauai County

Kauai also tiers by classification and finalizes rates in late June for the coming fiscal year. Its homestead class has historically run in the range of $3.05 to $3.70 per $1,000, with non-owner-occupied residential considerably higher.5Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. State of Hawaii Data Book 2024 – Real Property Tax Rates, By County 2025 Confirm the current year with Kauai’s Real Property Tax office before relying on any figure.

The Home Exemption Is the Biggest Break

If you live in your Hawaii home, the home exemption is by far the most valuable tax reduction available. It knocks a fixed amount off your assessed value and, in most counties, reclassifies your property into a lower-rate owner-occupied category. To qualify you generally must occupy the home as your principal residence more than 270 days per calendar year and file a Hawaii state income tax return using the property’s address.

Amounts vary by county, and most counties bump the exemption up with age:

Most counties require you to file for the home exemption by September 30 for it to apply the following tax year. In Honolulu, the claim goes to the Real Property Assessment Division on Form P-3, and your ownership has to be recorded at the Bureau of Conveyances before that same deadline. Miss it and you wait a full year.

Other Relief Worth Knowing

Totally disabled veterans with a 100% service-connected disability rating from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs can have their principal residence exempted from all property taxes except the statutory minimum.9City and County of Honolulu. Totally Disabled Veterans Applications go to each county’s assessment division.

Maui offers a long-term rental exemption of up to $200,000 for owners who lease continuously to the same tenant for at least 12 months, with an additional $100,000 available when the same parcel also has a home exemption.10Maui County. Real Property Tax – Long-Term Rental Classification and Exemption Apply by December 31 with a signed lease, notify the division within 30 days if the tenancy ends, and keep the property’s taxes current; a lapse of more than a year disqualifies you.

Properties used exclusively for religious, educational, charitable, or hospital purposes may qualify for a full exemption. Any commercial use unrelated to the mission can reduce or defeat the exemption, and each county requires its own application and documentation.

When and How to Pay

All four counties split the annual bill into two installments: the first is due August 20 and the second February 20.11Kauai County. Billing and Collections Section12Maui County, HI – Official Website. Dates to Remember If either date lands on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. Mailed payments are judged by postmark, not receipt date.

Each county takes payments online through its finance department portal, by mail to a lockbox address on the tax bill, or in person at the county treasury. If you have a mortgage, your servicer probably escrows property tax and pays the county directly. Confirm that with the servicer, because if the escrow lapses or the lender misses a deadline, the county still holds you responsible for the penalties.

What Late Payment Costs You

Penalty structures aren’t uniform. In Honolulu, delinquent taxes carry a 2% monthly penalty capped at 10% of the tax owed, plus 1% monthly interest on the unpaid balance until it is settled.13Honolulu Code of Ordinances. Honolulu Code of Ordinances – Section 8-3.3 Penalty for Delinquency Kauai charges a flat one-time 10% penalty plus the same 1% monthly interest.11Kauai County. Billing and Collections Section Maui and Hawaii County follow similar structures. One missed deadline can add hundreds or thousands of dollars within a few months.

If You Fall Behind

Unpaid taxes become a lien on the property, and if the balance stays outstanding, the county can sell it at public auction. Before any sale, the county orders title reports, notifies owners and lienholders by mail, and advertises the auction in local newspapers for at least four consecutive weeks.14Hawaii County. Tax Sale Frequently Asked Questions

After a tax sale, the former owner has one year from the sale date to redeem the property by paying the purchaser the full sale price plus 1% monthly interest. The county does not process the redemption; the former owner deals directly with the purchaser. Maui applies a redemption interest rate of 12% per year.15Maui County, HI – Official Website. Real Property Tax – Tax Sale FAQ Once the redemption year passes, the purchaser gets a tax deed and the former owner permanently loses the property.

Appealing Your Assessment

If the county’s value looks too high, you can appeal to its Board of Review. The assessed value is presumed correct, so the burden is on you to prove otherwise with evidence such as comparable sales, an independent appraisal, or contractor estimates for needed repairs.16City and County of Honolulu. Appeal Information Sales between relatives or close business associates generally don’t count as reliable comparables, and pointing to a neighbor’s lower assessment is not enough on its own.

Deadlines and fees differ by county:

Filing an appeal does not pause your obligation to pay. You still owe the full tax by the normal due date; if the Board rules in your favor, the county refunds the difference. If the Board denies the appeal, you can escalate to the Hawaii Tax Appeal Court by filing written notice within 30 days, and from there to the Intermediate Appellate Court.21State of Hawaii. Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 232 – Tax Appeals

A Note on Conveyance Tax

Buying or selling in Hawaii triggers a separate state conveyance tax at closing under HRS Chapter 247, distinct from the county property taxes covered above. Rates depend on the sale price and whether the buyer qualifies for a county homeowner’s exemption; buyer-occupied residence rates range from $0.10 per $100 of value below $600,000 up to $1.00 per $100 at $10,000,000 or more, and non-eligible buyers pay from $0.15 to $1.25 per $100 across the same tiers.22State of Hawaii. Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 247 – Conveyance Tax Transfers between spouses during divorce, transfers to government, and certain trust transfers are exempt, claimed on Form P-64B at closing.23Department of Taxation. Conveyance Tax