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Hawaii Estate Tax and Federal Estate Tax
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Hawaii Estate Tax and Federal Estate Tax

Hawaii estate tax applies to estates above $5,490,000, frozen at the 2017 federal level.

By Settled Editorial

Hawaii charges its own estate tax, one of a small number of states that still do. A Hawaii resident's estate owes it once the taxable estate passes an exclusion of $5,490,000, a figure the legislature froze at the 2017 federal amount, and the rates run from 10 percent to 20 percent. The federal estate tax starts far higher, at $15,000,000 for a 2026 death, so plenty of Hawaii families owe Hawaii and owe nothing to the IRS.

Every rule below was read on September 24, 2026 at the Hawaii State Legislature's own statute host, data.capitol.hawaii.gov, with each section's bracketed history note. That host's compilation runs through the 2025 session, so a 2026 Act does not appear in its text. We screened the Acts of the 2026 session for anything touching chapter 236E and read the one that does, Act 35, directly from the Legislature's bill file. It is covered below.

This page is general information about Hawaii and federal law rather than advice about one estate. The personal representative carries the filing duty, so read it beside Hawaii executor duties.

The Hawaii Exclusion Stopped Moving at the End of 2017

HRS 236E-6 "Applicable exclusion amounts" allows an exclusion from the Hawaii taxable estate of every decedent. Subsection (a) sets it at the federal applicable exclusion amount "as set forth for the decedent in chapter 11 of the Internal Revenue Code as amended as of December 21, 2017, as if the decedent died on December 31, 2017."

Two dates in that sentence do all the work.

  • "As amended as of December 21, 2017." The federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which doubled the federal exclusion, became law the next day, December 22, 2017. Hawaii's reference stops one day short of it.
  • "As if the decedent died on December 31, 2017." Whatever year the death falls in, the calculation pretends it happened in 2017. The federal basic exclusion for a 2017 death was $5,490,000, set by IRS Revenue Procedure 2016-55, section 3.35.

The statute prints no dollar figure. $5,490,000 is the result of reading HRS 236E-6 against the 2017 federal table, and it does not change from year to year: nothing in chapter 236E indexes it. A resident who died in 2018 and a resident who dies in 2026 face the same Hawaii exclusion, while the federal figure has climbed to $15,000,000.

The exclusion also shrinks where the federal one would. HRS 236E-6(a)(2) uses the exemption equivalent of the unified credit reduced by taxable gifts that reduce the federal amount, so large lifetime gifts eat into the Hawaii exclusion too. Chapter 236E has no gift tax section of its own; the gifts matter because they lower this number.

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What 2026 Act 35 Changed, and What It Left Alone

HRS 236E-3 defines what "Internal Revenue Code" means inside chapter 236E. The compiled text on data.capitol.hawaii.gov still reads "as amended as of December 31, 2024," because that compilation predates the 2026 session.

2026 Act 35 (House Bill 2329, conference draft 1, signed May 26, 2026) rewrote that section. Its section 5 moves the date to December 31, 2025, and its section 7 applies the change to decedents dying or taxable transfers occurring after December 31, 2025. For a 2026 death, the gross estate and the federal taxable estate are measured under the federal Code as it stood at the end of 2025.

Act 35 did not amend HRS 236E-6. The exclusion keeps its own, separate reference to the Code as of December 21, 2017, so updating the general conformity date leaves the $5,490,000 figure where it was. Read any source that says Hawaii "now follows the federal exemption" with that in mind.

The Hawaii Rate Schedule

HRS 236E-8 "Tax imposed; credit for tax paid other state" sets the rates for estates of decedents dying after January 25, 2012. The tax applies to the Hawaii net taxable estate, which HRS 236E-2 defines as the Hawaii taxable estate less the exclusion in HRS 236E-6. To run the schedule against one estate's figures, use the Hawaii estate tax calculator.

Hawaii net taxable estateTax
$1,000,000 or less10% of the Hawaii net taxable estate
Over $1,000,000, not over $2,000,000$100,000 plus 11% of the amount over $1,000,000
Over $2,000,000, not over $3,000,000$210,000 plus 12% of the amount over $2,000,000
Over $3,000,000, not over $4,000,000$330,000 plus 13% of the amount over $3,000,000
Over $4,000,000, not over $5,000,000$460,000 plus 14% of the amount over $4,000,000
Over $5,000,000, not over $10,000,000$600,000 plus 15.7% of the amount over $5,000,000
Over $10,000,000$1,385,000 plus 20% of the amount over $10,000,000

The first dollar above the exclusion is taxed at 10 percent. There is no zero bracket once you pass $5,490,000, which is why an estate only slightly over the line still owes a real bill.

