Sales tax in Kauai County, Hawaii
The sales tax rate in Kauai County, Hawaii is 4.5%. That is a 4% state rate plus a 0.5% county rate, and it is the same at every address in the county.
What is the sales tax rate in Kauai County?
| Hawaii state rate | 4% |
|---|---|
| Kauai County rate | 0.5% |
| Combined rate | 4.5% |
Why the rate here is not the whole story
Hawaii has no sales tax. It levies a general excise tax, the GET, on the business rather than on the buyer, and it reaches much further than a typical sales tax: services, professional fees, commissions, rent and wholesale activity are all taxable, and the business owes the tax whether or not it charges a customer for it. The state rate on retail sales and services is 4 percent, and the County of Kauai adds a 0.5 percent county surcharge that runs from January 1 2019 to December 31 2030, so the statutory rate is 4.5 percent across the county. A receipt in this county may show 4.712 percent rather than 4.5 percent. That is the department's maximum pass-on rate, not a second tax. Because the GET is charged on the business's gross receipts including any GET it collects from customers, 4.712 percent is what a business must add to a price to recover a 4.5 percent liability in full, and consumer protection law bars it from charging more. Gross income under a written contract entered into before June 30 2018 that does not provide for passing on increased taxes is not subject to the county surcharge, under section 237-8.6(c) of the Hawaii Revised Statutes. The surcharge applies only to activities taxed at the 4 percent rate, not to the 0.5 percent wholesale rate or the 0.15 percent rate on insurance commissions. Hawaii has no city, town or special district sales taxes, so the county line is the whole story and the rate does not vary by address inside the county.
How do I find the exact rate for an address in Kauai County?
The rate is the same across Kauai County, but if you are collecting tax it is worth confirming against the source. Use Hawaii's own lookup. A vendor's calculator is not the state speaking.
Who has to collect sales tax in Kauai County?
A seller with a physical presence in Hawaii collects at the rate for the address where the sale takes place. A remote seller collects once it passes Hawaii's economic nexus threshold, which is a separate question from the rate and is covered on our sales tax nexus checker. Marketplace facilitators generally collect on behalf of their sellers.
How does Kauai County compare?
See Hawaii sales tax for the statewide picture, including the average local rate and what is exempt. Property tax is a separate tax with separate rules: property tax in Kauai County.
Sources
- Kauai County rates: Hawaii Department of Taxation, County Surcharge on General Excise and Use Tax, page last updated January 9 2024, https://tax.hawaii.gov/geninfo/countysurcharge/, with its Table of Maximum General Excise Tax Pass-On Rates, updated September 2023, https://files.hawaii.gov/tax/geninfo/info/table-of-maximum-ge-pass-on-rates_sep2023.pdf, cross checked against the department's General Excise Tax (GET) Information page, last updated January 14 2026, https://tax.hawaii.gov/geninfo/get/, and Tax Facts 37-1, General Excise Tax (GET), revised May 2025, https://files.hawaii.gov/tax/legal/taxfacts/tf2025-37-1.pdf
- Collected and verified September 9, 2026. Confidence: P on the rate components, P on the range (P read on a primary agency page, S strong but indirect, U unverified).