State tax docs / States / Hawaii
Hawaii state income tax: engine rules, 2026
How the QuantCalc engine computes Hawaii tax for tax year 2026, rule by rule, with the official source for each rule. Verification status: Worksheet-tested (what this means).
On this page: How the tax is computed · Rate schedule · Deductions, exemptions and credits · Age 65+ subtractions and credits · Social Security · IRA, 401(k) and private pensions · Public pensions · Military retirement pay · Roth conversions · Capital gains · Blindness and disability · Part-year and nonresident returns · Worked examples · After 2026 · Not calculated ·
Verification. Machine-readable: this state's entry in the
engine config and the provenance file
(key HI).
How the tax is computed
Every step the engine takes for Hawaii, in the order it takes them. Steps marked with a filing status or household type apply only there. Each step links the section below that carries Hawaii's figures and the official sources for it; the calculation order page describes every step for all jurisdictions.
What each filing status gets, read back from the engine for a household with $1 of income (so below every phase-out and income test):
| Single | Married filing jointly | Married filing separately | Head of household | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate schedule used | single schedule | joint schedule | joint schedule, thresholds halved | head-of-household schedule |
| Top rate | 11% from $325,000 | 11% from $650,000 | 11% from $325,000 | 11% from $487,500 |
| Standard deduction, under 65 | $8,000 | $16,000 | $8,000 | $12,000 |
| Standard deduction at 70 (joint: both 70) | $8,000 | $16,000 | $8,000 | $12,000 |
| Personal exemption | $1,144 | $2,288 | $1,144 | $1,144 |
| Age subtractions at 70 (joint: both 70) | $1,144 | $2,288 | $1,144 | $1,144 |
- Per-person mode joint returns with the spouse's age given On a joint return with the spouse's age given, every age test the state applies per taxpayer is evaluated for each spouse at their own age. Without it one household age applies to both.
engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Engine convention, no external source: The engine cannot know the second spouse's age unless told. - Blindness and disability, per person only when the caller says a person is blind or disabled The filer is person one; the spouse counts only on a joint return and only when the caller says so (there is no household convention as for age). Where a state lets a disabled person (and, where it says so, a blind one, or one whose spouse is disabled) qualify for its general retirement exclusion before the age, that person is treated as having reached the age for that exclusion only. Of the 42 taxing jurisdictions, these have a blind amount: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Virginia; these have none: Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wisconsin. A disability route is calculated in Arkansas, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon and West Virginia.
engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Engine convention, no external source: Who is blind or disabled is the caller's statement; the engine has no household convention for it. - Rate schedule and standard deduction by filing status Single uses the single schedule and deduction; married filing jointly the joint ones. Head of household and married filing separately follow the two steps below.
Hawaii's values · engine step (select_brackets). Sources (Rate schedule): Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-51 (checked 2026-10-12); Tax Review Commission 2025-2027, Second Meeting (February 17, 2026) - DOTAX presentation (checked 2026-10-12) - Married filing separately Where the state publishes its own separate schedule, that one (with half the joint deduction unless a separate deduction is set). Where one schedule applies to every status, that schedule unscaled with the single deduction. Otherwise the joint schedule with every threshold and the deduction halved (computed as the joint tax on twice the income, halved).
Hawaii's values · engine step (select_brackets). Sources (Rate schedule): Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-51 (checked 2026-10-12); Tax Review Commission 2025-2027, Second Meeting (February 17, 2026) - DOTAX presentation (checked 2026-10-12) - Head of household The state's head-of-household schedule where it has one, else the single schedule; the head-of-household deduction where set, else the single deduction.
Hawaii's values · engine step (select_brackets). Sources (Rate schedule): Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-51 (checked 2026-10-12); Tax Review Commission 2025-2027, Second Meeting (February 17, 2026) - DOTAX presentation (checked 2026-10-12) - The income total every income test uses Other ordinary income + retirement distributions (before any exclusion) + conversion + federally taxable Social Security + long-term gains + Railroad Retirement Tier 2. It stands in for federal adjusted gross income in every threshold, cliff and phase-out below; state subtractions do not reduce it.
engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Engine convention, no external source: The inputs are the federal AGI components, so their sum is federal AGI for these income types. - Attributing income to each spouse joint returns with each spouse's own amounts given With a caller's split (the API's
spouseobject), each spouse's own distributions (employer-plan money included), pension, public pension, conversion, wages and military pay; spouse 2's shares are clamped into the household totals and spouse 1 gets the rest. Without a split, in per-person mode, every item is divided 50/50. Social Security is divided by each spouse's own gross benefits where the caller givesspouse.socialSecurityGross, else 50/50; other ordinary income and gains are always divided 50/50 where a rule needs a per-person amount. The split is used only where a state's rule is per taxpayer; household totals stay authoritative for the base and the income tests.
engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Engine convention, no external source: Equal attribution is the neutral split when the owner of a dollar is not known. - Keeping the per-spouse shares inside the household joint returns with each spouse's own amounts given After the public-pension and employer-pension carve-outs, if the two spouses' remaining shares add up to more than the household's exclusion-eligible distributions (an inconsistent split), spouse 1's share is reduced so they do not.
engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Engine convention, no external source: Input normalisation. - Military retirement pay The state's military rule runs first, on military pay alone, per taxpayer: each spouse's own pay at their own age when attributed, otherwise half each at the household age on a joint return. Exempt dollars leave the base; the rest become pension dollars for the general retirement rules. Where the state lets a disabled retiree qualify at any age, a disabled person is treated as having reached the rule's age.