What the Hawaii Taxable Estate Is

HRS 236E-7 builds the base from the federal return. For a resident, the Hawaii taxable estate is the federal taxable estate under Internal Revenue Code section 2051 and following, but computed without the federal deduction for state death taxes under section 2058. So the marital deduction, the charitable deduction, debts and administration expenses still come off, and the Hawaii tax itself does not.

HRS 236E-4 carries one Hawaii-only rule into that computation: every Internal Revenue Code provision that applies to spouses applies, for chapter 236E purposes, to partners in a Hawaii civil union "with the same force and effect." A bequest to a civil union partner takes the marital deduction on the Hawaii side.

A Resident Example

A Honolulu resident dies in 2026 with a Hawaii taxable estate of $7,000,000 after deductions.

  1. Hawaii net taxable estate: $7,000,000 minus $5,490,000 equals $1,510,000.
  2. Tax under the second bracket: $100,000 plus 11 percent of $510,000, which is $56,100.
  3. Hawaii estate tax: $156,100.

The same estate owes no federal estate tax, because $7,000,000 sits below the $15,000,000 federal basic exclusion for a 2026 death. This is the estate size where Hawaii matters most: large enough to owe Hawaii, too small to owe the IRS.

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Nonresidents With a Hawaii Condo or House

HRS 236E-8(a)(2) reaches a nonresident "whose gross estate includes any real property situated in the State or tangible personal property having a situs in the State." A mainland owner of a Maui condo, a Kona coffee parcel or a Kauai vacation house falls inside it. Where the owner held the property through a single-member LLC that has not elected corporate treatment, the same subsection disregards the LLC and treats the member as the owner.

The statute taxes only the Hawaii share, and it pro-rates the exclusion by the same share:

  • The base. HRS 236E-7(2) takes the federal taxable estate and multiplies it by the value of the Hawaii property subject to the tax over the federal gross estate.
  • The exclusion. HRS 236E-6(b)(2) multiplies the exclusion by the same fraction. A nonresident does not get the full $5,490,000.
  • A nonresident who is not a U.S. citizen. HRS 236E-6(b)(3) and 236E-7(3) use the federal nonresident-alien rules under Internal Revenue Code section 2106 and the exemption equivalent of the unified credit, again pro-rated.

Take a California resident who dies in 2026 with a $10,000,000 federal gross estate and taxable estate, $2,000,000 of it a condo on Maui. The Hawaii fraction is one-fifth. The Hawaii taxable estate is $2,000,000, the pro-rated exclusion is $1,098,000, and the Hawaii net taxable estate is $902,000. At 10 percent, that is $90,200 of Hawaii estate tax on an estate that owes nothing federally. Collecting the condo itself usually takes a Hawaii court proceeding as well; Hawaii ancillary probate covers that side for nonresidents with Hawaii property.

Hawaii Presumes You Were a Resident

HRS 236E-6(c)(1) says that "every decedent having property in the State shall be presumed to have died a resident of the State," and the estate claiming nonresidency carries the burden of proof. That matters because a resident's whole estate is taxed and a nonresident's is not.

Subsection (c)(2) through (4) gives the way out. After filing the Hawaii return, the person responsible may ask the Department of Taxation in writing for a determination of domicile once at least 270 days, and no more than three years, have passed since the return's due date. The Department then has 180 days to decide, and its proposed determination becomes final 60 days after mailing unless appealed under HRS 236E-18. Subsection (c)(5) adds that the request does not excuse paying the correct tax on time.

Credit for Another State's Tax

A Hawaii resident who also owned property taxed by another state's death tax gets a credit under HRS 236E-8(c). It is the lesser of the tax actually paid to the other state or the Hawaii tax multiplied by the value of that property over the whole gross estate. The credit does not apply where the other state's tax carries a reciprocal provision letting the domicile state tax the property.

Filing and Paying the Hawaii Return

HRS 236E-9 "Returns; time to file return and pay tax" puts the duty on the same person who would file the federal return, which for an appointed estate is the personal representative. If there is more than one, they file jointly. If no one has been appointed, every person in possession of the decedent's property counts as an executor for this purpose and must file.

  • Deadline. Subsection (b) makes the Hawaii return due on the date Internal Revenue Code section 6075 sets for the federal return, which is nine months after the date of death, including any federal extension. HRS 236E-11 carries a granted federal extension over to Hawaii if you file a copy of it with the Hawaii return.
  • Payment. Subsection (c)(1) has the personal representative pay any tax due, "without assessment, notice, or demand," by the filing date, out of estate money in hand.
  • Deferral. Subsection (e) lets the Hawaii tax be deferred or paid in installments in proportion to the federal deferral, and lets the executor elect deferral where one would have been available federally, subject to the director of taxation's approval.

