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. That rate was read from Hawaii's own published schedule and checked on September 9, 2026.
What is the sales tax rate in Kauai County?
| Hawaii state rate | 4% |
|---|---|
| Kauai County rate | 0.5% |
| Combined rate | 4.5% |
How much sales tax is that on a purchase in Kauai County?
At 4.5%, a $100 purchase carries $4.50 in sales tax and a $1,000 purchase $45.00. That is general merchandise; Hawaii taxes some categories, often groceries, differently, as the note below explains.
Every county in Hawaii has the same 4.5% floor. See every Hawaii county.
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?
Use Hawaii's own address lookup.
Who has to collect sales tax in Kauai County?
Any seller with a physical presence in Hawaii collects at the rate for the address of the sale; a remote seller does once it passes Hawaii's economic nexus threshold. Hawaii sales tax covers the statewide rules and what is exempt.
Work out your own numbers
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Sales tax calculator
Tax on a specific purchase at this county's rate, and the total you will actually pay.
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Do you have to collect?
Whether your sales into Hawaii cross its economic nexus threshold. A different question from the rate.
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Property tax in Kauai County
The other local tax: effective rate and median bill for this county.
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Sales tax by county
Every US county, and how Hawaii compares with the rest of the country.
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).