Form an LLC in Hawaii: Total Cost & Filing Steps (2026)

Hawaii LLC Cost: $51 Filing + $15 Annual Report (2026)

Forming an LLC in Hawaii costs $51 to file Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) with the Business Registration Division (BREG), then $15 every year for the annual report (the lowest annual report fee in the country alongside Kentucky). Year-one cost: $66. Five-year cost of ongoing ownership: $126. Hawaii is one of the cheapest states to form and maintain an LLC at the entity level, the wrinkle is that nearly every Hawaii LLC also owes the General Excise Tax (GET), a 4-4.712% tax on gross receipts (not net income) that hits even pre-profit and money-losing businesses.

Reviewed by LLC Formation Cost Editorial Team, fact-checked against primary government sources • Last updated 2026-05-15 • 5 primary government sources cited

TL;DR

Hawaii LLCs file Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) with the Hawaii Business Registration Division for $51 ($50 filing + $1 state archive fee). The annual report is $15 each year, due in the LLC's anniversary quarter. There is no LLC franchise tax in Hawaii. The big ongoing cost is the General Excise Tax (GET), administered by the Hawaii Department of Taxation at 4% statewide plus a 0.5% Honolulu County surcharge (and 0.25% on the Big Island), applied to gross receipts. The GET is not optional and not a sales tax in the traditional sense, it's a privilege tax on doing business in Hawaii, and Hawaii businesses typically embed it in pricing rather than collect it on top. Online filings via the Hawaii Business Express portal clear in 3 business days standard, 1 day with $25 expedite.

Hawaii LLC cost breakdown (2026)

Line item	Cost	Source
Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1)	$51 ($50 + $1 archive)	cca.hawaii.gov
Annual Report	$15/yr	cca.hawaii.gov
Expedite (24-hour)	+$25	cca.hawaii.gov
General Excise Tax license (one-time)	$20	tax.hawaii.gov
GET (statewide on gross receipts)	4%-4.712%	tax.hawaii.gov
Registered Agent service (Hawaii-resident required)	$50-$200/yr	n/a
Year 1 total (DIY, no add-ons, ex-GET)	$66
Year 2+ ongoing (DIY no RA, ex-GET)	$15
5-year total (DIY, ex-GET)	$126	($51 + $15 × 5)

All figures verified 2026-05-15 from primary Hawaii government sources.

Why Hawaii is cheap at the SOS level but expensive on revenue

Hawaii has the most counterintuitive cost structure in the US: the cheapest annual report ($15, tied with Kentucky) and one of the cheapest filing fees ($51), paired with one of the broadest gross-receipts taxes in the country. The General Excise Tax (GET) is the trap most non-resident founders miss:

• GET applies to gross receipts, not net income. A Hawaii LLC with $100,000 in revenue and $95,000 in expenses owes GET on the full $100,000, not on the $5,000 profit. The statewide rate is 4%, plus county surcharges (0.5% in Honolulu, 0.25% on Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii Island) for a top combined rate of 4.712%.
• GET applies even when the LLC has no Hawaii physical presence, if the LLC has Hawaii customers or Hawaii-source receipts. Hawaii uses an economic nexus standard similar to Wayfair.
• The GET license is $20 one-time and required before the LLC can lawfully conduct business in Hawaii. Filing late triggers penalties.

The state offsets the GET burden in one way: there is no franchise tax for LLCs (the state-level franchise tax is reserved for financial institutions under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 241). And pass-through LLC profits flow to members' Hawaii personal returns (graduated 1.4%-11%, the latter the highest top marginal state income tax rate in the US).

Filing steps (DIY, no service)

1. Pick a name, search availability at the Hawaii Business Express name search. Names must include "Limited Liability Company," "LLC," or "L.L.C."
2. Designate a registered agent, must have a Hawaii street address. You can act as your own agent if you live in Hawaii.
3. File Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1), $51 ($50 + $1 archive) via Hawaii Business Express or by mail to BREG, P.O. Box 40, Honolulu, HI 96810.
4. Get a federal EIN, free at irs.gov.
5. Apply for a GET license, $20 one-time via Hawaii Tax Online. Required before lawfully doing business.
6. Register for other Hawaii taxes as applicable, transient accommodations tax (for short-term rentals), use tax, withholding tax if hiring.
7. Draft an operating agreement, Hawaii does not require LLCs to adopt an operating agreement under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 428, but the statute recognizes it as binding.
8. Open a business bank account, Hawaii-licensed banks (Bank of Hawaii, First Hawaiian Bank, Central Pacific Bank) are easiest.
9. File the FinCEN BOI report, required under the Corporate Transparency Act within 30 days of formation. Free to self-file at fincen.gov/boi.
10. Calendar the annual report, due in the LLC's anniversary quarter (Q1 if formed Jan-Mar, Q2 if formed Apr-Jun, etc.). $15 fee.

Online filings via Hawaii Business Express are processed in 3 business days standard, 1 day with $25 expedite. The GET license is processed separately by the Department of Taxation.

Page-unique facts

• Hawaii has the cheapest annual report in the US ($15), tied with Kentucky. Combined with the $51 filing fee, the 5-year baseline is $126, second-lowest in the country (only New Mexico's $50 lifetime is lower).
• The General Excise Tax is not a sales tax. It's a privilege tax on doing business, taxed on gross receipts (not net income). The 4-4.712% rate is low by sales tax standards but high by net-income standards.
• Hawaii has the highest top marginal state income tax rate in the US at 11%. This hits pass-through LLC profits at the member level.
• The annual report uses an anniversary quarter, not anniversary month. An LLC formed February 15 files between January 1 and March 31 each year. Most states use the exact anniversary month.
• No franchise tax for LLCs. Hawaii reserves franchise tax for financial institutions (banks, savings and loans) under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 241.