Where the Statute Pulls Two Ways

Subsection (a) requires a Hawaii return whenever a federal estate tax return is required "or any tax is owed under this chapter." Subsection (f) then says "no return shall be required to be filed unless a federal estate tax return or applicable generation-skipping transfer tax return is required to be filed."

When the two exclusions were close together, that tension rarely mattered. With Hawaii at $5,490,000 and the federal threshold at $15,000,000, the resident example above owes $156,100 of Hawaii tax under HRS 236E-8 while no federal return is required. The tax is imposed by section 236E-8 either way, and subsection (c) still has the personal representative pay it by the due date. How the Department of Taxation expects that estate to report on Form M-6 is set in its own instructions, which were not readable when this page was written. Confirm the filing position with the Department before the nine-month date.

The Release, the Lien and Personal Liability

Three sections decide what happens if the tax is not handled before property goes out the door.

  • The release. HRS 236E-12 has the Department issue an automatic release of estate tax liability when the personal representative files a sworn statement that no tax is due, or that all tax due has been paid. The release gives the personal representative authority to transfer the estate's property, and HRS 236E-16(d) lets a bank, broker or other holder rely on it when handing assets over.
  • The lien. HRS 236E-15(b) makes unpaid Hawaii estate tax a lien on the gross estate for ten years from the date of death. Property sold to a bona fide purchaser leaves the lien behind, and the lien moves to the sale proceeds. Section 236E-15(a) lets the personal representative sell property, including property left by a specific devise, to pay the tax.
  • Personal liability. HRS 236E-16(a) makes a personal representative who distributes property without paying or securing the tax personally liable for it, up to the value of the property that came into their hands.

That last rule is why the estate tax question comes before any distribution, and why who files the Hawaii return is the same person who answers for it.

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Probate and Estate Tax Are Two Separate Questions

A revocable trust, a transfer on death deed or joint ownership can keep property out of a Hawaii probate. None of them removes it from the gross estate. HRS 236E-2 defines gross estate by reference to Internal Revenue Code sections 2031 to 2046, which pull in life insurance the decedent owned, retirement accounts, jointly held property and property in a revocable trust. Avoiding probate does not avoid the tax, and a family that has only planned for probate should add everything up again the federal way.

The tax on a later sale is a different tax again. Heirs who sell inherited property pay capital gains tax measured from a new basis, not estate tax. Step-up in basis in Hawaii covers that rule.

No Hawaii Inheritance Tax

Hawaii taxes the estate, not the people who inherit from it. Chapter 236, the old "Inheritance and Estate Taxes Law," appears in the compilation only as a repealed chapter, repealed by L 1983, c 217, section 10. A beneficiary does not file a Hawaii return of their own on what they receive.

Chapter 236E does tax generation-skipping transfers. HRS 236E-2 sets the applicable rate at 2.25 percent multiplied by the inclusion ratio under Internal Revenue Code section 2642 as of December 21, 2017, and HRS 236E-17 imposes the tax. That rate only matters for trusts and gifts that skip a generation.

The Federal Estate Tax for a 2026 Death

Internal Revenue Code section 2010(c)(3)(A) sets the basic exclusion amount at $15,000,000. Section 2010(c)(3)(B) indexes it for deaths in calendar years after 2026, so the federal number will move each January while Hawaii's stays put.

  • Filing threshold. Section 6018(a)(1) requires a federal return when the gross estate exceeds the basic exclusion for the year of death, and section 6018(a)(3) lowers that threshold by adjusted taxable gifts made after 1976. A nonresident who is not a U.S. citizen files once the U.S. part of the gross estate passes $60,000 under section 6018(a)(2).
  • Rate. Section 2001(c) tops out at $345,800 plus 40 percent of the taxable amount over $1,000,000, applied after the unified credit, so only the amount above the exclusion is reached.
  • Deadline. Section 6075(a) makes the return due nine months after death, which is the same date the Hawaii return uses.

Portability and the Hawaii Figure

A federal return can be worth filing even when no federal tax is due. Section 2010(c)(2) defines the applicable exclusion amount as the basic exclusion plus, for a surviving spouse, the deceased spousal unused exclusion amount, and section 2010(c)(5)(A) makes that unused amount available only if the first spouse's executor files a timely return and elects it.

HRS 236E-6(a)(1) borrows the same federal term, "the federal applicable exclusion amount," as the Code stood on December 21, 2017. Chapter 236E has no portability section of its own. Whether and how an unused amount from a first spouse's estate raises a Hawaii exclusion is a question to settle with the Department of Taxation before the first spouse's nine-month date runs out, because the federal election cannot be made late.

