Hawaii Amazon Sales Tax

Hawaii does not levy a conventional sales tax. Instead it imposes a General Excise Tax (GET) on the gross income of businesses, with the cost typically passed through to customers. The state GET rate is 4%, and counties may add a surcharge — on Oahu (City and County of Honolulu) a 0.5% surcharge brings the effective rate to roughly 4.5% (the maximum pass-on rate is about 4.712%). Hawaii's marketplace facilitator rules took effect January 1, 2020.

Because the GET is a tax on the seller's gross receipts rather than a tax on the buyer, it works differently from a sales tax, but for online marketplace transactions the practical result is similar: Amazon, as a marketplace facilitator, collects and remits the GET (including the applicable county surcharge) on sales it facilitates into Hawaii. Hawaii has no major Amazon fulfillment centers, so most Amazon-channel exposure for sellers comes from economic activity rather than physical presence.

For an Amazon-only seller, Amazon handles GET collection and remittance automatically on Hawaii orders, so there is no ongoing registration obligation tied solely to Amazon marketplace sales. Sellers with other Hawaii activity or direct (non-Amazon) sales should consult a tax professional, as the GET's gross-receipts mechanics can create obligations a typical sales tax would not.