Hawaiʻi's Accommodations Tax Rose to 11% in 2026

By the Totally Hawaii Team

What changed

Hawaiʻi's transient accommodations tax (TAT) — the state tax charged on hotel rooms, resort stays, and short-term vacation rentals — rose from 10.25% to 11% on January 1, 2026. Act 96 (2025), signed by Governor Josh Green, dedicated the increase specifically to wildfire prevention and climate resilience projects, following the 2023 Maui wildfires. It was widely reported at the time as the nation's first tourism tax earmarked specifically for climate impact work, and Hawaiʻi officials have referred to it informally as a "green fee."

What it actually adds to a hotel bill

The 11% TAT stacks with the general excise tax (GET, currently 4% statewide, 4.5% on Oʻahu) and any county-level surcharge, plus whatever resort fee a specific property charges separately. In practice, most visitors see a combined tax line of roughly 17–18% on top of the advertised room rate — before any resort fee. This isn't new in structure; the TAT itself has existed for decades and has risen incrementally. What's new is the earmarking and the 2026 rate.

Does it apply to vacation rentals too?

Yes. The TAT applies to any short-term accommodation booked for fewer than 180 consecutive days, which covers hotels, resorts, condos, and Airbnb/VRBO-style vacation rentals alike — see our vacation rentals guide for how that interacts with cleaning fees and platform fees when comparing total cost.

What it means for your trip

Budget roughly 17–18% above the advertised nightly rate for combined taxes on any Hawaiʻi accommodation, on top of any separate resort fee. This has been our working assumption in our budget breakdown guide, which we've updated to reflect the current rate.