You are entitled to the home exemption if:

1. You own and occupy the property as your principal home "real property owned and occupied as the owner's principal home") means occupancy of a home in the city with the intent to reside in the city. Intent to reside in the city may be evidenced by, but not limited to, the following indicia: occupancy of a home in the city for more than 270 calendar days of a calendar year; registering to vote in the city; being stationed in the city under military orders of the United States; and filing of an income tax return as a resident of the State of Hawaii, with a reported address in the city;
2. Your ownership is recorded at the Bureau of Conveyances, State Department of Land and Natural Resources, in Honolulu on or before September 30 preceding the tax year for which you claim the exemption. In the case of a lease, the document must indicate that the lessee has a lease for residential purposes for a term of five years or more and will pay all property taxes;
3. You file a claim for home exemption (form BFS-RPA-E-8-10.3) with the Real Property Assessment Division on or before September 30 preceding the tax year for which you claim the exemption.

Property held in a company, such as an LLC, may not receive a home exemption.  Call our office at (808) 768-3799 for more information.

Applications may be submitted by mail, via online, or in person at either of the two real property assessment division’s locations or at any satellite city hall.

Honolulu Office
842 Bethel Street, Basement
Honolulu, HI 96813
PH: (808) 768-3799

Kapolei Office
1000 Uluohia Street, #206
Kapolei, HI 96707
PH: (808) 768-3799

The statutory deadline for the home exemption is September 30, effective for the next tax year beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30. (If the September 30 exemption deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline is extended to the next succeeding day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.) Since you missed the September 30 deadline preceding the 2023-2024 tax year, your exemption will take effect for the 2024-2025 tax year.

Renting the entire property.
If you vacate and rent the entire your property, you will no longer qualify for the home exemption as you no longer occupy the property as your principal residence. To inform us of this change of status, please complete and submit a Form BFS-RPA-M-8-10.1 or online within 30 days after the change, or no later than November 1st*.

*A penalty of $300 per year may be imposed if an exemption recipient fails to report to the assessor within 30days or by November 1st that they are no longer qualified to receive the exemption.

Renting a portion of the property.
If you are renting a room or a portion of your property and still residing in the property as your principal residence, you are still eligible to receive the home exemption. To inform us of this change, file a Change of Status application Form BFS-RPA-M-8-10.1 or online on or before September 30 and answer question “E – Is any portion of this parcel or living unit used for rental or business purposes? Yes. _____ square feet”

Send in a copy of both your Federal and State of Hawaii Income Tax Return (including any Schedule E or Schedule 1) and include 12 months of utility statements for 2 out of the 3 utility companies (Electric, Gas and/or Water) for the year prior to the tax year the exemption was removed as verification that you were occupying the property. Please indicate the Parcel ID/Tax Map Key, Property Address, Contact Information (Name, Phone and/or Email Address) and reason to why you are providing our office with this information.

Yes. You need to provide proof of your date of birth in order to have our system automatically increase your exemption amount based on your age. Beginning with the 2023 assessment (2023-2024 tax year) the basic home exemption for homeowners under 65 will be $120,000. This means that $120,000 is deducted from the assessed value of the property and the homeowner is taxed on the balance. For homeowners 65 years and older the home exemption will be $160,000. To qualify for this exemption, you must be 65 years or older on or before June 30 preceding the tax year for which the exemption is claimed.

Property owners with an existing home exemption, with their date of birth on file, do not need to re-apply for the new exemption amounts. The exemption amounts will automatically increase depending on the age of the homeowner.

Yes, as long as the claimant of the home exemption is 65 years or older on or before June 30th and the Real Property Assessment Division has the claimants date of birth on records as of September 30th prior to the tax year for which the exemption is claimed, the claimant will be eligible for the $160,000 home exemption.