What a Hawaii Family Should Do Next

  1. Add up the gross estate the federal way. Include Hawaii real estate at current value, life insurance the decedent owned, retirement accounts, trust property and anything with a beneficiary form.
  2. Compare it with $5,490,000, not $15,000,000. A resident estate over the Hawaii exclusion can owe Hawaii tax with no federal return due. A nonresident with Hawaii property runs the pro-rated version.
  3. Diary the nine-month date from the date of death. It is the due date for the Hawaii return and the Hawaii payment, and it runs whether or not a probate has been opened.
  4. Hold distributions until the tax is paid or secured. HRS 236E-16 makes the personal representative personally liable otherwise, and the HRS 236E-12 release is what banks and title companies rely on.
  5. Settle the filing position and any portability question with the Department of Taxation. The statute pulls two ways on a return when no federal return is required.
  6. Bring in a CPA or a Hawaii tax attorney for an estate near the Hawaii exclusion, a nonresident with Hawaii property, a domicile dispute, a civil union partner, a closely held business, or property taxed in another state.

If the estate is still being opened, start with how Hawaii probate works, and use the Hawaii probate timeline to set the nine-month date beside the court deadlines.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Hawaii have an estate tax?

Yes. HRS chapter 236E, enacted as L 2012, c 220, imposes a Hawaii estate tax and a Hawaii generation-skipping transfer tax. HRS 236E-8 applies the tax to every Hawaii resident and to a nonresident whose gross estate includes Hawaii real property or tangible personal property located in Hawaii. The rates run from 10 percent to 20 percent of the Hawaii net taxable estate, which is the estate left after the exclusion in HRS 236E-6. Hawaii has no inheritance tax: chapter 236, the old inheritance and estate tax law, was repealed by L 1983, c 217.

What is the Hawaii estate tax exemption for 2026?

HRS 236E-6(a) sets the exclusion at the federal applicable exclusion amount under the Internal Revenue Code as amended as of December 21, 2017, computed as if the decedent died on December 31, 2017. The statute prints no dollar figure. The federal basic exclusion for a 2017 death was $5,490,000 under IRS Revenue Procedure 2016-55, section 3.35, so the Hawaii figure for a resident stays at $5,490,000 for a death in 2026, well below the $15,000,000 federal figure. Nothing in chapter 236E indexes it for inflation, and 2026 Act 35 did not change it.

What are the Hawaii estate tax rates?

HRS 236E-8(b) taxes the Hawaii net taxable estate on a seven-step schedule: 10 percent up to $1,000,000; $100,000 plus 11 percent of the amount over $1,000,000 up to $2,000,000; $210,000 plus 12 percent up to $3,000,000; $330,000 plus 13 percent up to $4,000,000; $460,000 plus 14 percent up to $5,000,000; $600,000 plus 15.7 percent up to $10,000,000; and $1,385,000 plus 20 percent of everything over $10,000,000. The schedule applies to the amount above the exclusion, not to the whole estate.

Do nonresidents owe Hawaii estate tax on a Hawaii condo or house?

They can. HRS 236E-8(a)(2) reaches a nonresident whose gross estate includes real property situated in Hawaii or tangible personal property with a Hawaii situs. HRS 236E-7(2) taxes only the Hawaii share of the federal taxable estate, measured by the value of the Hawaii property over the federal gross estate, and HRS 236E-6(b)(2) pro-rates the exclusion by the same fraction. HRS 236E-6(c)(1) also presumes that every decedent with property in Hawaii died a resident, and puts the burden of proving otherwise on the estate.

When is the Hawaii estate tax return due?

HRS 236E-9(b) ties the Hawaii return to the federal deadline in Internal Revenue Code section 6075, which is nine months after the date of death, and carries over any federal extension. HRS 236E-9(c) has the personal representative pay any tax due, without assessment or demand, by the date fixed for filing. HRS 236E-9(a) requires a Hawaii return whenever a federal estate tax return is required or any Hawaii tax is owed, while subsection (f) says no return is required unless a federal return is required. With a $5,490,000 Hawaii exclusion and a $15,000,000 federal one, those two subsections pull apart, so confirm the filing position with the Hawaii Department of Taxation.

Does Hawaii allow portability of a deceased spouse's unused exclusion?

The statute answers this only by reference. HRS 236E-6(a)(1) uses the federal applicable exclusion amount, and Internal Revenue Code section 2010(c)(2) defines that amount as the basic exclusion plus, for a surviving spouse, the deceased spousal unused exclusion amount. Chapter 236E has no portability section of its own, and the Department of Taxation's own instructions were not readable when this page was written, so confirm with the Department how an unused amount from the first spouse carries into the Hawaii figure before relying on it.

Related Guides

This page describes Hawaii and federal law broadly rather than advising on one estate. Tax outcomes turn on the date of death, the decedent's domicile, deeds and figures that differ from family to family, so take yours to a CPA or a Hawaii tax attorney, and confirm filing questions with the Hawaii Department of Taxation.

Sources:

It is not legal advice.

Information current as of September 24, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Hawaii can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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