Hawaii to Tennessee Retirement Taxes (2026): Every Tax That Changes

Updated July 26, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Moving from Hawaii to Tennessee in retirement, you stop paying Hawaii income tax on withdrawals and leave a Hawaii death tax behind. Four separate taxes change when you move — state income tax on withdrawals, state estate tax, state inheritance tax, and what probate costs your heirs. Most comparisons only price the first one.

Hawaii vs Tennessee: every tax that changes

Every cell is quoted from our statute-cited 51-jurisdiction dataset. Download the full dataset as CSV.

1. What changes on your annual tax bill

Hawaii taxes retirement withdrawals: Employer-funded (non-contributory) pension income fully exempt regardless of amount. Tennessee does not. On a $100,000 annual withdrawal, the Hawaii bill is whatever its graduated to 11% (12 brackets, 1.4%-11%) schedule produces; in Tennessee it is $0. Social Security is treated as follows — Hawaii: not taxed (fully exempt) Tennessee: Not taxed (no state income tax).

2. What changes at death: state estate tax

This is usually the larger number. Hawaii levies an estate tax — yes – exemption $5,490,000 (fixed since 2018, not indexed); rates 10%-20% (top 20% on taxable amount over $10M above the exemption); Hawaii-level portability between spouses allowed — and Tennessee levies none (none (inheritance/estate tax fully phased out after 2015)). Establishing domicile in Tennessee removes that exposure for assets that are not Hawaii real property.

3. What changes at death: state inheritance tax

Neither state levies an inheritance tax. Hawaii: none Tennessee: none

4. The one nobody prices: what probate costs your heirs

Hawaii uses a reasonable-fee fee model (UPC state: reasonable compensation (HRS §560:3-719); Hawaii’s old percentage schedule was repealed decades ago.); Tennessee uses a reasonable-fee model (No statutory percentage; personal representative and attorney compensation is reasonable compensation for services, approved by the probate court (see Tenn. Code Ann. §30-1-407 and related case law). Cite from knowledge, not re-verified this pass.). Filing fees — Hawaii: $100 probate filing fee (informal or formal), paid once per decedent’s estate — HRS §607-5 circuit court fee schedule Tennessee: Set per county clerk; commonly ~$150-$400 to open (e.g., metro counties toward the high end). Varies-by-county representative range, unverified.

Full detail: probate cost by state and small-estate limits by state.

Probate cost in each state, specifically

Hawaii uses a “reasonable fee” standard with no schedule, and its statute does not say whether that route reaches real property. Tennessee uses a “reasonable fee” standard with no schedule, and its small-estate route does not clear a solely owned house. The two states differ on that question, which is exactly the kind of thing a move changes. Full figures with the governing statute, the court filing fee and the small-estate threshold: Hawaii probate cost and Tennessee probate cost.

Four taxes, two states, one order of operations

Everything above changes together: what Hawaii stops taking on withdrawals, what Tennessee does not take at death, and what probate costs in each. The order you do things in — when you establish domicile, when you convert, when you retitle property — changes the total, and some of it cannot be undone afterwards. If a move is genuinely on the table, here is what to look for in an advisor who knows both Hawaii and Tennessee. If you would rather price it yourself first, the two-state comparison tool is free and asks for no email.

Will Hawaii still tax me after I move to Tennessee?

Not on your retirement withdrawals, once you genuinely change domicile — but that is a harder test than a change of address, and what you leave behind stays in reach.

• Domicile is a test, not a mailing address. A departing state can and does audit residency. Days present, voter registration, driver’s licence, where your doctors and advisers are, and where you keep what you value all count.
• Real property left behind stays taxable. Keeping a home in Hawaii can keep part of the estate within reach of Hawaii rules even after you become a Tennessee resident.
• A Roth conversion is taxed where you live in the year you convert. Sequencing a conversion after establishing the new domicile is often worth more than the annual saving — see how all 51 jurisdictions tax Roth conversions.

If you keep a home in Hawaii, what happens at death?

Changing domicile moves you. It does not move the house. Hawaii levies an estate tax, and it reaches a nonresident decedent’s real property situated there — so a home kept behind after the move stays within Hawaii’s reach even once Tennessee is your legal home for every other purpose. Nonresidents are taxed on Hawaii-situs property. Tax is the hypothetical tax as if a Hawaii resident with the same worldwide gross estate, multiplied by the ratio of Hawaii property to worldwide gross estate.

Hawaii’s exemption is $5,490,000, fixed and not indexed. The practical consequence is the part most summaries skip: Hawaii uniquely exempts a nonresident estate where the domicile state reciprocally exempts Hawaii residents. Authority: Form M-6 instructions.

This is the exposure that survives a move, and it is the one worth pricing before the move rather than after. The house also stays within that state’s probate jurisdiction, so the estate faces a separate ancillary proceeding there on top of the probate where you live — the ancillary probate calculator prices that second proceeding. Confirm the current figures with the state revenue department or a licensed professional before acting — thresholds move, and the arithmetic depends on the whole estate, not just the house.

Full state detail

Every figure above is summarized. The complete statute-cited breakdown for each state: Hawaii retirement taxes and Tennessee retirement taxes. To compare any other pair, start at the retirement tax relocation hub.

Talking this through

Relocation timing, Roth conversion sequencing and estate exposure interact, and the order you do them in changes the total. If you want a second opinion, understand what it should cost first — see our advisor cost guide.

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Primary sources

• HRS § 235-7(a)
• Hawaii DOTAX TIR 96-5
• Haw. Rev. Stat. sec. 236E-6
• Haw. Rev. Stat. sec. 236E-8
• former Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-2-102 (Hall tax, repealed)
• Haw. Rev. Stat. §560:3-719
• Haw. Rev. Stat. §560:3-1201
• Haw. Rev. Stat. §607-5
• Tenn. Code Ann. §30-1-407
• Tenn. Code Ann. §30-4-102
• Tenn. Code Ann. §30-4-103

Methodology: every figure is quoted from Clear Money Guide’s statute-cited 51-jurisdiction datasets, compiled from state statutes, session laws and revenue-department publications and adversarially verified in July 2026. Nothing here is personalized tax or legal advice. Confirm your own facts with a qualified adviser before you move.