Hawaii's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Military retirement pay): N11ins (checked 2026-10-12) - One taxpayer's military exemption Exempt: all of it (below the age split, up to the younger cap). Capped: up to the cap for the age tier, plus the earned-income bonus below the age split when the taxpayer's own wages exceed the threshold, less the taxpayer's own Social Security where the rule says so. Percentage: the percentage (below the age split, up to the younger cap). Then the income limit: above it the exemption is lost, or phased out over the range where one is set.
Hawaii's values · engine step (military_exempt_one). Sources (Military retirement pay): N11ins (checked 2026-10-12) - Capital-loss deduction off the base The deduction comes off the other ordinary income (negative income, as Form 1040 line 7a is), so the base and every state-AGI figure summed from it carry it; WI no more than Wisconsin ordinary income (Schedule WD line 28(c)). States whose base is federal taxable income (with the caller's figure) already have it there and take it only once. Engine 1.13.1: the allowed rental loss comes off the same way, on its own line (rental_loss_deduction).
Hawaii's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Capital gains): Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-51(f) (checked 2026-10-12); Instructions for Form N-11 (Rev. 2025) (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 Form N-11 Instructions (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses (checked 2026-10-12) - Public pension exemption Public-pension dollars leave the base, uncapped or up to the per-taxpayer cap (each spouse's own public pension against their own cap when attributed), without using up the general exclusion the remaining distributions may claim. Capped-out public dollars stay taxable and cannot draw the private exclusion.
Hawaii's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Public pensions): Instructions for Form N-11 (Rev. 2025) (checked 2026-10-12); Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-7(a) (checked 2026-10-12); Tax Information Release No. 96-5: Taxation of Pensions Under the Hawaii Net Income Tax Law (checked 2026-10-12) - Social Security exempt None of the federally taxable benefit enters the base.
Hawaii's values · engine step (ss_amount_in_state_base). Sources (Social Security): Instructions for Form N-11 (Rev. 2025) (checked 2026-10-12); Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-2.3 (checked 2026-10-12) - Retirement exclusion (household) The distributions eligible for the exclusion go through the exclusion below. Taxable public-pension dollars left by a cap are not eligible; below the IRA age only employer-plan dollars are.
Hawaii's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (IRA, 401(k) and private pensions): Tax Information Release No. 96-5: Taxation of Pensions Under the Hawaii Net Income Tax Law (checked 2026-10-12); Instructions for Form N-11 (Rev. 2025) (checked 2026-10-12) - Conversion taxed or exempt In full-exclusion states a conversion is exempt at the qualifying age (at any age where the state says so). Elsewhere, unless pooled above, it is ordinary income taxed in full.
Hawaii's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Roth conversions): Instructions for Form N-11 (Rev. 2025) (checked 2026-10-12) - Long-term gains in the base Where gains are taxed as ordinary income: net long-term gain less the flat exclusion (never below zero), times the inclusion share. Elsewhere none enters.
Hawaii's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Capital gains): Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-51(f) (checked 2026-10-12); Instructions for Form N-11 (Rev. 2025) (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 Form N-11 Instructions (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses (checked 2026-10-12) - Personal exemption The joint amount on a joint return, the head-of-household amount where set, otherwise the single amount.
Hawaii's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Deductions, exemptions and credits): Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-2.4 (checked 2026-10-12); Tax Review Commission 2025-2027, Sixth Meeting (May 26, 2026) - Legislative update (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 Form N-11 instructions (checked 2026-10-12); HRS 235-2.4 (archived copy) (checked 2026-09-28); Form N-356 (Rev. 2025) Earned Income Tax Credit, with instructions (checked 2026-10-12); Form N-311 (Rev. 2025) Refundable Food/Excise Tax Credit (form with instructions) (checked 2026-10-12) - Dependent exemptions and deductions only when the caller lists dependents An amount per dependent subtracted like the personal exemption: the state's flat amount, or the stepped per-exemption amount the filer gets, or the state's own income steps; nothing above an income limit where there is one; a percentage phase-out per income step where there is one; one more for a dependent in an age band or a student up to an age, for a dependent born in the year, and for a disabled dependent; a deduction per dependent beyond the first on joint and head-of-household returns; and a child deduction by an income table for dependents under an age. A head of household's status exemption that already holds one dependent's amount counts one fewer. Where the state says so, the phase-out is measured on the state AGI (the base before deductions).
Hawaii's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Deductions, exemptions and credits): Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-2.4 (checked 2026-10-12); Tax Review Commission 2025-2027, Sixth Meeting (May 26, 2026) - Legislative update (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 Form N-11 instructions (checked 2026-10-12); HRS 235-2.4 (archived copy) (checked 2026-09-28); Form N-356 (Rev. 2025) Earned Income Tax Credit, with instructions (checked 2026-10-12); Form N-311 (Rev. 2025) Refundable Food/Excise Tax Credit (form with instructions) (checked 2026-10-12) - Age subtraction At or above the age: the single amount, or the joint amount on a joint return (both spouses at the household age). In per-person mode, half the joint amount (or the single amount) per qualifying spouse. Plus the low-income amount below the income test; less the military exclusion where the statute says so; limited to the spouse's own income where the statute says so. Where the statute counts income from any source, the taxable remainder of the spouse's own public pension is part of that own income. Where the state says so, the Social Security that offsets a person's amount is that person's own.
