Hawaii Conveyance Tax: Rates, Exemptions, and Filing Requirements

You're transferring your family home into a living trust, and the Bureau of Conveyances sends it back because the conveyance tax certificate is missing. Every real property transfer recorded in Hawaii — even those with no money changing hands — requires a conveyance tax filing. Getting it wrong delays your recording and can cost you thousands in unnecessary tax.

How the Conveyance Tax Works

Hawaii imposes a conveyance tax on every transfer of real property, calculated on the actual consideration paid or the fair market value, whichever is higher. The tax applies at recording — before the Bureau of Conveyances accepts any deed, TODD, or trust transfer document.

The rates are progressive and depend on the property value and whether the property will be the buyer's primary residence:

Owner-occupied residential rates:

• Up to $600,000: 0.10%
• $600,001 to $1,000,000: 0.20%
• $1,000,001 to $2,000,000: 0.30%
• $2,000,001 to $4,000,000: 0.50%
• $4,000,001 to $6,000,000: 0.70%
• $6,000,001 to $10,000,000: 0.90%
• Over $10,000,000: 1.00%

Non-owner-occupied rates are higher at each tier, topping out at 1.25% for properties over $10 million.

On a $1.5 million Honolulu home that qualifies as owner-occupied, the tax works out to roughly $3,100. For the same home as non-owner-occupied (investment property, vacation home), the bill jumps significantly higher.

Form P-64A: Required for Every Transfer

Form P-64A (Conveyance Tax Certificate) must accompany every deed filed with the Bureau of Conveyances. It declares the property value, the nature of the transfer, and the tax due. The Bureau will not record a deed without a completed P-64A, even when the transfer is fully exempt from tax.

File P-64A with every:

• Sale or purchase deed
• Quitclaim deed
• Transfer on Death Deed (at the time of recording, not at death)
• Trust transfer deed
• Divorce settlement property transfer

Form P-64B: Claiming an Exemption

Many estate planning transfers qualify for a full exemption from conveyance tax. Form P-64B is the claim document — file it alongside P-64A and the deed to avoid paying tax on qualifying transfers.

Common exempt transfers:

• Transfers into a revocable living trust where the grantor retains beneficial interest
• Transfer on Death Deeds (the recording of the TODD itself — the property does not actually change hands until death)
• Transfers between spouses or reciprocal beneficiaries
• Transfers to correct a deed error
• Transfers pursuant to a court order (including probate distributions)
• Certain transfers to family members as bona fide gifts (with conditions)

The exemption does not apply automatically. You must complete P-64B, identify the specific statutory exemption under HRS Chapter 247, and file it with the Bureau at the time of recording. If you skip P-64B, the Bureau calculates tax based on the property's assessed value and rejects the filing until you either pay or claim the exemption.

Estate Planning Implications

For families setting up estate plans, the conveyance tax intersects with several common property transfer strategies:

Living trust transfers. Moving property into your own revocable trust is exempt — you are both the grantor and the beneficiary. But transferring property into an irrevocable trust for someone else's benefit may trigger the tax.

TODD recordings. Recording a Transfer on Death Deed is generally exempt because no actual transfer occurs until the owner dies. The conveyance tax is assessed later, when the beneficiary records the transfer after death — and post-death transfers by operation of law are typically exempt.

Quitclaim deeds to family. A parent transferring property to an adult child via quitclaim triggers the conveyance tax unless a specific exemption applies. Gift transfers may qualify, but the exemption conditions are narrow — check the P-64B instructions carefully.

Divorce property splits. Transfers pursuant to a divorce decree are exempt when P-64B is filed with the decree reference.

Filing Process

1. Complete Form P-64A for every property transfer
2. If exempt, complete Form P-64B citing the specific HRS § 247 exemption
3. Pay any tax due at the time of recording
4. Submit all forms with the deed to the Bureau of Conveyances in Honolulu
5. Recording fees: $41 (Regular System, up to 50 pages) or $36 (Land Court, up to 50 pages)

The Hawaii Basic Estate Planning Kit includes a property transfer checklist covering conveyance tax filing, P-64A/P-64B completion, and Bureau of Conveyances recording requirements for both the Regular System and Land Court.

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