Hotels and short-term rentals on Oʻahu charge guests a county TAT (3%) layered atop the state TAT (10.25%) and General Excise Tax (4.712%), totaling roughly 18% on lodging — among the highest combined lodging taxes in the United States.
Honolulu enacted Ordinance 21-33 establishing the city-county 3% Oʻahu Transient Accommodations Tax (OTAT) effective December 14, 2021, after the state withdrew counties from the TAT distribution formula. Operators must register with the Department of Budget and Fiscal Services, file monthly returns, and remit OTAT alongside the state TAT (HRS §237D, currently 10.25%) and the 4.712% Oʻahu General Excise Tax. Combined, guests at Waikīkī hotels pay roughly 17.96% in lodging taxes. Revenue funds rail transit, parks, and tourism mitigation. Returns are due by the 20th of the following month.
Failing to register, collect, or remit OTAT triggers penalties up to 25% of unpaid tax plus interest, and willful evasion is a misdemeanor under Honolulu tax ordinances.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Honolulu's transient occupancy tax rules stack up against other locations.
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