Hawaii's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Age 65+ subtractions and credits): 2025 Form N-11 instructions (checked 2026-10-12) - Disability exemption instead of the regular ones only when the caller says a person is blind or disabled A person who is blind (or disabled) takes the state's disability exemption instead of their own regular and age exemptions; the other spouse keeps theirs. Where that exemption replaces the dependents' exemptions too, the larger of the two routes is taken.
Hawaii's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Blindness and disability): 2025 Form N-11 instructions (checked 2026-10-12); HRS 235-54 (archived copy) (checked 2026-10-12) - State taxable income Other ordinary income + Social Security, retirement income, conversion and gains left in the base − standard deduction − personal exemption − age subtractions.
engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Engine convention, no external source: The order of subtraction follows the state forms; each amount is sourced at its own step. - No tax at or below zero State taxable income at or below zero returns a tax of 0 (credits are not refundable), unless the state has a tax computed apart from taxable income that still applies (next step).
engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Engine convention, no external source: Every credit the engine carries is nonrefundable, so nothing below can make a zero tax negative; each credit is sourced at its own step. - Separate-return scaling married filing separately For the halved-joint rule, taxable income is doubled before the schedule and the result halved.
Hawaii's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Rate schedule): Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-51 (checked 2026-10-12); Tax Review Commission 2025-2027, Second Meeting (February 17, 2026) - DOTAX presentation (checked 2026-10-12) - The rate schedule Each bracket's rate on the part of taxable income inside it, summed. No rounding: the result is carried in full precision.
Hawaii's values · engine step (apply_state_brackets). Sources (Rate schedule): Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-51 (checked 2026-10-12); Tax Review Commission 2025-2027, Second Meeting (February 17, 2026) - DOTAX presentation (checked 2026-10-12) - Alternative capital-gains tax The schedule part of the tax is the smaller of the regular schedule tax and the schedule tax on income without the gain plus the alternative rate times the gain; amounts added on top of the schedule before it are kept.
Hawaii's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Capital gains): Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-51(f) (checked 2026-10-12); Instructions for Form N-11 (Rev. 2025) (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 Form N-11 Instructions (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses (checked 2026-10-12) - Floor under the alternative gains tax Where the statute says so, the alternative tax's ordinary part is taxed on at least the taxable income taxed at rates below the alternative rate (the top of the last such bracket, in taxable-income dollars, at most taxable income), and the alternative rate applies to the rest of taxable income.
Hawaii's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Capital gains): Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-51(f) (checked 2026-10-12); Instructions for Form N-11 (Rev. 2025) (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 Form N-11 Instructions (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses (checked 2026-10-12) - Credits cannot make the tax negative The credits are subtracted and the result floored at zero.
engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Engine convention, no external source: Every credit the engine carries is nonrefundable; each credit is sourced at its own step. - Qualifying surviving spouse qualifying surviving spouse returns A qualifying surviving spouse (
filingStatusqss) is one person on the return, taxed from the single figures with the state's own treatment of the status laid over them: where the state says so, the joint rate schedule, the joint standard deduction, the joint personal exemption, the joint income limits and phase-outs (only those the state sets for joint returns), the married 65+ and blindness amounts, or the head-of-household return; where the state gives the status nothing of its own, the single return. The federal figures the engine derives for the status are the federal qualifying-surviving-spouse ones (the joint standard deduction, the married 65+ amount).
Hawaii's values · engine step (state_tax_effective_config). Sources (Rate schedule): Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-51 (checked 2026-10-12); Tax Review Commission 2025-2027, Second Meeting (February 17, 2026) - DOTAX presentation (checked 2026-10-12) - Railroad Retirement benefits only when the caller gives Railroad Retirement benefits Railroad Retirement benefits are never taxed by a state (45 U.S.C. §231m). Tier 2 (
railroadRetirementTier2) is in the income total the tests use but never in the base. Tier 1 (railroadRetirementTier1) is a part of the gross benefits (socialSecurityGross); its share of the taxable benefits is taken out of the Social Security every state rule sees, so a state that taxes Social Security never reaches it. Where a state's worksheet says so, the benefits reduce a retirement cap or subtraction (ID, IN, MD, ME, MN: both tiers; MI: the taxable railroad benefits); Minnesota's and Utah's Social Security rules test an income without them, Minnesota's, New Jersey's and California's retirement income tests an income without Tier 2; Ohio and Delaware test their own AGI everywhere, which never holds the benefits.
Hawaii's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Social Security): Instructions for Form N-11 (Rev. 2025) (checked 2026-10-12); Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-2.3 (checked 2026-10-12) - The capital-loss deduction the state allows With a net capital loss (capitalLoss): the smaller of the loss and the state's limit (the federal $3,000 / $1,500 where the state follows the federal return; MA $2,000, and no more than the interest and dividends); AL the loss less the part carried in, unlimited; PA and NJ none. It comes off the income total the income tests use (and the Social Security worksheets' income); the gross-income filing test (LA) reads the total before it. Engine 1.13.1: with a rental loss (rentalNetIncome below 0, the federal Schedule E line 26 amount) the state allows, the whole loss where the state starts from federal AGI or follows the federal schedule, none in PA and NJ (rental_loss_no_offset): it comes off the same income the same way; a rental profit is other ordinary income.
