Hawaii Sales Tax Guide & Nexus Calculator (2026)

Hawaii does not have a traditional sales tax. Instead, it imposes a General Excise Tax (GET) on almost every business transaction — goods, services, SaaS, digital content, and more. The GET has one of the broadest tax bases of any state consumption tax in the US, and remote sellers must understand its structure before registering.

Quick Reference

Criterion	Detail
State Rate	4% GET (general)
Economic Nexus Threshold	$100,000 gross income (rolling 12 months)
Transaction Threshold	None
Digital Goods / SaaS	Taxable (GET applies to all business income)
Typical Filing Frequency	Monthly
SST Member	No
Registration Portal	tax.hawaii.gov

Hawaii GET — Not a Traditional Sales Tax

Hawaii’s General Excise Tax is a business privilege tax levied on the gross income of businesses for the privilege of doing business in Hawaii. Unlike a retail sales tax (which is imposed on consumers and collected by sellers), the GET is technically the seller’s obligation — you owe GET on your gross receipts whether or not you collect it from customers.

In practice, most businesses pass the GET along to customers as a separately stated charge, similar to how sales tax works. However, because the legal obligation is on the seller, you owe GET even if you fail to collect it.

Critically: The GET applies to virtually all income — goods, services, digital products, construction, professional services, rentals, and more. Hawaii’s tax base is far broader than any traditional sales tax state.

Economic Nexus

State / TerritorySelect a state…AL — AlabamaAK — AlaskaAZ — ArizonaAR — ArkansasCA — CaliforniaCO — ColoradoCT — ConnecticutDE — DelawareDC — Washington D.C.FL — FloridaGA — GeorgiaHI — HawaiiID — IdahoIL — IllinoisIN — IndianaIA — IowaKS — KansasKY — KentuckyLA — LouisianaME — MaineMD — MarylandMA — MassachusettsMI — MichiganMN — MinnesotaMS — MississippiMO — MissouriMT — MontanaNE — NebraskaNV — NevadaNH — New HampshireNJ — New JerseyNM — New MexicoNY — New YorkNC — North CarolinaND — North DakotaOH — OhioOK — OklahomaOR — OregonPA — PennsylvaniaPR — Puerto RicoRI — Rhode IslandSC — South CarolinaSD — South DakotaTN — TennesseeTX — TexasUT — UtahVT — VermontVA — VirginiaWA — WashingtonWV — West VirginiaWI — WisconsinWY — Wyoming

Gross Revenue (USD)

$

Total Transactions (not required)

Enter your trailing 12-month revenue to calculate nexus status.

For informational purposes only · Not legal or tax advice · Consult a licensed tax professional · Rules as of 2026

Hawaii’s economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in gross income from Hawaii sources in the current or prior calendar year. “Gross income” includes all revenue from any source — not just tangible goods — meaning SaaS, services, and digital products all count.

Hawaii implemented its economic nexus law effective July 1, 2018. Once you cross $100,000 in gross Hawaii income, you must register for GET and begin remitting.

Marketplace-facilitated sales count toward the threshold.

Tax Rates

Hawaii’s GET has several rates:

Activity Type	GET Rate
Retail sales of tangible property	4%
Services	4%
Wholesale sales	0.5%
Contracting	4%
County surcharge (Honolulu)	+0.5%

Honolulu surcharge: The City and County of Honolulu imposes an additional 0.5% surcharge, bringing the effective GET rate to 4.5% for transactions in Honolulu. If you sell to customers on Oahu (the island on which Honolulu sits), you must collect the 4.5% combined rate. Maui, Hawaii County, and Kauai apply the base 4% rate.

Pyramiding

One distinctive feature of the GET is pyramiding — the GET applies at each level of the supply chain. A manufacturer pays GET on sales to a wholesaler; the wholesaler pays GET on sales to a retailer; the retailer pays GET on sales to the consumer. Each party in the chain owes GET on their gross receipts. This can make Hawaii more expensive than states where tax is only imposed at the retail level.

For remote direct-to-consumer e-commerce sellers, pyramiding typically does not affect your calculation — you owe the 4% (or 4.5% for Honolulu) retail GET rate on your Hawaii sales.

Digital Goods and SaaS

Hawaii’s GET taxes everything, including SaaS and digital goods. Because the GET is a gross receipts tax on all business income rather than a product-specific sales tax, there is no digital goods exemption.

Taxable under Hawaii GET:

• SaaS and cloud services — taxable at 4%
• Downloaded software — taxable
• Digital content (ebooks, music, video) — taxable
• Online subscriptions — taxable
• Professional services delivered remotely — taxable

There is no exemption for digital-only businesses. If you sell SaaS into Hawaii and cross the $100,000 threshold, you owe GET on that revenue.

Registration

Hawaii is not an SST member, so you must register directly with the Department of Taxation.

1. Go to tax.hawaii.gov
2. Select “New Business Registration” or file Form BB-1 online
3. Register for GET (and Use Tax if applicable)
4. You will receive a Hawaii General Excise Tax License (fee: $20 one-time)
5. Begin collecting GET effective the registration date

The $20 GET license fee is a one-time charge, not annual.

Foreign Sellers

Hawaii accepts foreign business registrations through tax.hawaii.gov. A US EIN is preferred but Hawaii may accept a foreign tax ID in some cases — contact the DOR for current guidance.

Filing Frequency and Deadlines

Hawaii assigns filing frequency based on estimated annual GET liability:

Annual GET Liability	Filing Frequency
Less than $4,000	Annual
$4,000–$16,000	Semi-annual
More than $16,000	Monthly

Monthly due dates: Returns are due by the 20th of the following month (e.g., January return due February 20).

Returns are filed through Hawaii Tax Online (hitax.hawaii.gov). Electronic filing is required for most sellers.

Compliance Notes

GET is a seller’s tax: Unlike sales tax (which is the customer’s obligation collected by the seller), GET is the seller’s tax. If you do not collect GET from your customers, you still owe it. Factor this into your pricing — if you choose not to add GET as a line item, your effective margin is reduced by 4%–4.5%.

Honolulu surcharge: Applying the correct rate (4% vs. 4.5%) requires identifying whether the customer is on Oahu (the island containing Honolulu). Hawaii delivery addresses on Oahu use the 4.5% rate; other Hawaiian islands use 4%.

Broadest tax base: Hawaii’s GET is the broadest-base state consumption tax in the US. Unlike most sales tax states, there are no broad exemptions for services, professional fees, or B2B transactions. Almost everything is taxable.

No local separate filings: Unlike Colorado’s Home Rule municipalities, Hawaii’s GET is a unified state-administered system. You file one return covering all of Hawaii (with the Honolulu surcharge handled within that return).

Not SST: Hawaii is not an SST member.

Related Guides

• US Sales Tax Overview
• State Sales Tax Index — All 50 States
• Stripe Tax for Digital Goods and SaaS
• Foreign Sellers Guide to US Sales Tax
• US Sales Tax Compliance Checklist