Updated October 5, 2026. Quick answer: No. Hawaii has no gift tax for a gift made in 2026. The legislative staff comments attached to the Department of Taxation’s 2024 testimony on H.B. 2653 say: “Hawaii has no gift tax.” The federal annual exclusion is $19,000 per recipient for 2026.
Putting a loan in writing? The interest limit, the signing rules and the time limit to sue, from the state’s own statutes: Hawaii promissory note.
Hawaii gift tax at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| State gift tax | None |
| What the documents say | The staff comments in the Department of Taxation’s 2024 testimony on H.B. 2653 say Hawaii has no gift tax |
| State estate or inheritance tax | Yes: a Hawaii estate tax (HRS chapter 236E); the 2024 testimony says the exclusion amount was frozen at $5.49 million |
| Federal annual exclusion, 2026 | $19,000 per recipient |
| Federal basic exclusion amount, 2026 | $15,000,000 |
| Source | Hawaii Department of Taxation / Hawaii State Legislature; Hawaii State Legislature (Hawaii Revised Statutes); IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 |
What the Hawaii documents say
The sentence is in the staff comments of the testimony file, not in the Department’s own text, in a passage on how Hawaii’s estate tax follows the federal one. The estate tax statute’s conformity section is headed “Conformance to the Internal Revenue Code; general application.” (HRS section 236E-3).
Estates, inheritances and gifts near death in Hawaii
The testimony explains the estate tax that Hawaii does levy: “Hawaii law froze the” “exclusion amount at the 2017 level of $5.49 million.” The 2026 exclusion amount is not stated in the documents read.
What applies to a gift from a Hawaii resident
Federal gift tax is separate and applies wherever you live. The IRS says gifts “not more than the annual exclusion for the calendar year” are generally not taxable gifts, and Revenue Procedure 2025-32 sets the 2026 annual exclusion at “the first $19,000 of gifts to any person”. The same procedure puts the basic exclusion amount at “$15,000,000 for calendar year 2026”. The IRS adds that “The donor is generally responsible for paying the gift tax”.
An illustration: a $50,000 gift to one child in 2026 is $31,000 above the federal annual exclusion, and Hawaii adds no gift tax of its own on top of that. CMG’s gift tax limit and Form 709 who must file pages explain the federal side, and how Hawaii taxes 401(k) and IRA withdrawals covers a gift of retirement money.
What the documents do not say
- The gift tax statement is one sentence in legislative staff comments from 2024, not a Department of Taxation page or a statute. The documents read do not state the 2026 estate tax exclusion amount or whether Hawaii adds back gifts made near death.
Common mistakes
- Treating the absence of a Hawaii gift tax as the absence of any Hawaii tax on a large transfer; the estate tax uses an exclusion far below the federal one.
- Assuming the state answer settles the federal one, or the answer for a gift of property located in another state.
Related: the federal gift tax limit, gift tax by state, Hawaii estate tax, and Hawaii probate cost.
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Answer againSources
- Testimony on H.B. No. 2653, H.D. 1, Relating to the Estate Tax (Department of Taxation, with staff comments): https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/Session2024/Testimony/HB2653_HD1_TESTIMONY_CPN_03-14-24_.PDF
- HRS section 236E-3 Conformance to the Internal Revenue Code; general application: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol04_Ch0201-0257/HRS0236E/HRS_0236E-0003.htm
- Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (Internal Revenue Service): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf
- Frequently asked questions on gift taxes (Internal Revenue Service): https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/frequently-asked-questions-on-gift-taxes
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 5, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a tax professional or the state agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.