What is the Hawaii general excise tax rate?
The general excise tax rate on retail sales is 4%, and all four counties add a 0.5% surcharge, so the usual rate is 4.5%. A 0.5% rate applies to wholesale sales. The tax is owed by the seller on its gross income, including on services and digital products, which many states do not tax. Sellers may pass it on to customers as a visible charge; because the tax passed on is itself taxable income, the maximum pass-on rate is 4.712% where the surcharge applies.
When does an online seller have to collect in Hawaii?
You are treated as doing business in Hawaii, and must hold a license and pay the tax, if you have a physical presence there, or if in the current or previous calendar year you had $100,000 or more of gross income from Hawaii or 200 or more separate transactions. Either test is enough, and the tests cover goods, services and digital products delivered to Hawaii. Guidance differs on whether sales through a marketplace count towards your own threshold, so check with the Department of Taxation if they would decide it.
How nexus works in general is covered in physical vs economic nexus and economic nexus explained.
What if you sell on Amazon, eBay or Etsy?
Hawaii requires marketplace facilitators to pay general excise tax at the retail rate on the sales they facilitate, so you do not charge it on those orders. Your own website and other direct channels remain your responsibility, and Hawaii treats your marketplace sales as wholesale income, as explained below. See marketplace facilitator laws.
How do you register?
Apply for a general excise tax license through Hawaii Tax Online, using the basic business application, Form BB-1. The fee is $20, paid once. The license must be in place before you do business in Hawaii, and it has no renewal fee.
What are the steps once you have nexus?
Confirm nexus
Check your presence and your sales into Hawaii against its threshold.
Register before collecting
With the Hawaii tax agency, as set out above.
Set up your store
Charge the correct combined rate for each delivery address and product.
File and pay
On the schedule Hawaii assigns, including zero returns where required.
How are returns filed?
Hawaii uses two returns. Periodic returns, Form G-45, are filed monthly, quarterly or semiannually depending on the tax due, by the 20th of the month after the period. An annual return, Form G-49, then reconciles the year and is due by the 20th day of the fourth month after the year ends, April 20 for calendar-year sellers. Both are filed through Hawaii Tax Online, and both are required even in periods with no income.
See how to file a sales tax return.
How do marketplace sales work in Hawaii?
A marketplace facilitator is treated as the retail seller of goods sold through its platform, and pays the 4% tax, plus surcharge, on those sales. The marketplace seller's own sale is then treated as a wholesale sale to the marketplace. For a seller that is doing business in Hawaii, wholesale income is still reportable, at the 0.5% rate. So a seller with Hawaii nexus may need a license and returns even if every order goes through a marketplace, which is different from most states. Confirm your position with the Department of Taxation.
Should you charge the tax to customers?
You are allowed to, but not required to. Most Hawaii businesses add a line for general excise tax at up to 4.712%, which leaves them whole after paying 4.5% on the total received. Online stores can do the same by setting a Hawaii rate in their tax settings. If you do not pass it on, you still owe 4.5% of your Hawaii gross income. See sales tax on services.
What else should sellers know?
- Sellers outside the US: the same rules apply wherever the business is based. See selling on Amazon US as a non-resident.
- Late registration: tax you should have collected becomes your own debt. See voluntary disclosure agreements and collected but not remitted.
- Records: keep sales by delivery address, tax collected and any certificates. See exemption certificates and sales tax audits.
- Stopping: returns stay due until the account is closed. See filing frequency and cancelling a sales tax permit.
- Store settings: switch on collection only once you are registered. See Shopify sales tax setup.
Selling into Hawaii?
We check whether you have Hawaii nexus, register you, and file your Hawaii sales tax returns.
Questions people ask
Does Hawaii have a sales tax?
No. It has a general excise tax on the seller's gross income, which is usually passed on to customers.
What is the Hawaii economic nexus threshold?
$100,000 or more of gross income, or 200 or more transactions, from Hawaii in the current or previous calendar year.
What is the Hawaii general excise tax rate?
4% on retail sales, plus a 0.5% county surcharge; 0.5% on wholesale sales.
How much is a Hawaii general excise tax license?
$20, paid once, through Hawaii Tax Online.
Sources
Every fee, date and rule on this page was taken from these official and primary sources.
- Hawaii Department of Taxation: General excise tax
- Supreme Court of the United States: South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., 585 U.S. 162 (2018)
- Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board: Marketplace facilitator state guidance
Rules and fees change. If you are reading this long after October 1, 2026, confirm the figures with the source before you rely on them.
Related guides
More in State sales tax
This guide is general information. It is not tax or legal advice for your situation.