Hawaii's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Capital gains): Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-51(f) (checked 2026-10-12); Instructions for Form N-11 (Rev. 2025) (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 Form N-11 Instructions (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses (checked 2026-10-12) - Each spouse's own Social Security joint returns On a joint return, each spouse's own Social Security is the spouse's share of the benefits by
spouse.socialSecurityGrosswhen the caller gives it (Tier 1 railroad benefits left out), else half each. It is what the per-spouse rules read: Colorado's per-spouse subtraction, Rhode Island's per-spouse modification, and the Maine, Maryland and other retirement caps reduced by the benefits each spouse received (with each spouse's own railroad benefits where the state counts them).
Hawaii's values · engine step (compute_state_tax_detail). Sources (Social Security): Instructions for Form N-11 (Rev. 2025) (checked 2026-10-12); Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-2.3 (checked 2026-10-12) - Refundable state credits The credits paid beyond the tax (reported in refundableCredits; netTax = totalTax less them): earned income credits as a share of the federal EIC with each state's own age band (OK on the 2020 federal credit, DC's own childless schedule, the CalEITC table, MN's Working Family Credit), the NYC EIC and school tax credits, and the property-tax, renter, grocery and senior credits of MA, MI, NJ, ID, HI, NM, OK, AZ, NY, RI, WV, ME, DC, MN, MO, WI, IN and MT, each on its own income measure. Engine 1.13.1: a part-year NYC resident's school tax credits (the Table 2 proration chart and the rate-reduction amount on IT-360.1 line 47; IT-203 lines 60 / 60a for a part-year state resident).
Hawaii's values · engine step (state_tax_refundable_credits). Sources (Deductions, exemptions and credits): Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-2.4 (checked 2026-10-12); Tax Review Commission 2025-2027, Sixth Meeting (May 26, 2026) - Legislative update (checked 2026-10-12); 2025 Form N-11 instructions (checked 2026-10-12); HRS 235-2.4 (archived copy) (checked 2026-09-28); Form N-356 (Rev. 2025) Earned Income Tax Credit, with instructions (checked 2026-10-12); Form N-311 (Rev. 2025) Refundable Food/Excise Tax Credit (form with instructions) (checked 2026-10-12)
Rate schedule
Single
| Taxable income from | to | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | $9,600 | 1.4% |
| $9,600 | $14,400 | 3.2% |
| $14,400 | $19,200 | 5.5% |
| $19,200 | $24,000 | 6.4% |
| $24,000 | $36,000 | 6.8% |
| $36,000 | $48,000 | 7.2% |
| $48,000 | $125,000 | 7.6% |
| $125,000 | $175,000 | 7.9% |
| $175,000 | $225,000 | 8.25% |
| $225,000 | $275,000 | 9% |
| $275,000 | $325,000 | 10% |
| $325,000 | and up | 11% |
Married filing jointly
| Taxable income from | to | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | $19,200 | 1.4% |
| $19,200 | $28,800 | 3.2% |
| $28,800 | $38,400 | 5.5% |
| $38,400 | $48,000 | 6.4% |
| $48,000 | $72,000 | 6.8% |
| $72,000 | $96,000 | 7.2% |
| $96,000 | $250,000 | 7.6% |
| $250,000 | $350,000 | 7.9% |
| $350,000 | $450,000 | 8.25% |
| $450,000 | $550,000 | 9% |
| $550,000 | $650,000 | 10% |
| $650,000 | and up | 11% |
Head of household
| Taxable income from | to | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | $14,400 | 1.4% |
| $14,400 | $21,600 | 3.2% |
| $21,600 | $28,800 | 5.5% |
| $28,800 | $36,000 | 6.4% |
| $36,000 | $54,000 | 6.8% |
| $54,000 | $72,000 | 7.2% |
| $72,000 | $187,500 | 7.6% |
| $187,500 | $262,500 | 7.9% |
| $262,500 | $337,500 | 8.25% |
| $337,500 | $412,500 | 9% |
| $412,500 | $487,500 | 10% |
| $487,500 | and up | 11% |
Married filing separately: the engine computes the MFJ tax on twice the income and halves it, which is the same as halving every MFJ threshold and the MFJ deduction.
- Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-51, Hawaii Department of Taxation. HRS 235-51(a) and (b) set the 12-bracket schedules (1.40% to 11.00%) for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2024, which remain in force for 2026 until the next Act 46 bracket step in 2027; single thresholds $9,600 to $325,000, joint thresholds $19,200 to $650,000. Checked 2026-10-12.
- Tax Review Commission 2025-2027, Second Meeting (February 17, 2026) - DOTAX presentation, Hawaii Department of Taxation. The Department of Taxation's 'Actual 2025-2026 tax schedule - Act 46' lists the same single and joint bracket thresholds and 1.40%-11.00% rates the engine applies for 2026. Checked 2026-10-12.
Deductions, exemptions and credits
- Standard deduction (or the exemption the engine carries in its place): $8,000 single, $16,000 married filing jointly, $12,000 head of household.
- Personal exemption, subtracted in addition: $1,144 single, $2,288 MFJ.
- Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-2.4, Hawaii Department of Taxation. HRS 235-2.4 sets the standard deduction for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025 at $8,000 single / married filing separately, $16,000 joint, and $12,000 head of household. Checked 2026-10-12.
- Tax Review Commission 2025-2027, Sixth Meeting (May 26, 2026) - Legislative update, Hawaii Department of Taxation. The Department of Taxation's Act 46 table shows the calendar-2026 standard deduction of $8,000 single, $16,000 joint, $12,000 head of household. Checked 2026-10-12.
- 2025 Form N-11 instructions, Hawaii Department of Taxation. $1,144 per personal exemption, and Schedule III for heads of household (1.5 times the single edges). Engine 1.7.0: N-11 line 25: $1,144 per exemption, each dependent included. Earned income credit (engine 1.12.0, refundableCredits): 40% of the federal EIC. Low-income household renters credit (engine 1.12.0): $50 per exemption, AGI under $30,000, rent at least $1,000. Checked 2026-10-12.
- HRS 235-2.4 (archived copy), Hawaii State Legislature. For taxable years after 2025 the head-of-household standard deduction is $12,000. Checked 2026-09-28.
- Form N-356 (Rev. 2025) Earned Income Tax Credit, with instructions, Hawaii Department of Taxation. Earned income credit (engine 1.12.0, refundableCredits): 40% of the federal EIC. Checked 2026-10-12.
- Form N-311 (Rev. 2025) Refundable Food/Excise Tax Credit (form with instructions), Hawaii Department of Taxation. Refundable food/excise tax credit (engine 1.12.0): an amount per exemption by AGI (N-311). Checked 2026-10-12.
Age 65+ subtractions and credits
- At age 65 or older: $1,144 is subtracted from the base ($2,288 for a married couple filing jointly when both qualify), against any income. With the spouse's age given, each spouse qualifies on their own age.
- 2025 Form N-11 instructions, Hawaii Department of Taxation. One more $1,144 exemption for each taxpayer 65 or older (the $9,288 joint amount below is $7,000 plus two $1,144 exemptions). Checked 2026-10-12.
IRA, 401(k) and private pensions
- No exclusion: pension, annuity and IRA/401(k) distributions are taxed as ordinary income.
- Tax Information Release No. 96-5: Taxation of Pensions Under the Hawaii Net Income Tax Law, Hawaii Department of Taxation. Distributions from IRAs, tax-deferred annuities and employee elective-deferral plans are returns from an individual investment, not excluded pensions, so they are fully taxable in Hawaii with no cap or age exclusion. Checked 2026-10-12.
- Instructions for Form N-11 (Rev. 2025), Hawaii Department of Taxation. Only qualifying distributions from employer-funded plans are subtracted on line 13; a rollover IRA keeps the character of the plan that funded it. Checked 2026-10-12.
Public pensions
Public (government) pension dollars, entered as pensionPublic, are exempt with no dollar cap. They do not use up the capped exclusion that other retirement income may claim.
- Instructions for Form N-11 (Rev. 2025), Hawaii Department of Taxation. Qualifying distributions from an employer-funded plan, including government retirement systems (federal civil service, military, state or county), are fully subtracted from federal AGI with no dollar cap. Checked 2026-10-12.
- Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-7(a), Hawaii Department of Taxation. HRS 235-7(a)(2)-(3) exclude from gross income state and other public retirement system benefits and any compensation received in the form of a pension for past services. Checked 2026-10-12.
- Tax Information Release No. 96-5: Taxation of Pensions Under the Hawaii Net Income Tax Law, Hawaii Department of Taxation. The pension exclusion applies to qualifying pensions whether paid by public or private employers; the boundary is employer funding, not public versus private. Checked 2026-10-12.
Military retirement pay
- Military retirement pay is fully exempt, at any age.
- Rules are applied per taxpayer at that person's own age when the spouse's age is given. API value:
rules.militaryRetirement.treatment: "exempt".
- N11ins, Hawaii Department of Taxation. Military pensions, like other employer-funded pensions for past services, are exempt from Hawaii income tax. Checked 2026-10-12.
Roth conversions
A conversion is taxed as ordinary income in full. It does not draw any retirement-income exclusion.
Source review notes (what the sources do not state outright, or what the engine does not carry):
- The engine taxes the conversion in full (IRA-sourced); the N-11 exemption for conversions of pension-sourced rollover IRA money is not modeled.
- Instructions for Form N-11 (Rev. 2025), Hawaii Department of Taxation. Hawaii starts from federal AGI; a traditional-to-Roth conversion is taxable unless the converted IRA money traces to a qualifying employer-funded pension, in which case it is exempt. Checked 2026-10-12.
Capital gains
- Net long-term gain is taxed as ordinary income.
- Alternative tax: the tax on net long-term gain is capped at 7.25% of the gain.
- Short-term gains are ordinary income.
- Chapter 235, HRS, Income Tax Law (unofficial compilation as of 12/31/2025), section 235-51(f), Hawaii Department of Taxation. HRS 235-51(f) caps the tax for a filer with net capital gain at the regular tax on the remaining income plus 7.25% of the net capital gain, so long-term gains are taxed at ordinary rates up to a 7.25% maximum. §235-51(f)(1)(B): the alternative tax's ordinary base is at least the taxable income taxed at rates below 7.25% ($48,000 single, $96,000 joint, $72,000 head of household under the 2026 schedules); the engine follows the statute, not the TY2025 worksheet's stale $24,000 / $48,000 / $36,000 line 12 (engine 1.6.0). Checked 2026-10-12.
