Honolulu County HI Property Tax Appeal Guide (2026)

The City and County of Honolulu mails Notices of Assessment by December 15 each year for the fiscal year beginning the following July 1, and you have until January 15 to file an appeal — for the 2026-2027 tax year, notices went out by December 15, 2025 with a January 15, 2026 deadline; the next cycle mails by December 15, 2026 with appeals due January 15, 2027. Every appeal to the Board of Review requires a $50 deposit, refunded if the Board reduces or sustains your requested value but kept by the city if your appeal is denied outright. File online at realproperty.honolulu.gov, by mail (postmarked by the deadline), or hand-delivered by 4:30 p.m. HST to the Honolulu office (842 Bethel St., Basement, Honolulu, HI 96813) or the Kapolei office (1000 Ulu'ohi'a St., #206, Kapolei, HI 96707) — no faxed or emailed appeals are accepted. Honolulu's basic Home Exemption is $120,000 off assessed value ($160,000 for owners 65 and older) for the current tax year, rising to $140,000 / $180,000 starting July 1, 2027.

How assessments work in Honolulu County

The Real Property Assessment Division (RPAD), part of the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Budget and Fiscal Services, values every taxable parcel on Oahu as of October 1 for the fiscal year that begins the following July 1. Unlike most mainland counties, Honolulu taxes property by class, not a single countywide rate — your parcel's classification (Residential, Residential A, Hotel and Resort, Commercial, Industrial, Agricultural, and others) determines which rate table applies, and the rate itself is set annually by the City Council, typically each June.

For the current tax year (July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026), the official rate table per $1,000 of net taxable value is: Residential $3.50; Residential A — properties without a home exemption valued $1,000,000 or more — $4.00 on the first $1,000,000 and $11.40 on the amount above that; Hotel and Resort $13.90; Commercial $12.40; Industrial $12.40; Agricultural $5.70; Vacant Agricultural $8.50; Bed and Breakfast Home $6.50; and Transient Vacation $9.00 on the first $800,000 and $11.50 above that. Every property has a $300 minimum real property tax regardless of class or exemptions.

The Home Exemption is what keeps most owner-occupied homes in the plain "Residential" class instead of the much higher "Residential A" rate: it's available to owners who occupy the property as their principal home, and it reduces assessed value by $120,000 (owners under 65) or $160,000 (owners 65 or older by June 30 of the tax year, with date of birth on file by September 30 of the prior year) for the current tax year. Those amounts rise to $140,000 and $180,000, respectively, starting the tax year that begins July 1, 2027.

Whether you should appeal

Honolulu's ordinance (Revised Ordinances of Honolulu § 8-12.3) recognizes only four grounds for an assessment appeal: (1) the assessment exceeds fair market value by more than 10%; (2) lack of uniformity or inequality resulting from an illegal valuation method or its incorrect application; (3) wrongful denial of an exemption you're entitled to, like the Home Exemption; or (4) illegality under the Constitution or applicable law. A simple market-value disagreement under 10% generally isn't a valid basis on its own — the gap has to clear that 10% threshold, or fall under one of the other three grounds.

Worked example: suppose a Residential-class home is assessed at $650,000 with no home exemption applied by mistake, even though the owner has lived there as their primary residence for years and qualifies for the $120,000 Home Exemption. Correcting that (ground #3 above) drops the taxable value to $650,000 − $120,000 = $530,000. At the Residential rate of $3.50 per $1,000, the corrected annual tax is $530,000 ÷ 1,000 × 3.50 = $1,855, versus $650,000 ÷ 1,000 × 3.50 = $2,275 without the exemption — a savings of $420 per year, on top of getting the $50 appeal deposit back since the Board would be sustaining the appeal.

Step-by-step how to file

1. Read your Notice of Assessment. RPAD mails it by December 15 for the fiscal year starting the following July 1. It shows your classification and assessed value, not your tax bill.

2. Confirm your ground for appeal. Under ROH § 8-12.3, you need one of: assessment more than 10% over market value, a uniformity/methodology problem, wrongful denial of an exemption, or a legal defect.

3. File by January 15. Use Form BFS-RPA-M-8-12. Submit online at realproperty.honolulu.gov, mail it (postmarked by the deadline), or hand-deliver by 4:30 p.m. HST to the Honolulu office (842 Bethel St., Basement) or Kapolei office (1000 Ulu'ohi'a St., #206). No fax or email submissions.

4. Include the $50 deposit. Required with every appeal, payable to the City and County of Honolulu. It's returned if the Board of Review compromises (partially reduces) or sustains (fully agrees with) your appeal; the city keeps it if the Board denies the appeal entirely.

5. Attend your Board of Review hearing. Three separate citizen boards hear Oahu appeals. Bring documentation — comparable sales, an appraisal, or proof of exemption eligibility — to support your case.

6. Get your decision. The Board posts its decision; you'll be notified of the outcome and any resulting adjustment to your assessment.

7. Appeal further if needed. Either the taxpayer or the city can appeal a Board of Review decision to the Hawaii Tax Appeal Court within 30 days of the decision's posted date. If you're the one appealing an adverse decision, the assessed tax, penalty, and interest generally must be paid first.

Exemptions and relief programs

Home Exemption. The core relief most Oahu homeowners use: $120,000 off assessed value for owners under 65, $160,000 for owners 65 or older (rising to $140,000 / $180,000 starting July 1, 2027). It also keeps your property in the lower "Residential" rate class instead of "Residential A."

Real Property Tax Credit Program. For homeowners whose combined household income (all titleholders) is $80,000 or less, provided none of the titleholders own property anywhere else and the home carried a Home Exemption for both the current and prior tax year. The credit reduces the tax bill to no more than 3% of combined gross income. Applications are due September 30 each year — apply at satellite city halls, Hawaii State Public Library branches, the Treasury Division, or RPAD offices, or call the Tax Relief Office at (808) 768-3205 / bfstaxrelief@honolulu.gov. Must be re-applied for annually.

Contacts

• Real Property Assessment Division (Honolulu office): 842 Bethel St., Basement, Honolulu, HI 96813 · (808) 768-3799
• Real Property Assessment Division (Kapolei office): 1000 Ulu'ohi'a St., #206, Kapolei, HI 96707 · (808) 768-3799
• Online appeals and records: realproperty.honolulu.gov
• Tax Relief Office (Treasury Division): (808) 768-3205 · bfstaxrelief@honolulu.gov