Honolulu Property Tax Rates | Updated 2024

This is THE ultimate guide to Honolulu County Property Taxes for residential properties, covering the current fiscal year, 2023, which runs July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024.

In the following, when we refer to “Honolulu”, it applies to the County of Honolulu – the entire island of Oahu.

Besides a detailed overview of the residential property tax rates in Honolulu, you will also find valuable information on:

• Due Dates for Property Taxes.
• How to Pay Property Taxes.
• How Assessed Value is Determined.
• How to Contest Assessed Value.
• Penalties for Late Property Tax Payments.
• How to Reclassify a Property.
• Good to Know For New Property Owners.
• Important Deadlines.
• Historic Property Tax Rates.

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5 Residential Property Classes & Tax Rates

1) Property Class: Residential
Tax Rate: 0.35% of Assessed Value.

Applies to properties where an owner claims the home exemption – it is the owner’s primary residence – irrespective of the assessed value. It also applies to properties where an owner cannot claim the home exemption – it is not the owner’s primary residence – when the assessed value is less than $1,000,000.
Short-term renting, less than 30 days per tenant, is not allowed.

An owner can only claim the home exemption if it is the owner’s primary residence. Proof of primary residence may be satisfied by showing evidence the owner is registered to vote in Honolulu, is filing income tax return as a resident of the State of Hawaii, occupies the home at least 270 days per calendar year or is stationed in Honolulu under US military orders. An owner who successfully claims the home exemption benefit from a $100,000 exemption – if less than 65 years of age – which means $100,000 is deducted from the assessed value and the owner’s property taxes are calculated based on the balance.

Home Exemption Based on Age:
a) Less than 65: $100,000 (will increase to $120,000, starting fiscal year 2024).
b) 65 and above: $140,000 (will increase to $160,000, starting fiscal year 2024).

Tax Calculation Example
Owner’s age: 45.
Home Exemption Claimed: Yes (primary residence).
Exemption: $100,000.
Assessed Value: $1,600,000.
Taxable Amount: $1,500,000 ($1,600,000 – $100,000).
Property Taxes = $5,250 / year ($1,500,000 x 0.0035).

2) Property Class: Residential A
Tax Rate: 0.40% of Assessed Value up to $1,000,000 and 1.14% of Assessed Value above $1,000,000.

Applies to properties where an owner does not claim the home exemption and the total assessed value is $1,000,000 or greater.
Short-term rentals, less than 30 days per tenant, is not allowed.

Tax Calculation Example
Owner’s age: 45.
Home Exemption Claimed: No (second home or investment property).
Assessed Value: $1,600,000.
Property Taxes on Assessed Value up to $1,000,000 = $4,000 / year ($1,000,000 x 0.0040).
Property Taxes on Assessed Value Above $1,000,000 = $6,840 / year ((1,600,000 – $1,000,000) x 0.0114).
Total Property Taxes = $10,840 / year ($4,000 + $6,840).

3) Property Class: Hotel & Resort
Tax Rate: 1.39% of Assessed Value.

Applies to units in buildings grandfathered as Nonconforming Hotels by the Department of Planning & Permitting. These buildings have the following in common:

• Originally constructed as hotels.
• Ongoing – since built – had hotel operations.
• Meet the definition of a hotel, per the Land Use Ordinances (see page 346), and if built several years ago, when the definition of a hotel included a requirement at least 50% of units do not have a full kitchen, then the buildings also met such old hotel definition, during the time such definition was in place.

Short-term rentals, less than 30 days per tenant, is allowed, as long as the Condo Association’s Rules do not specify otherwise, as such rules would be more restrictive.

Units in this Property Class are considered Hotel Use and no short-term rental registration or renewal fee are required.

If an owner does not want to run a short-term rental business (e.g. primary residence or second home), then scroll down to the section titled “How to Reclassify a Property” and learn how to possibly save on property taxes.

Tax Calculation Example
Assessed Value = $1,600,000.
Property Taxes = $21,264 / year ($1,600,000 x 0.0139).

4) Property Class: Bed & Breakfast Home
Tax Rate: 0.65% of Assessed Value.

Applies to single-family homes that are owner occupied and the owner holds a NUC – see the nonconforming Use Certificate List (no NUC’s have been issued since 1990) – in which case an owner is allowed to rent out up to 2 rooms in their home on a short-term basis, less than 30 days per tenant.

Tax Calculation Example
Assessed Value: $1,600,000.
Total Property Taxes = $10,400 / year ($1,600,000 x 0.0065).

5) Property Class: Transient Vacation
Tax Rate: Not Determined.

This is a new property class, which takes effect July 1, 2024. It will be a two tier tax rate, with assessments up to $800,000 paying property tax rate X and assessments above $800,000 paying property tax rate Y, as outlined in Bill 4 (see page 15). Mid-June, 2024, we will know the tax rates – X and Y.

