Hawaii Holding Company Taxes

A default pass-through Hawaii LLC owes no franchise tax or net-worth-based entity tax. The one unavoidable business-level charge every Hawaii LLC faces is the General Excise Tax — not technically an 'entity-level tax' in the franchise-tax sense, but a tax on gross business income that applies regardless of profitability, election, or member count, covered in detail in the sales and use tax section below.

The general federal tax treatment of holding companies (consolidated filings, dividends-received deductions, and the like) is set at the federal level and does not change state to state — what changes is the entity-level tax Hawaii itself charges an LLC or corporation formed or registered there.

Hawaii does not levy a franchise tax or a capital-based entity tax, so the holding company itself is inexpensive to keep open — its only mandatory state cost is the $15 Annual Report. The expense that defines Hawaii is the General Excise Tax, which reaches gross receipts (not net profit) at 4%, or 4.5% on Oahu. Because GET attaches to revenue, a holding parent that merely owns subsidiary interests and receives intercompany distributions usually has no GET exposure, while each subsidiary conducting Hawaii business remits GET on its own gross receipts. Income ultimately passes through to members and is taxed by Hawaii at graduated rates up to 11%, so the structure does not reduce income tax — it organizes liability, not the tax bill.

Hawaii does not levy a franchise tax. A C-Corp instead pays the state corporate net income tax on a graduated schedule — 4.4% on the first $25,000 of taxable income, 5.4% on income from $25,000 to $100,000, and 6.4% above $100,000 (Form N-30). On top of income tax, virtually every Hawaii corporation owes the General Excise Tax (GET) of 4% on gross receipts (4.5% on Oahu with the county surcharge), which is assessed on total business revenue rather than net profit. The only recurring state filing cost is the $15 annual report.

Hawaii LLCs must file Annual Report with Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), Business Registration Division, due By the last day of the calendar quarter in which the LLC was originally formed (Q1 → March 31, Q2 → June 30, Q3 → September 30, Q4 → December 31), with a fee of $12.50 (filed online); statutory maximum late fee of $100.

Hawaii's Annual Report is one of the lowest-cost and most forgiving in the country — late fees are modest, and the state generally waits until the report is 2 years unfiled before considering administrative dissolution.

A common structure pairs a Wyoming LLC as the parent with a Hawaii entity handling operations, holding property, or running a Hawaii-facing business.

The Hawaii entity still owes whatever Hawaii itself charges — no separate entity-level tax if it stays taxed as a pass-through LLC — regardless of where its parent is formed; pairing it with a Wyoming LLC does not change the Hawaii subsidiary's own filing or tax obligations. What the Wyoming parent adds is liability separation, and the Wyoming company's own ownership stays out of Hawaii's public LLC filings.

For more on the general structure, see the Wyoming holding company guide and how to set one up.

• State personal income tax: Graduated, 12 brackets from 1.40% to 11.00%
• LLC entity-level/franchise tax: $15 Annual Report per LLC, plus GET on any subsidiary with Hawaii gross receipts
• Corporate income tax route (if electing C-corp): No franchise tax; corporate income tax is graduated 4.4%/5.4%/6.4% (Form N-30), and the General Excise Tax adds 4% on gross receipts (4.5% on Oahu) for nearly all business activity
• LLC annual report: $12.50 (filed online); statutory maximum late fee of $100, due By the last day of the calendar quarter in which the LLC was originally formed (Q1 → March 31, Q2 → June 30, Q3 → September 30, Q4 → December 31)

Tax agency reference: Hawaii Department of Taxation (DOTAX) (tax.hawaii.gov). Corporate filings: Hawaii Department of Taxation.

Note: Tax rates, fees, and thresholds shown here reflect state tax research last verified July 2026; reconfirm current figures directly at tax.hawaii.gov before relying on them for a specific filing.

Hawaii's tax treatment of a holding structure comes down to its personal income tax (Graduated, 12 brackets from 1.40% to 11.00%) and the absence of a separate entity-level LLC tax. If you have questions about structuring a Wyoming-Hawaii holding arrangement, reach out through our contact form.

• Anonymous Holding Company in Hawaii

If you have questions about structuring a Wyoming-Hawaii holding arrangement, reach out through our contact form or call +1 (307) 683-0983 to speak with one of our experienced Business Success Advisors. Visit our homepage and blog for more.