No, the law allows just one (1) home exemption per married couple. However, spouses living separate and apart may receive one-half (1/2) of one (1) exemption on each property. Generally the home exemption amount awarded is determined based on seniority of age when there are two or more applicants.

No, the taxpayer should have filed a home exemption claim as soon as it was discovered that there was no home exemption in place for the property. The ROH do not provide for tax refunds for home exemptions that are not filed.

For changes in ownership or use of your property, it is required that you re-file your exemption. Depending on how your trust is named, there may be questions as to your qualification for exemption. To minimize any questions we might have, it is best that you send in a copy of your trust when you file your exemption.

You can write or email us when you actually rent or sell the property. The owner of any property which has been allowed an exemption has a duty to report to the assessor within 30 days after such owner or property ceases to qualify for such an exemption, but no later than November 1st.

Your client needs to file the home exemption, form BFS-RPA-E-8-10-3 or online.

• The surviving title holder, beneficiary of the property, trustee or authorized representative needs to notify our office of the passing within 30 days or not later than November 1 of that year. The form BFS-RPA-M-8-10.1 Change of Status form may be used to notify us. The penalty for not notifying us is $300 plus possible rollback penalties from the effective date.
• If you are a surviving title holder residing in the property as your principal home, please contact our office to ensure that a claim for home exemption application in your name is on record.
• If you are the beneficiary of the property and residing in the property as your principal home, you need to file a Claim for home exemption on or before September 30th prior to the tax year for which an exemption is claimed. (If the property is held in a trust – attach a copy of the full trust to your home exemption application).

If you have closed/purchased a property after the Date of Assessment (October 1st of the previous calendar year), the exemption reflected online is the seller’s exemption in which you were grandfathered into for the current tax year.

Your Notice of Assessment mailed on December 15th preceding the tax year (i.e.: December 15th 2024 for the July 1st 2025 to June 30th 2026 tax year) will reflect if your application has been approved/disapproved.

*If you have mailed in your application and would like to confirm receipt of your mailed application, please contact our office at phone: 808-768-3799 or email: bfsrpmailbox@honolulu.gov. Note the filing deadline for exemptions is September 30th preceding the tax year beginning July 1st.

If this is a brand new development created in the last 12-18 months, the parcel may not be in our online data base download the Form BFS-RPA-E-8-10.3, complete, print and hand-deliver or mail along with a picture of any Government Issued ID and trust* (If applicable) to the address below.

If this is not a brand new development, the server may be experiencing technical issues. Please report this issue to our office by phone 808-768-3799 during city business hours or email us at bfsrpmailbox@honolulu.gov to report that the website is malfunctioning. We recommend that you download the Form BFS-RPA-E-8-10.3, complete, print and hand-deliver or mail along with a picture of any Government Issued ID and trust* (If applicable) to:

Real Property Assessment Division
842 Bethel St Basement
Honolulu HI 96813

*For properties held in a Trust, if you are the creator of the trust provide a copy of the “Short-Form Trust/Trust Certification”. If you are the beneficiary of the Trust, provide a copy of the “Full Trust”.

**The filing deadline is September 30th – Mail/Courier Services: Notice of Appeal and Payment Cost shall be deemed filed on the date shown by the Postal Service Cancellation Mark stamped upon the envelope or other appropriate wrapper.

No, the long-term care facility or an adult residential care home needs to be licensed to operate in the State of Hawaii.

The home with the continuance cannot be rented, leased, or sold during the time you are residing at the care home.

Read and fill out the BFS-RPA-E-8-10.3B form in its entirety and submit the completed application and all supporting documents per instructions on the form.

Read and fill out the BFS-RPA-E-8-10.3C form in its entirety and submit the completed application and all supporting documents per instructions on the form.

Yes, a New Claim for Home Exemption needs to be filed with our office once the claimants reoccupy the property as their principal home. Once the building has been demolished, the property is no longer applicable to receive the home exemption as there is no building to award the exemption and for the claimant to live in as their principal dwelling.