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  ● Hawaii · LLC Formation

How to Form an LLC in Hawaii

Form your Hawaii LLC for one of the lowest costs in the country – CountSure files Form LLC-1, tracks your anniversary quarter, and models what GET will really cost you. $50 to file – but plan for the General Excise Tax.
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Requirements, costs & steps for a Hawaii LLC

Hawaii is one of the cheapest states in the country to form and maintain an LLC – $50 to file and as little as $12.50 a year to stay compliant. The costs that actually matter come later: Hawaii’s General Excise Tax applies to your gross receipts, including services, so you can owe tax even in a year you lose money. And the annual report deadline follows an anniversary-quarter system that catches people out. This guide covers the real costs, the filing order, and both of those quirks in plain terms. Want it handled for you? Our Hawaii LLC formation service files everything and tracks your report quarter.

The short answer: To form a Hawaii LLC you file Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) with the DCCA Business Registration Division for $50 plus a $1.50 State Archives fee, and appoint a registered agent with a physical Hawaii address. Standard processing runs about 3-5 business days, or 1-2 with $25 expedited service. Every Hawaii LLC then files an annual report – $12.50 online / $15 by mail – due by the last day of the calendar quarter containing your registration anniversary. If you sell goods or services, you also need a General Excise Tax license (Form BB-1, $20 one-time).

You can verify the fees from official website of Hawaii – Click here to verify

  ● Key takeaways

What you need to know?

  • Filing fee: $50 for Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) plus a mandatory $1.50 State Archives fee - among the lowest in the country.
  • Annual report - anniversary quarter: $12.50 online / $15 paper, due by the last day of the calendar QUARTER containing your registration date - not a fixed statewide date.
  • General Excise Tax, not sales tax: Hawaii taxes GROSS receipts at 4% + 0.5% county surcharge (4.5% combined), including services and B2B sales - so you can owe GET even at a loss.
  • Registered agent: Required - must have a physical Hawaii street address (no PO box) and be available during business hours.
  • High income tax: Hawaii’s graduated personal income tax runs from 1.4% up to 11%, among the highest top rates in the US - relevant since LLC profits pass through to you.

Hawaii LLC at a glance

The essentials for forming and maintaining a Hawaii LLC.
Requirement Detail (2026)
Formation document Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1)
Filing agency DCCA Business Registration Division (BREG), via Hawaii Business Express
State filing fee $50 + $1.50 State Archives fee
Typical processing time ~3–5 business days; expedited 1–2 days (+$25)
Registered agent Required; physical Hawaii address (no PO box)
Annual report $12.50 online / $15 paper (+ $1.50 archive fee)
Annual report due Last day of your anniversary QUARTER
Late penalty $10 per delinquent year
Sales tax None - General Excise Tax (GET) instead, 4.5% combined
Income tax Graduated, 1.4% up to 11%

⬤ Step by step

How to form a Hawaii LLC, step by step

Seven steps from name check through your anniversary-quarter annual report.
Choose and check your LLC name
Your name must include “LLC,” “L.L.C.,” or “Limited Liability Company,” and be distinguishable from every entity in BREG’s records. Search on Hawaii Business Express before filing – Hawaii’s database includes many long-established local and native trade names, so conflicts are more common than on the mainland.
Appoint a registered agent
Hawaii requires a registered agent with a physical Hawaii street address (no PO boxes) available during business hours. You can serve as your own if you live in Hawaii; mainland owners typically use a commercial service. CountSure can serve as your registered agent.
File Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1)
File online through Hawaii Business Express, or by mail, email, or fax to BREG, with the $50 fee plus the $1.50 State Archives fee. Filing fees are not refundable. Expedited review costs an extra $25.
Create an operating agreement
Hawaii doesn’t require one under HRS Chapter 428, but it’s strongly recommended – without it, the state’s default rules govern ownership, profit splits, and management decisions.
Get an EIN from the IRS
Free, and needed for banking, hiring, and your state tax registrations.
Register for the General Excise Tax
Nearly every Hawaii business needs a GET license – file Form BB-1 with the Department of Taxation ($20 one-time) and register through Hawaii Tax Online. GET applies to gross receipts from services as well as goods.
Calendar your anniversary-quarter annual report
Find the calendar quarter containing your registration date – that quarter’s last day is your annual deadline, every year. Register in February, and your report is due March 31; register in May, it’s due June 30. No report is due in your formation year, so a company formed in February 2026 files its first report by March 31, 2027.

  ⬤ Naming & ownership

Naming & member requirements

Countsure illustrated guide on forming an LLC in Hawaii — business professional completing Hawaii LLC formation checklist covering business name, name reservation, members, management, and certificate of formation
A compliant name and a clear management structure keep your BREG filing moving. Here’s what Hawaii requires.
  • Required ending: “LLC,” “L.L.C.,” or “Limited Liability Company.”
  • Tighter conflicts than most states: BREG’s database includes many long-running Hawaii trade names, so run a name search on Hawaii Business Express before you file.
  • Trade name (DBA): Optional registration under HRS Chapter 482: $50 for a five-year term ($20 more to expedite), renewable for further five-year periods at $50.
  • Minimum members & residency: One - Hawaii allows single-member LLCs, with no residency or age requirement for members or managers. Hawaii business corporations have no director residency requirement either (HRS 414-192); only professional corporations under HRS Chapter 415A must have at least one Hawaii-resident director.
  • No PLLCs: Hawaii does not recognize professional limited liability companies - HRS Chapter 428 has no professional variant. Licensed professionals generally use a professional corporation under HRS Chapter 415A (or, where permitted, a professional LLP).

