How Hawaii Tax Sales Work

Hawaii sells redeemable tax deeds. No county sells lien certificates, and the state has no tax sale law of its own: the state Real Property Tax Law was repealed in 2016, so each of the four counties runs its sale under its own code. The buyer takes a deed on sale day, the owner keeps a one-year right to redeem, and the buyer's return is interest at an annual rate.

County offices, sale sites and notice channels sit on the Hawaii tax sales hub, and how to buy a Hawaii tax deed walks the buyer's sequence. If the redeemable deed model is new to you, tax liens compared to tax deeds explains where it sits, and the redeemable deed states table shows who else uses it.

Step 1: Know which county code you are buying under

Hawaii has four county codes. The City and County of Honolulu works under Revised Ordinances of Honolulu Chapter 8, Hawaii County under County Code Chapter 19, Maui County under Code Chapter 3.48, and Kauai County under Code Chapter 5A. Kalawao County has no county government and holds no sale.

All four descend from the repealed HRS Chapter 246 and run the same mechanism: a senior tax lien, a sale by "foreclosure without suit," a tax deed, and a one-year redemption. They differ on details that change a bid, and each step below flags them. Whenever you read a Hawaii rule, check which county it came from.

Step 2: Learn when a parcel reaches the auction

Taxes are billed July 20 and fall due in two installments, August 20 and February 20. An unpaid installment draws a penalty of up to 10 percent (Honolulu charges it at 2 percent a month up to that cap) plus interest of 1 percent a month. Each year's tax is a lien that outranks other claims on the parcel, attaches July 1 and lasts six years.

The trigger for a sale is where the counties split:

• Honolulu, Maui and Kauai: once any lien has existed for three years, the director must sell the parcel.
• Hawaii County: a parcel whose lien has existed at least two years may be sold, and the sale is never mandatory.

Before any sale the director publishes notice once a week for four weeks, mails notice to the owner by registered mail at least 45 days ahead, and posts it in three public places. Each county sets its own date; no ordinance fixes a month. Recent sales ran in Honolulu on May 5, 2026 and in Hilo on June 9, 2026. Current dates are on the Hawaii tax sale dates page.

Step 3: Find the list, and know what is not a list

Every county publishes differently. Honolulu publishes its list only as a "Notice of Proposed Sale of Real Property" in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser legal notices. Hawaii County posts it on hawaiipropertytax.com and in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald and West Hawaii Today. Maui posts a Tax Sale List PDF on its Delinquent Tax Accounts page. Kauai posts on its qpublic.net property tax site and in the local paper four weeks out.

Four things look like a sale and are not:

1. Maui's "Top 25 Delinquent Accounts" and "Delinquent Accounts 3+ years" pages are collection lists. Nothing on them is offered for sale.
2. A published notice lists parcels, and owners often pay off before the auction. Expect the list to shrink.
3. The Star-Advertiser carries notices for more than one county, so a date read there belongs only to the county named in that notice.
4. Maui's FAQ describes auctioning "tax deeds and/or tax liens," but its code provides only for selling the property and delivering a deed. No certificate sale was found in any Hawaii county.

Step 4: Bid in person, and bring the full price

There is no online platform in Hawaii and no absentee bidding in Maui, Kauai or Hawaii County, though a representative with notarized authority may bid for you. The opening (upset) price is the delinquent tax, penalty and interest to the sale date plus the costs of the sale. Bidders compete on price above that figure, and the parcel goes to the highest bidder for cash. A parcel that draws no bid large enough to cover the lien can be withdrawn.

There is no deposit, because the whole bid is due immediately. Maui and Hawaii County say bidders may not leave the building to fetch payment. Payment rules by county:

• Honolulu: cashier's checks payable to the City and County of Honolulu.
• Maui: cashier's checks drawn on a U.S. bank only, with registration and funds verification at the event.
• Kauai: cash, cashier's checks, certified checks or money orders drawn on a U.S. bank.
• Hawaii County: cash, cashier's, traveler's or certified checks, or money orders, with no registration.

No county takes personal checks or cards, and no county finances a purchase. Set your maximum before you arrive. The tax deed max bid calculator helps you price it.

Step 5: Understand what a redemption pays

The owner may redeem within 1 year from the date of the tax sale by paying you directly. The county takes no part in it. The redemption amount is what you paid at the sale, overbid included, plus the costs you were required to pay including the deed recording fee, plus interest at 12% a year on that total.

The rate has no floor. It accrues by the year, and Hawaii County's FAQ describes it as 1 percent a month, so a parcel redeemed two months after the sale returns two months of interest. A short hold on a large overbid earns little, so price the bid on the property itself. Run the numbers in the tax lien yield calculator and treat the rate as simple interest that does not compound.

Step 6: Track the clock, which Honolulu and Maui can stretch

In Hawaii County and Kauai the window is one year from the sale, full stop. In Honolulu and Maui the county must record the deed within 60 days of the sale. When it records late, the window runs one year from recording instead, and no interest accrues for the extra time. Your return stops at one year of interest while your money stays tied up longer. Check the recording date the moment the deed arrives, and model it in the redemption deadline calculator.

Only the taxpayer whose property was sold can redeem. None of the four codes gives lienholders a separate redemption right. Redemption periods explained compares Hawaii's window with other states.

Two cautions for the year itself. Hawaii County advises buyers not to build, because the former owner owes nothing for improvements. And you may sell during the year, but only subject to the redemption right.

Step 7: Price the title before you bid

Title quality is the biggest county difference. Hawaii County and Kauai vest fee title free and clear of liens and encumbrances except later property taxes, State mineral rights and government easements. Honolulu and Maui codes say only that delivery of the deed vests title. Honolulu's 2026 sale notice described parcels as sold free and clear, but its code does not say so.

Every county sells "as is" with no warranty. Hawaii County warns that title companies mostly will not insure a tax-deed title and that federal tax liens are a separate risk. Get a title opinion on every parcel. Read due diligence before a tax sale and what survives a tax deed before you commit money.

Surplus funds and what the county keeps

Money above the upset price is surplus, and the codes split again. In Hawaii County and Kauai, lienholders who claim within one year are paid first, and any lien left unpaid is extinguished against the buyer. The former owner then claims within two years in Hawaii County or one year in Kauai. In Honolulu and Maui the director pays the taxpayer's other taxes from the surplus and, when entitlement is in doubt, may require claimants to interplead in circuit court.

No county sells over the counter. A parcel that draws no sufficient bid stays under the county's lien and can return at a later sale.

Your Hawaii checklist

Treat Hawaii as four separate markets. Read the right county code, confirm the parcel is still on the list the week of the sale, carry the payment form that county accepts for your full ceiling, and price the parcel on what the land is worth. One question stays open: whether State conveyance tax applies to a county tax deed was not confirmed in any statute or county code, so ask the Bureau of Conveyances before you budget closing costs. When the year runs out, a quiet title action after a tax deed is often what makes the parcel sellable. Start from the Hawaii county list for each county's offices and sale sites.