Hawaii · 2027 and beyond
Hawaii in 2027 and beyond: what is already law, and what is still open
No tax measure on the ballot. Act 24 changes the brackets for 2027: lower rates at the bottom, a 13% top rate. What is on the 2026 return, what starts with tax year 2027, and what is scheduled or conditional after that.
By Charles Trautman, EA, editor
Need to Know Tax · written from Hawaii Department of Taxation sources and the unofficial November 3 election returns, November 12, 2026 · not yet reviewed by a Hawaii practitioner
No tax measure on the ballot. Act 24 changes the brackets for 2027: lower rates at the bottom, a 13% top rate. This page keeps apart three things that get mixed together in the news: what is on the 2026 return you file in early 2027, what begins with tax year 2027, and what is scheduled, conditional or still undecided after that. Election figures are the unofficial November 3, 2026 returns and are not final until the state certifies them.
What the voters decided on November 3, 2026
No statewide tax measure was on the November 3, 2026 ballot in Hawaii. Nothing voted on that day changes a Hawaii return.
This return, next year, and later
| When | What applies |
|---|---|
| The 2026 return, filed in early 2027 | The twelve brackets, 1.4% to 11%, are unchanged for 2026. |
| Hawaii allows the federal tips deduction, up to $25,000, but not the overtime or car-loan interest deductions. | |
| The standard deduction follows the stepped schedule set by Act 46 of 2024. | |
| Starting with tax year 2027 | Act 24 (SB 3125, signed May 21, 2026) rewrites the 2027 bracket step: the 3.20% rate becomes 2.50% and the 5.50% rate becomes 5.00%, and a new top rate of 13% applies above $500,000 single, $750,000 head of household and $1,000,000 joint. |
| The solar and wind credit is capped statewide at $40 million a year and is unavailable above $175,000 of AGI single or $350,000 joint. | |
| Retirees may elect Hawaii withholding on retirement payments. | |
| A first-home savings account deduction begins. | |
| 2028 and later, or conditional | The standard deduction climbs every two years through 2031. |
| The solar and wind credit ends after 2029. |
Items under 2027 and later do not change the 2026 return. They matter for 2027 withholding, estimated payments and planning. The detail behind each line is in the other Hawaii articles.
The 2025 federal law and the Hawaii return
Hawaii starts from federal adjusted gross income, applies its own standard deduction and exemptions, and keeps a list of federal code sections that are “not operative” here. The Department’s Announcement 2026-06 lists what it conformed to for 2026, including the tips deduction.
That is the reason a change on the federal return, such as the deductions for tips, overtime and people 65 and older, may or may not show up on the Hawaii return. The federal side is in The new deductions for tips, overtime and seniors.
What to watch
High-income filers should not build 2027 estimated payments on 2026 tax; the new top rate changes the safe-harbor arithmetic. When something on this page changes, the change is logged on the updates page with its date.
What to bring
- Your 2026 federal and Hawaii returns, once filed, to set 2027 withholding and estimated payments against them
- Your last pay stub of 2026 and the first of 2027, to see whether withholding changed
- Any notice from the state about a 2027 rate, credit or filing change
Questions people ask
Does anything here change the Hawaii return I file in early 2027?
Only what is listed under the 2026 return. Everything listed under 2027 or later affects withholding, estimated payments and planning, not the return for 2026.
How will I know if this page changes?
Every change is logged on the updates page with its date and the article it affects. State legislatures meet in early 2027 and some act before the filing deadline.
Hawaii, after the election
No tax measure on the ballot. Act 24 changes the brackets for 2027: lower rates at the bottom, a 13% top rate.
Written by Charles Trautman, EA, editor · Need to Know Tax, Lone Tree, Colorado
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Sources and where to check
- Department of Taxation Announcement 2024-03: Act 46 (2024), standard deduction and bracket schedules through 2031
- Department of Taxation Announcement 2025-07: withholding tables for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025
- Department of Taxation Announcement 2026-06: tax law changes from the 2026 legislative session (Acts 24, 35, 118, 217)
- HB 2329 CD1 (Act 35, 2026): conformity to the Internal Revenue Code
- Governor’s Message 1135: HB 2329 signed as Act 35, May 26, 2026
- SB 3125 CD2 (Act 24, 2026): 2027 rate schedules and renewable energy credit limits
- SB 2881 CD1 conference committee report (Act 118, 2026): voluntary withholding on 1099-R income
- Department of Taxation, Tax Review Commission legislative update, May 2026 (Act 24 revenue estimates)
- Department of Taxation: 2026 employer payroll updates