Applies to units that fall under one – and just 1 – of the following categories:

• Units in buildings that are in the Resort Mixed Use Zone.
  Exception: If a building is grandfathered as a nonconforming hotel, under Point 3 above, the Hotel & Resort property class applies.
• Units that have a NUC – see the Nonconforming Use Certificate List (no NUC’s have been issued since 1990).
• Units in buildings grandfathered as nonconforming hotels, where the Department of Planning & Permitting has determined:
  a) Buildings were not originally developed as hotels – didn’t meet the old definition of a hotel, requiring at least 50% of the units do not have a full kitchen,
  b) Buildings have ongoing – since built – had hotel operations, and
  c) Buildings meet the current definition of a hotel, per the Land Use Ordinances (see page 346).
  There are just 2 buildings, grandfathered as nonconforming hotels, in this class: Waikiki Sunset and Waikiki Banyan.

Short-term rentals, less than 30 days per tenant, is allowed, as long as the building rules do not specify otherwise, as such rules would be more restrictive.
An exception to this may be NUC holders, whom we do not believe Associations can restrict from running short-term rental businesses, although it can arguably be challenged (verify with your favorite real estate attorney).

Transient Vacation units, except NUC units, require Registration with the Department of Planning & Permitting ($1,000 fee). Both Transient Vacation and NUC units require annual renewal ($500 fee).

If an owner does not want to run a short-term rental business, then scroll down to the section titled “How to Reclassify a Property” and learn how to possibly save on property taxes.

PS! On each property page, for properties listed for sale on our website, look for the section called “More Details” and click on “Owner, Tax & Resale History”, which will direct you to the Real Property Assessment Division website, where you will find the Property Class, Assessed Value and Property Taxes for such property.

PPS! If you want to see a complete list of all property tax categories, across all island, then click here.

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Due Dates for Property Taxes

The fiscal year for property taxes in Honolulu runs from July 1 of a given year to June 30 of the following year and property taxes are due in 2 even installments:

1st Installment
Due August 20 (covers property taxes for July 1 – Dec 31).
Annual tax bill will be mailed to owners July 20.

2nd Installment
Due February 20 (covers property taxes for January 1 – June 30).
The bill will be mailed to owners January 20.

Note 1: If Aug 20 or Feb 20 fall on a holiday, Saturday or Sunday, then the payment deadline is extended to the next business day.

Note 2: An owner may pay the entire 1 year property tax bill as part of the 1st installment in August or any time prior to the 2nd installment deadline in February. There is no requirement an owner must pay property taxes in 2 installments.

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4 Ways to Pay Property Taxes

1) Online
www.rphnlpay.com. Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, or Discover credit cards are accepted, but comes with a 2.25% charge + $2.5 convenience fee. Credit card charges will be displayed as HAWAIIGOV-PIT on your credit card statement.
Alternatively, you can pay with an electronic check – comes with a $2.5 convenience fee. If questions or issues about online payment you can contact EHawaii.gov Payments: (808) 695-4620 or email info@ehawaii.gov.

2) Phone
Call (808) 825-6819.

3) Check
Issue a check to “City & County of Honolulu” and mail it to City & County of Honolulu, Real Property Tax Collection, Division of Treasury, PO Box 4200, Honolulu, HI 96812 (verify before mailing).

4) In Person
Pay in cash or with a check by visiting City Hall, Division of Treasury, 530 South King St #115, Honolulu, HI 96813. Hours: Monday – Friday (except holidays) 7:50am – 4:15pm.

We encourage you to visit the Department of Budget & Fiscal Services website to verify payment related information.

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How Assessed Value is Determined

Property taxes are based on an assessed value, which is a value the tax office’s appraisal team determines a property is worth, which is different from the actual market value, being the price a Buyer pays for a property.

Assessed Value – Existing Properties
In speaking with an appraiser at the tax office, in the past, we were told an appraiser will typically review and analyze 5 comparable properties that have sold prior to July 1 of a given year, without visiting the properties, to determine the assessed value of a given property on October 1. Since the appraiser only analyzes comparable properties sold prior to July 1, the appraiser may also consider how much the market may have moved up or down, until October 1, and take such market moves into account in determining the property’s value on October 1. From the Real Property Assessment Division website, the approach – called a Mass Appraisal – is described more broadly:

“Mass appraisal is defined as the systematic appraisal of groups of properties as of a given date using standardized procedures and statistical testing. Sales data are analyzed and adjustments are made by the appraisers based on what buyers paid in the market. These adjustments are applied to the large populations of properties to estimate the value using a Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) system. RPAD follows the ROH to apply mass appraisal to value all properties for ad valorem taxation purposes to obtain uniform and equalized assessments throughout the county. RPAD appraisers have been continuously and actively trained by International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) instructors and its resources.”

