Hawaii Rental Property Taxes in 2026: GET, TAT, and the New Green Fee

What is the GET and who pays it?

The general excise tax is not a sales tax. It is a tax on your gross business income, and rental income counts as business income in Hawaii. At the standard rate you owe 4.5% on every dollar of rent you collect on Oahu, before any expenses.

You may pass the tax on to your tenant, but the law caps the visible pass-on at 4.712%. That higher figure accounts for the tax applying to itself once it is added to the rent. For a plain-English walk-through, see our detailed GET guide.

You need a GET license before you collect your first month of rent. Registration is a one-time filing with the Hawaii Department of Taxation; from there you file periodically based on your volume. Our GET filing guide covers the schedule and the forms.

What is the TAT and when does it apply?

The transient accommodations tax applies when a rental is short-term, meaning your guest stays fewer than 180 consecutive days. It stacks on top of the GET, in three layers:

As with the GET, you may pass the TAT through to your guest, and most short-term operators build all of it into the nightly rate rather than itemizing it at checkout.

What exactly is the Green Fee?

The "Green Fee" is the informal name for the increase that lifted the state TAT to 11% on January 1, 2026. The added revenue is earmarked for climate resilience and protecting the natural areas that tourism depends on. In practice it is not a separate line on your return; it is baked into the state TAT rate you already file.

A further increase to 12% has been discussed for 2027 but is not settled. Before you quote a rate to a guest or set aside money for taxes, confirm the current rate with the Hawaii Department of Taxation.

Do long-term landlords owe TAT?

No. If your tenant signs for 180 consecutive days or more, the rental is long-term and TAT does not apply; you owe the 4.5% GET and nothing else. If you are weighing the two, our overview of Oahu short-term rentals compares the economics.

The spread between a long-term lease and a transient booking is about 14 points of gross revenue.

What about property taxes?

Those taxes are separate from the GET and TAT. Real property tax is billed by the City and County of Honolulu, not the state, and the rate depends on how the property is classified, for example residential, residential A, or short-term rental. Because classification can change your annual bill significantly, confirm your property's class on your assessment notice.

Selling as a nonresident: HARPTA, FIRPTA, and unpaid rental tax

The rental tax story does not end when you sell. If you are not a Hawaii resident, the sale itself triggers withholding at closing, and any GET or TAT you never filed can resurface at the same time.

Skipping GET, TAT, or OTAT while you own the property does not make the liability disappear when you sell. Hawaii can assess the back tax plus penalties and interest, and an open balance can hold up your closing while escrow sorts it out. Owners who quietly ran a short-term rental without registering are the ones most often caught here.

Reduced-withholding and exemption options exist, and the actual numbers depend on your residency, the sale price, and your gain. Confirm your situation with a Hawaii-licensed CPA and your escrow or title company well before you list.

Registration and filing checklist

1. 1Register for a GET license with the Hawaii Department of Taxation before collecting your first rent.
2. 2If you will rent short-term, register for a TAT and OTAT account as well.
3. 3Decide whether you will pass the tax on to tenants or absorb it, and reflect that in your lease or nightly rate.
4. 4File and pay on the schedule assigned to your volume, keeping tabular records of gross proceeds.
5. 5Reconcile annually and confirm current rates before each filing, since the TAT has changed recently.