Ongoing Hawaii LLC compliance & taxes

Annual report - the anniversary-quarter system

Hawaii’s annual report deadline works differently from almost every other state. It isn’t a fixed statewide date, and it isn’t your exact anniversary – it’s the last day of the calendar quarter that contains your registration date. Register on February 10 and your report is due by March 31 every year; register on May 5 and it’s due June 30; register in August, September 30; register in November, December 31. Importantly, no report is due in the calendar year you form: an LLC organized in February 2026 files its first report by March 31, 2027. The fee is $12.50 online or $15 by mail, each plus the $1.50 archive fee. Late filing carries a $10 penalty per delinquent year, and an LLC that fails to file for two consecutive years is subject to administrative termination under HRS 428-809.

General Excise Tax (GET) - not a sales tax

This is the Hawaii tax that surprises mainland owners most. Hawaii has no sales tax. Instead it levies the General Excise Tax on the gross income of business activity – retailing, services, contracting, commissions, rent, and B2B transactions. Because GET applies to gross receipts rather than profit, a business operating at a loss can still owe GET. The retail rate is 4% state plus a 0.5% county surcharge, now adopted by all four counties through December 31, 2030 (Honolulu since 2007; Hawaii and Kauai since 2019; Maui since January 1, 2024) – 4.5% combined. Note that wholesaling and manufacturing are taxed at 0.5% and insurance commissions at 0.15%, and the county surcharge does not apply to those lower rates. The maximum rate you may visibly pass on to customers is 4.712%. Get your GET license with Form BB-1 ($20 one-time) and file through Hawaii Tax Online.

Income tax

LLC profits pass through to members’ personal returns by default, taxed under Hawaii’s graduated income tax – 12 brackets running from 1.4% to a top rate of 11%, among the highest in the country. Plan estimated payments accordingly. If you elect corporate taxation, Hawaii’s graduated corporate rates of 4.4%-6.4% apply instead.

Employer obligations

If you hire, note the Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act (HRS Chapter 393) – enacted in 1974 and the first law of its kind in the US. Employers must provide approved health coverage to employees who work at least 20 hours per week for four consecutive weeks AND earn a monthly wage of at least 86.67 times the Hawaii minimum hourly wage. Employee contributions are capped at 1.5% of monthly gross wages, and employers must cover at least half the premium for single coverage.

Hawaii LLC cost breakdown

What you’ll actually pay to form and run a Hawaii LLC.

Item Cost (2026) · paid to
Articles of Organization (LLC-1) $50 + $1.50 archive fee · DCCA BREG (one-time, non-refundable)
Expedited processing (optional) +$25 · DCCA BREG, 1–2-day turnaround
Annual report $12.50 online / $15 paper · DCCA BREG, anniversary quarter (+ $1 archive)
Late penalty $10 per delinquent year · DCCA BREG
GET license (Form BB-1) $20 one-time · Dept. of Taxation
Trade name / DBA (optional) $50 / 5 years · DCCA BREG
Certified copy (optional) $10 + $0.25/page · DCCA BREG
Registered agent (optional service) ~$49–$300/yr · third party
EIN $0 · IRS (free)

  ⬤ Expert view

Insight from our team

Our guidance reflects hands-on filing experience across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, reviewed against current Secretary of State and Department of Revenue requirements.

“Hawaii is deceptively cheap to set up – fifty dollars to file and twelve-fifty a year is about as low as it gets. The number that actually matters is the General Excise Tax, and mainland clients consistently underestimate it because they’re thinking ‘sales tax.’ GET hits gross receipts, including consulting fees and B2B work, which means a service business that lost money last year still owes it. We model GET before formation, not at tax time. The other thing we set on day one is the report quarter – Hawaii ties your deadline to the quarter you registered in, so it’s different for every client.”

Parth Shah
CountSure

  ⬤ Keep exploring

Related guides & services

  • All state formation guides

Frequently asked questions

The state filing fee is $50 for Articles of Organization, plus a mandatory $1.50 State Archives fee. After that, the annual report is just $12.50 online ($15 by mail), making Hawaii one of the cheapest states to maintain an LLC.
By the last day of the calendar quarter containing your registration date. If you registered in February, it’s due March 31; in May, June 30; in August, September 30; in November, December 31.
No. Hawaii uses the General Excise Tax (GET) instead, which applies to gross business receipts – including services and B2B transactions – at 4% state plus a 0.5% county surcharge (4.5% combined).
Generally yes. GET is assessed on gross receipts, not net profit, so a business operating at a loss can still owe General Excise Tax on the revenue it brought in.
Standard processing runs about 3-5 business days; expedited service (an extra $25) typically turns around in 1-2 business days.
No. There’s no residency requirement for LLC members or managers – you just need a registered agent with a physical Hawaii address. The same is true for ordinary Hawaii corporations; only professional corporations (HRS Chapter 415A) require a Hawaii-resident director.

Get Started

Start your Hawaii LLC with CountSure

From Form LLC-1 and your registered agent to the EIN, GET license, and that anniversary-quarter annual report, CountSure handles your Hawaii LLC end to end – including a realistic read on what GET will cost you.
  • Free 30-minute consultation with a CPA
  • Fixed-fee, fully transparent pricing
  • 100% remote - no travel or visa required

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