FAQ

Is the Hawaii General Excise Tax the same as a sales tax?

No. The GET is a privilege tax on the seller, levied on gross receipts (not on the consumer at the point of sale). Most Hawaii sellers add the GET to invoices as a separate line item, but legally the GET is the seller's tax. The combined rate (state + county surcharge) is 4-4.712% depending on county. Even a business with $100,000 in revenue and $99,000 in expenses owes GET on the full $100,000. There is no GET equivalent in any other US state; it's a uniquely Hawaiian structure. Source: Hawaii Department of Taxation General Excise Tax, verified 2026-05-15.

When is the Hawaii LLC annual report due?

In the LLC's anniversary quarter each year, starting the year after formation. For an LLC formed February 2026 (Q1), the first annual report is due between January 1 and March 31, 2027 ($15 fee). Late filings trigger a $10 penalty per filing period. Source: Hawaii BREG, verified 2026-05-15.

Does Hawaii have a franchise tax on LLCs?

No. Hawaii's franchise tax under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 241 applies only to financial institutions (banks, savings and loans, financial services loan companies). A standard Hawaii LLC owes $0 franchise tax. The big ongoing tax burden is the GET, which is not a franchise tax. Source: Hawaii Department of Taxation, verified 2026-05-15.

How long does Hawaii LLC formation take?

Online filings via Hawaii Business Express: 3 business days standard, 1 day with $25 expedite. Mail filings: 4 weeks. Source: Hawaii BREG, verified 2026-05-15.

Do I need a GET license if I sell only to non-Hawaii customers?

If your LLC is formed in Hawaii but sells exclusively to non-Hawaii customers, you generally still need a GET license, but receipts sourced outside Hawaii are typically not subject to GET. The license registration is the trigger; the tax liability depends on where receipts are sourced. Note: Hawaii uses an economic nexus standard for GET on out-of-state sellers similar to sales tax, so a non-Hawaii LLC selling into Hawaii may also owe GET if thresholds are met. Source: Hawaii Department of Taxation GET FAQ.

Does Hawaii require an operating agreement?

No. Haw. Rev. Stat. § 428 recognizes operating agreements as binding between members but does not require them. Standard practice for any multi-member LLC, and banks will typically still ask to see one before opening a business checking account. Source: Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 428 (Uniform LLC Act).

State quirk: the General Excise Tax that isn't a sales tax

Hawaii's General Excise Tax is the single largest source of state revenue and one of the most misunderstood taxes in the US. Unlike a sales tax (which is collected from the buyer at the point of sale, with the seller acting as a collection agent), the GET is legally imposed on the seller's gross income from doing business in Hawaii. The seller can pass it through to the buyer (and almost always does, embedding it in price or adding it as a line item), but the legal obligation is on the seller. The result: a Hawaii LLC owes 4-4.712% on every dollar of gross receipts, before any deduction for cost of goods, payroll, rent, or anything else. A money-losing Hawaii restaurant with $500,000 in revenue and $550,000 in expenses still owes roughly $20,000-$23,500 in GET. Most business owners' first surprise on Hawaii GET is realizing it taxes wholesale-to-wholesale transactions (at a lower 0.5% rate), professional services (4%), rental income (4-4.5%), and even commission income for sales reps. The structure dates to 1935 and has survived every modernization attempt at the state legislature because Hawaii has no other broad-based tax mechanism to replace it. For founders evaluating Hawaii formation, the question isn't "is the LLC cheap to maintain?" (it is, $126 over 5 years), it's "can my business absorb 4-4.712% on gross receipts?"

Common mistake in Hawaii

The most common Hawaii LLC mistake is treating the $66 year-one entity cost as the full Hawaii tax picture and forgetting the General Excise Tax. The GET is not a franchise tax, not a sales tax, and not optional, and it applies to gross receipts from the first dollar. Hawaii LLCs with thin margins (food, retail, service businesses) often discover the GET as a 4-5% margin compression that wasn't in the business plan. The second most common mistake is missing the GET license registration, which is a separate workflow at the Department of Taxation and must be in place before the LLC lawfully conducts business in Hawaii.

Sources

1. Hawaii Business Registration Division Domestic LLC, last verified 2026-05-15
2. Hawaii Business Express Online Filings, last verified 2026-05-15
3. Hawaii Department of Taxation General Excise Tax, last verified 2026-05-15
4. Hawaii Tax Online (GET license registration), last verified 2026-05-15
5. Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 428 (Uniform LLC Act), last verified 2026-05-15
6. IRS Publication 3402, Taxation of Limited Liability Companies, last verified 2026-05-15

About the author

Aissam Baidi is the founder and researcher behind llcformationcost.com. He verifies Hawaii LLC fees directly from cca.hawaii.gov and tax.hawaii.gov on a quarterly cycle. Connect on LinkedIn.

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Not legal advice. Estimates based on publicly available data from each state's Secretary of State office. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.

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This is a syndicated post. Original article + interactive calculator: https://llcformationcost.com/hawaii-llc-cost/