The assessed value on October 1 is used to calculate property taxes due the following fiscal year, with the actual property tax rates, for the following fiscal year, determined June 15; just a couple of weeks before the new fiscal year starts.
A property’s assessed value is mailed to the owner on December 15. This means late December, an owner will know the assessed value used to determined property taxes for the next fiscal year, but the owner will not know how much property taxes are due, before the following year June 15, when the tax rate is determined.

Example
The assessed value on October 1, 2023 is used to determined property taxes for fiscal 2024 (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025) and such assessed value is mailed to the owner December 15, 2023. Property tax rates for fiscal 2024 is determined June 15, 2024, which means an owner will not be able to calculate property taxes due, for fiscal year 2024, before June 15, 2024. The property tax office will mail the owner an annual property tax bill on July 20, 2024.

Assessed Value – New Construction
For condos under construction an appraiser does not know the sales price agreed between the Developer and Buyer, since the transfer of ownership has not yet occurred. The appraiser will put a lot of weight on building costs when determining the assessed value – often, substantially lower than the actual market value – and that means the October 1 assessed value is likely to be low compared to the actual market value, hence owners of brand new condos sometimes, for a period, may get lucky and benefit from artificially low property taxes (don’t count on it, but we have seen cases with some lucky owners).

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How to Contest Assessed Value

An owner can contest and appeal the assessed value, if the owner believes the assessed value is too high. However, make sure to have recently sold properties to back your claim. Feelings about market directions and properties listed for sale – not sold – is irrelevant. Appeals can be filed online From Dec 15 of a given year through Jan 15 of the following year from this site (click on “File an Appeal”). The City tries to close all appeals by the end of the tax year (June of a given year), although that isn’t always possible.

One of the grounds for an appeal is the assessed value is more than 10% greater than the market value of the property. In other words, the assessed value can be 10% higher than the actual market value and the City doesn’t have to make any adjustments to their assessments. This also helps explain, why, historically, the majority of appeals have been rejected.

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Penalties for Late Payments

Property taxes not paid by the due date are subject to a penalty up to 10% and, on top of that, interest at the rate of 1% each month, or fraction thereof, which will be applied to all delinquent taxes and penalties.
Please, don’t be late paying your property taxes!

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How to Reclassify a Property

An owner of a condo, classified as Hotel & Resort (and soon also Transient Vacation) for property tax purposes, who does not run a short-term rental business – no rentals less than 30 days per tenant – may apply for a dedication for Residential use, which, if granted, will reclassify the condo to either Residential or Residential A (determining factors being the owner usage – primary residence or not – and the total assessed value). Based on the current property tax rates, there could be significant tax savings by reclassifying to a residential status. Learn how to reclassify a condo to residential use and note, you must apply prior to September 1 of a given year for the dedication to take effect from the beginning of the next fiscal year, starting July 1.

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For New Property Owners

If you are a new property owner, requesting the tax office to send your tax bill to a different address than the previous owner, it may take about 4 months before the City & County of Honolulu updates their records with your address and a property tax bill may mistakenly be mailed to the previous owner’s address. You can, upon taking ownership, call the Honolulu Property Tax Department (808) 768-3980 and ask them to mail the next tax bill to your address.

You can also keep an eye on property tax amounts and due dates from this page, by following these steps:
1) Select “Yes, I accept the above statement”.
2) Click “Search by Site Address”.
3) Enter the Street Number, Street Name and Unit Information.
Do not include street suffix such as “Boulevard”, “Street”, “Avenue” etc.

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Important Deadlines

• July 1: First day of a new Tax Year.
• July 20: Annual Tax Bills are mailed out.
• August 20: First Property Tax Installment is Due.
• September 1: Deadline for filing Dedication for Residential Use
• September 30: Deadline for filing Home Exemption
• October 1: Date of Assessed Value.
• October 31: Deadline for Dedication Approval or Disapproval.
• December 15: Assessment Notice mailed out.
• January 15: Deadline for filing Appeals.
• January 20: Second Installment Tax Bills are mailed out.
• February 20: Second Property Tax Installment is Due.
• June 15: Tax rates are set by City Council.
• June 30: Last day of a Tax Year.

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History of Property Tax Rates

The table below shows how residential property tax rates in Honolulu have changed over the past 8 years. Keep in mind:

• Fiscal Year 2023 runs from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024.
• Residential A shows 2 tax rates, since it is a two tier tax system.

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Disclaimer: This information is for general information purposes only and should not be relied upon for any legal, business, economic or tax decisions. We are a real estate agency, not tax or legal advisers, and we do not provide any form of legal or tax advice and before making any decisions you should consult with a qualified adviser.