- Instructions for Form N-11 (Rev. 2025), Hawaii Department of Taxation. The Capital Gains Tax Worksheet computes the alternative tax by multiplying the net capital gain by 7.25%. Checked 2026-10-12.
- 2025 Form N-11 Instructions, Hawaii Department of Taxation. The state return starts from federal adjusted gross income (federal taxable income in CO, IA, ND), so the federal capital-loss deduction (up to $3,000, $1,500 married filing separately) and its carryover are in the state base (engine 1.9.0: cap_loss_limit). Checked 2026-10-12.
- 2025 Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses, Internal Revenue Service. The federal return deducts a net capital loss up to $3,000 ($1,500 married filing separately) on Form 1040 line 7a; a state that starts from federal adjusted gross income or federal taxable income carries that deduction. Checked 2026-10-12.
Blindness and disability
- A person who is blind (or disabled) takes a $7,000 exemption instead of their own regular and age exemptions; the other spouse keeps theirs.
- The API applies these through its
blind,disabled,spouse.blindandspouse.disabledfields; absent means false.
- 2025 Form N-11 instructions, Hawaii Department of Taxation. A blind, deaf or totally disabled person takes a $7,000 exemption instead of their regular and 65+ exemptions. Checked 2026-10-12.
- HRS 235-54 (archived copy), Hawaii State Legislature. The $7,000 exemption instead of the regular exemptions. Checked 2026-10-12.
Part-year and nonresident returns
- Part-year resident (Form N-15): the tax on the state's own income (what was received while a resident, plus the state-source income while a nonresident), with the deductions and exemptions the form prorates scaled by its ratio.
- Nonresident (Form N-15): the tax on the state's own income (what was received while a resident, plus the state-source income while a nonresident), with the deductions and exemptions the form prorates scaled by its ratio.
- The ratio: the state's own AGI (after its subtractions) of the state's income over the state AGI of the whole year, rounded to 2 places, at most 1.
- Prorated on a part-year return: the standard deduction, the personal exemptions, the age-65 subtraction or exemption, dependent exemptions.
- Prorated on a nonresident return: the standard deduction, the personal exemptions, the age-65 subtraction or exemption, dependent exemptions.
- A nonresident's retirement income is not taxable by the state (4 U.S.C. §114); the API refuses it in
residency.stateIncome. The credit for tax paid to another state and the earned income credits on these returns are not computed.
Married couples whose residency differs (engine 1.13.0)
With residency.spouse on a joint request, each allowed treatment is calculated and reported in residency.couple; tax is the required one, else the state's default, else the couple's residency.election, else the joint return the request's mfj names. Each rule is quoted from the state's instructions (engine 1.14.0: and its statutes, regulations, bulletins and other official guidance) in the sources below.
| Spouses | Hawaii's rule |
|---|---|
| One spouse a full-year resident, the other a part-year resident | separate returns, unless the couple elects a joint resident return (both taxed as full-year residents). |
| One spouse a full-year resident, the other a nonresident | separate returns, unless the couple elects a joint resident return (both taxed as full-year residents). |
| One spouse a part-year resident, the other a nonresident | the couple's choice: a joint part-year / nonresident return or separate returns. |
| Both part-year residents, different resident periods | the couple's choice: a joint part-year / nonresident return or separate returns. |
| Both nonresidents, only one with income from the state | the couple's choice: a joint part-year / nonresident return or separate returns. |
- 2025 Form N-15 Instructions: Hawaii Nonresident and Part-Year Resident Income Tax Instructions, Hawaii Department of Taxation. Part-year / nonresident return (engine 1.12.0, residency): Checked 2026-10-12.
- 2025 Form N-15 Instructions: Hawaii Nonresident and Part-Year Resident Income Tax Instructions, Hawaii Department of Taxation. Married couples whose residency differs (engine 1.13.0): Checked 2026-10-12.
Worked examples
Computed by the engine for the fixed households below (the same ones for every state, so states compare directly). Federal tax is not supplied, so a federal-tax deduction is not taken; the income tests use the sum of the components as income.
| Household (engine inputs) | State tax |
|---|---|
| Single, 67: $30,000 private pension, $20,000 IRA, $10,000 interest, $24,000 Social Security ($17,000 federally taxable), $5,000 long-term gain | $3,031.81 |
| Married filing jointly, 70: $40,000 public pension, $40,000 IRA, $20,000 interest, $40,000 Social Security ($34,000 federally taxable), $10,000 long-term gain | $1,815.23 |
| Single, 60: $60,000 other ordinary income and a $50,000 Roth conversion | $6,556.26 |
| Married filing jointly, 66: $30,000 IRA, a $40,000 Roth conversion, $30,000 Social Security ($25,500 federally taxable) | $1,815.23 |
| Single, 58: $36,000 military retirement pay and $30,000 wages | $657.98 |
| Married filing jointly, ages 67 and 61: $50,000 IRA, $10,000 interest, $30,000 Social Security ($25,500 federally taxable), each spouse's age given | $1,242.75 |
Line by line
The intermediate lines the engine records while it computes each example (its detail record, printed as it comes out; lines that are zero are left out). The engine's documentation build checks that the lines add up to the taxable income and the tax, for every state, filing status and a grid of households. Each line links the engine step that produces it.
