Out-the-door price in Hawaii
How Hawaii works
- Hawaii has no sales tax. The dealer owes the general excise tax (GET): 4% state plus a 0.5% county surcharge, 4.5% in all. The dealer may pass it on to you at up to 4.712%, because the tax is also charged on the amount passed on. All four counties are the same, through December 31, 2030.
- The dealer has to tell you it will pass the tax on, and may not claim the price has no tax in it. The pass-on is a contract term, so it is shown on the sales contract as its own line.
- A trade-in lowers the amount taxed only when you buy a new car. On a used car the whole price is taxed, even with a trade-in.
- A manufacturer rebate does not lower the tax: the dealer owes GET on the full price because the manufacturer pays the difference. A dealer's own discount does lower it.
- The dealer's doc fee, installed accessories and service contracts are part of what the dealer receives, so the pass-on is added to them too.
- The doc fee has no cap in Hawaii. State rules only require the dealer to show its amount in an ad. A typical fee is about $395 (secondary source).
- Registration: on a new car the dealer usually registers it for you. You pay the state registration fee, a state weight tax and a county weight tax set by the car's weight, a county fee, a beautification fee and plates. This estimate assumes a 3,750-pound car unless you enter a weight. Honolulu's weight tax is 7 cents a pound, Maui's 3.5, Kauai's 2 and Hawaii County's 1.25.
- Hawaii County's own fee page no longer lists amounts, so its fees are estimates. Ask the dealer or the county office for the exact figure.
Rules last verified Oct 11, 2026. Our methodology.
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What a Hawaii advertised price has to include
The FTC expects every fee the dealer requires to be in the advertised price, and its September 2026 staff FAQs say that includes government charges the dealer has to pay and passes on to the buyer. Hawaii requires a dealer's ad to say whether other charges will be added and to show the amount of each, but lets it leave out the general excise tax, title transfer fees and the safety inspection. That still isn't your out-the-door number; the calculator above adds the rest for your ZIP.
Federal law comes first
The FTC requires a dealer's advertised price to include every fee the dealer charges. Only charges the government requires you to pay, like tax, title and registration, can be left out. Where a state's rules let a dealer leave a fee out, the dealer still has to follow the federal rule, so the fee goes in. The FTC says a state's doc-fee rules can add disclosures, but they don't change the price that has to be advertised. Read the FTC's guidance.
Hawaii law and the FTC conflict on the doc fee, the inspection and the general excise tax
The FTC expects the advertised price to include every fee the dealer requires. Hawaii lets a dealer quote a price and add the doc fee on top, as long as the ad shows the fee's amount as prominently as the price. It also lets a dealer leave out the safety inspection fee and the general excise tax. The FTC's staff FAQs say a charge the government makes the dealer pay, and the dealer passes on, belongs in the price. Hawaii's excise tax fits that description, although the FAQs do not name it, and Hawaii law itself says the tax is an element of the price. So the two conflict. Until regulators or the courts settle it, you may see Hawaii ads that leave these out. Ask whether a price includes them, and get the out-the-door price in writing.
What the FTC expects in the advertised price
- The dealer's doc fee (no cap in Hawaii; about $395 is typical)
- Freight, dealer prep and anything the dealer has added to the car
- The safety inspection charge, if the dealer passes it on (up to $25 plus tax)
- The general excise tax the dealer passes on, if the FTC's FAQ reading holds (4.712% in every county)
Can still be added on top
- Title, registration, weight taxes and county fees
- Optional products you choose to buy, such as a service contract or GAP coverage
- Hawaii's rule: Hawaii Administrative Rules 16-86-19 says that if charges will be added to an advertised price, the exact amount of each, and what it is for, must be shown in type as large as the price. It lists a dealer's documentary fee among charges that must be shown with their amounts. Only the safety inspection and fees a government imposes directly may be left out of a transfer-of-title charge.
- The general excise tax: Hawaii Revised Statutes 437-4 lets an ad leave out the 'gross income tax' and transfer of title fees when it says whether other charges will be added. A separate law, HRS 237-49, bars a business from claiming the tax is not an element of the price. The dealer has to tell you before it passes the tax on.
- Discounts: a new-car dealer may advertise a discount only if it is figured from the manufacturer's suggested retail price (HRS 437-4(b)(3); HAR 16-86-19(4)).
- Availability and details: an advertised car has to be at the dealer or available from the manufacturer when the ad runs, and a used-car ad needs the year, make and plate number (HRS 437-4(a), (c)).
- Hawaii's 2026 'drip pricing' law (Act 254) covers live-event tickets and short-term lodging, not cars.
More in our guide: Do dealers have to put fees in the advertised price? What actually changed for 2026
See every state: Which states let dealers leave the doc fee out of the advertised price?
Hawaii in detail
Hawaii OTD questions, answered
Does a trade-in reduce sales tax in Hawaii?
Yes — Hawaii taxes the difference: your trade-in's value is subtracted before tax is computed.
Are manufacturer rebates taxed in Hawaii?
Effectively yes — tax is computed before the rebate is applied, so you pay tax on the pre-rebate price.
Is the doc fee capped in Hawaii?
No — doc fees are uncapped in Hawaii; buyers report a typical $395.00. It's negotiable as part of your total OTD.
Is there a cap on the doc fee in Hawaii?
No. Hawaii has no cap or formula for a dealer's documentary fee. State rules only require the dealer to show it, with its amount, in an ad. Under the FTC's September 2026 staff FAQs the full fee belongs in the advertised price.
Do I pay sales tax on a car in Hawaii?
Hawaii has no sales tax. The dealer owes a general excise tax of 4% plus a 0.5% county surcharge, and may pass up to 4.712% on to you as a separate line. It is the same in every county.
Does my trade-in lower the tax?
On a new car, yes. The statute leaves out of the taxed amount an article taken as part payment on a new article. It says nothing about used ones, so a used car's whole price is taxed. A manufacturer rebate does not lower the tax.
Why does Honolulu registration cost so much more?
The county weight tax: 7 cents a pound in Honolulu, against 3.5 in Maui, 2 in Kauai and 1.25 in Hawaii County. The state's weight tax of 1.75 cents a pound is the same everywhere.