Rental Rules by City / Hawaii / Big Island (Hawaii County)

Big Island (Hawaii County) short-term rental rules & tax calculator

Hawaii County, Hawaii · Verified against official sources Oct 24, 2026

📋 The Basics

Can I rent my place short-term here?: Only in some areas
Do I need a permit?: Yes, but you must register with the county under the new 2026 law.
What taxes do I pay?: Total about 18.5%. Check your Airbnb payout report to see which ones Airbnb collects; you pay the rest yourself.

Your 3 steps to be legal

Register your rental with Hawaii County.
Check if your zone needs a nonconforming use certificate.
Get state GET and TAT licenses.

⚠️ Biggest risk: Running an unhosted rental without county registration.

Words confusing? See the glossary. Details and official sources are below.

Tax calculator

Nightly rate ($) Nights Cleaning fee ($)

Rates used: Hawaii state TAT 11% + Hawaii County TAT 3% + Hawaii GET + county surcharge 4.5% = 18.5%. Mandatory cleaning fees are included in the taxable total. 18.5% (GET up to 4.712% if visibly passed on). County TAT is 3%, filed through state DOTAX.

What Airbnb collects: Verify in payouts which Hawaii taxes Airbnb remits; you may still need your own GET/TAT filings.

This is the general rule for Big Island (Hawaii County). Does your address qualify?

The free info covers the city as a whole. Your property can still be different: zoning can change from one street to the next, and an HOA or condo ban can stop rentals even where the city allows them.

Your $49 Compliance Check looks at your exact property:

Whether your exact address and zone allow short-term rentals
A check of HOA / condo rental restrictions to look for
Which permits and tax accounts you personally need
What you're missing right now
A personal report with clear next steps and official sources, by email
A refund if we report a rule in error (refund policy)

🔎 How we check: official city, county and state sources, a last-verified date on every page, and nothing guessed. Learn more

Check my address: $49

🔔 Stay notified: $4.99/month

Rules don't change every week, but they do change, and nobody emails you when they do. We'll alert you when city rules, tourist taxes, HOA-related laws, or Airbnb/Vrbo policies change in Big Island (Hawaii County). Cancel anytime.

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Need guest waivers and booking tools too? Click here for more info

Why use this instead of a web search?

Instead of scattered, sometimes outdated pages, you get the city, county and state rules on one page, with official sources linked, a last-checked date, and unconfirmed items marked "verify" instead of guessed. How we verify →

Advanced details (laws, fees, sources)

Rules

Registration	Ordinance 25-50: hosted and unhosted vacation rentals of 180 days or less must register with the county (effective July 1, 2026; grace period through Dec 31, 2026: verify).
Permits	Unhosted rentals outside allowed resort/commercial areas may need a nonconforming use certificate: verify with Planning.
Tax IDs	State GET and TAT licenses; state TAT registration counts as county TAT registration.

Items marked "Verify with the city" could not be confirmed from an official source; call the office listed before relying on them.

Sources

Free tools

Free "Is my rental legal?" checklist · Free tourist tax calculator

Rules can change

Big Island (Hawaii County)'s rules, its tax rates and platform policies can change through a council vote, a new state law or a court ruling, often with little notice to hosts. We re-check this page monthly; subscribers get notified. Stay Compliant for $4.99/mo.

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Rules, tax rates and Airbnb/Vrbo policies can change without warning, and hosts who miss a change can be fined. Get alerts when your city, county or state changes, deadline reminders, a pending-bill watch list and a monthly host brief (even in quiet months: "we checked on [date]; no changes"). Compare plans.

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Not legal or tax advice. Last verified Oct 24, 2026. Rules and rates change: confirm with the official sources linked before you rent or file.