Single, 67: $30,000 private pension, $20,000 IRA, $10,000 interest, $24,000 Social Security ($17,000 federally taxable), $5,000 long-term gain: $3,031.81
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Income total used by the income tests | $82,000 |
| + Other ordinary income in the base | $10,000 |
| + Retirement income in the base | $50,000 |
| + Long-term gain in the base | $5,000 |
| − Standard deduction | $8,000 |
| − Personal exemption | $1,144 |
| − Age subtractions and deductions | $1,144 |
| = State taxable income | $54,712 |
| Tax from the rate schedule | $3,049.31 |
| − Alternative capital-gains tax saving | −$17.50 |
| = Tax before credits | $3,031.81 |
| = Tax | $3,031.81 |
Married filing jointly, 70: $40,000 public pension, $40,000 IRA, $20,000 interest, $40,000 Social Security ($34,000 federally taxable), $10,000 long-term gain: $1,815.23
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Income total used by the income tests | $144,000 |
| Retirement income and conversions excluded (not in the base) | $40,000 |
| + Other ordinary income in the base | $20,000 |
| + Retirement income in the base | $40,000 |
| + Long-term gain in the base | $10,000 |
| − Standard deduction | $16,000 |
| − Personal exemption | $2,288 |
| − Age subtractions and deductions | $2,288 |
| = State taxable income | $49,424 |
| Tax from the rate schedule | $1,815.23 |
| = Tax before credits | $1,815.23 |
| = Tax | $1,815.23 |
Single, 60: $60,000 other ordinary income and a $50,000 Roth conversion: $6,556.26
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Income total used by the income tests | $110,000 |
| + Other ordinary income in the base | $60,000 |
| + Roth conversion in the base | $50,000 |
| − Standard deduction | $8,000 |
| − Personal exemption | $1,144 |
| = State taxable income | $100,856 |
| Tax from the rate schedule | $6,556.26 |
| = Tax before credits | $6,556.26 |
| = Tax | $6,556.26 |
Married filing jointly, 66: $30,000 IRA, a $40,000 Roth conversion, $30,000 Social Security ($25,500 federally taxable): $1,815.23
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Income total used by the income tests | $95,500 |
| + Retirement income in the base | $30,000 |
| + Roth conversion in the base | $40,000 |
| − Standard deduction | $16,000 |
| − Personal exemption | $2,288 |
| − Age subtractions and deductions | $2,288 |
| = State taxable income | $49,424 |
| Tax from the rate schedule | $1,815.23 |
| = Tax before credits | $1,815.23 |
| = Tax | $1,815.23 |
Single, 58: $36,000 military retirement pay and $30,000 wages: $657.98
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Income total used by the income tests | $66,000 |
| Military pay excluded (not in the base) | $36,000 |
| + Other ordinary income in the base | $30,000 |
| − Standard deduction | $8,000 |
| − Personal exemption | $1,144 |
| = State taxable income | $20,856 |
| Tax from the rate schedule | $657.98 |
| = Tax before credits | $657.98 |
| = Tax | $657.98 |
Married filing jointly, ages 67 and 61: $50,000 IRA, $10,000 interest, $30,000 Social Security ($25,500 federally taxable), each spouse's age given: $1,242.75
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Income total used by the income tests | $85,500 |
| + Other ordinary income in the base | $10,000 |
| + Retirement income in the base | $50,000 |
| − Standard deduction | $16,000 |
| − Personal exemption | $2,288 |
| − Age subtractions and deductions | $1,144 |
| = State taxable income | $40,568 |
| Tax from the rate schedule | $1,242.75 |
| = Tax before credits | $1,242.75 |
| = Tax | $1,242.75 |
After 2026: how the amounts move
A request with projection (API) estimates a later tax year from these rules: every
dollar amount and age test below moves the way Hawaii's law moves it. Rates and the rules themselves stay the 2026 ones
(how projection works).
| Amounts (engine fields) | After 2026 | What the law says, and the source |
|---|---|---|
brackets_single (the single rate schedule's thresholds), brackets_mfj (the mfj rate schedule's thresholds), brackets_hoh (the hoh rate schedule's thresholds) | Enacted schedule: 2027: brackets_single 12 rows, 1.4% to 11%, the first ending at $14,400, brackets_mfj 12 rows, 1.4% to 11%, the first ending at $28,800, brackets_hoh 12 rows, 1.4% to 11%, the first ending at $21,600; 2028: brackets_single 12 rows, 1.4% to 11%, the first ending at $14,400, brackets_mfj 12 rows, 1.4% to 11%, the first ending at $28,800, brackets_hoh 12 rows, 1.4% to 11%, the first ending at $21,600; 2029: brackets_single 12 rows, 1.4% to 11%, the first ending at $19,200, brackets_mfj 12 rows, 1.4% to 11%, the first ending at $38,400, brackets_hoh 12 rows, 1.4% to 11%, the first ending at $28,800; held at the 2029 value after 2029. | HRS 235-51 (Act 46, 2024) prints new tables for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026 (2027-2028) and after December 31, 2028 (2029 on): the brackets widen and each rate moves up a bracket. No indexing after 2029; the schedule values are the full bracket tables (threshold pairs and rates).
|
std_deduction_single, std_deduction_mfj, std_deduction_hoh | Enacted schedule: 2027: std_deduction_single $8,000, std_deduction_mfj $16,000, std_deduction_hoh $12,000; 2028: std_deduction_single $9,000, std_deduction_mfj $18,000, std_deduction_hoh $13,500; 2029: std_deduction_single $9,000, std_deduction_mfj $18,000, std_deduction_hoh $13,500; 2030: std_deduction_single $10,000, std_deduction_mfj $20,000, std_deduction_hoh $15,000; 2031: std_deduction_single $12,000, std_deduction_mfj $24,000, std_deduction_hoh $18,000; held at the 2031 value after 2031. | HRS 235-2.4(a)(2) sets $8,000 / $16,000 / $12,000 HOH for 2026-2027, $9,000 / $18,000 / $13,500 for 2028-2029, $10,000 / $20,000 / $15,000 for 2030 and $12,000 / $24,000 / $18,000 for 2031 on; no indexing.
|
personal_exemption_single, personal_exemption_mfj, senior_subtraction_single, senior_subtraction_mfj, dep_exemption, blind_in_lieu_exemption | Fixed in law: held at the rules-year amount in every later year. | Personal exemptions are $1,144 per exemption (including one more for each spouse 65+) since 1985, and $7,000 in lieu of them for a blind, deaf or totally disabled person; nominal in HRS 235-54, no indexing.
|
senior_subtraction_min_age | Attained age: the same age in every year. | Additional exemption for a taxpayer or spouse 65 or older within the taxable year; fixed age.
|
cap_loss_limit, cap_loss_limit_mfs | Fixed in law: held at the rules-year amount in every later year. | Hawaii follows the federal IRC 1211(b) limit, fixed.
|
hi-refundable-credits (a table held in code) | Fixed in law: held at the rules-year amount in every later year. | HRS 235-55.85 and 235-55.7 set the food/excise and renters credit amounts and income bands; no indexing clause.
|
Enacted for later years, not applied by the projection
None found: the research found no change enacted for years after 2026 beyond the schedules above.
What the engine does not calculate, and known approximations
- The public-pension input is read as employer-funded pension: Hawaii's test is employer versus employee funding, not public versus private.
- The private-pension input is treated as a contributory / elective-deferral plan and taxed in full; a non-contributory private employer pension (exempt on line 13) should be passed as pensionPublic.
- A Roth conversion is taxed in full; the N-11 exemption for converting rollover-IRA money that traces to an employer-funded pension is not modeled.
- The engine computes the exact rate schedule; the Tax Table (taxable income under $100,000), the statutory base amounts (bracket sums rounded to the dollar) and whole-dollar line entries can differ by under $1.
- The alternative capital-gains tax follows HRS §235-51(f)(1)(B): its ordinary base is at least the taxable income taxed below 7.25% ($48,000 single, $96,000 joint, $72,000 head of household). The TY2025 Tax on Capital Gains Worksheet line 12 still prints $24,000 / $48,000 / $36,000, so the engine's tax can be up to $60 single / $120 joint below that worksheet's.
- The engine taxes the conversion in full (IRA-sourced); the N-11 exemption for conversions of pension-sourced rollover IRA money is not modeled. (Roth conversions)
- The disability exemption for a deaf person (the same exemption in lieu of the personal ones that blind and totally disabled persons get) is not calculated: the inputs say whether a person is blind or disabled, not deaf. Sources: 2025 Form N-11 instructions (checked 2026-10-12); HRS 235-54 (archived copy) (checked 2026-10-12).
- The exclusion for military reserve and Hawaii National Guard duty pay (Form N-11, line 15) is not calculated: wages carry no reserve-duty flag. Sources: N11ins (checked 2026-10-12).
What the engine does not calculate for any state (itemized deductions, credits beyond those listed, part-year residents, and more) is listed on the calculation order page.
Verification
Worksheet-tested backend/tests/test_state_worksheets_1.c replays the 2025 Form N-11 with the 2026 standard deduction (HRS 235-2.4(a)(2)(F); the 2025-2026 rate schedules are unchanged) line by line: the line 13 employer-funded/military pension and line 14 Social Security subtractions, the standard deduction, the Tax Table by its midpoint method and Schedules I and II, and the Tax on Capital Gains Worksheet.
- Golden scenarios (hand-computed expected tax, asserted to within $1):
H08,HIX1,HIPUB1,HIPRV1,HI-employer-pension. - State-specific unit tests:
test_no_state_uses_placeholder_schedule,test_d5_public_pension_ny_hi,test_c_states,test_d_states,test_worked_ratios,test_blind_with_age,test_disability_rules,test_hoh_and_credit_gaps,test_gains_schedules_keep_addons. - Structural tests covering every state: 10.
- State forms and worksheets followed in the test derivations: Form N-11 (2025, 2026 standard deduction) lines 7, 13, 14, 19, 20, 23, 24 and 27; 2025 Hawaii Tax Table and Tax Rate Schedules I and II (in force for 2026); Tax on Capital Gains Worksheet (2025 N-11 instructions) lines 1-19.
Social Security
Social Security benefits are fully exempt: none of the federally taxable amount enters the state base.
API value:
socialSecurityRule: "exempt". The engine's input is the federally taxable amount; income tests use the sum of the income components as the adjusted-gross-income proxy.