Hawaii Annual Report Due Dates, $12.50 Online Fee and Reinstatement: Why the Deadline Depends on the Quarter You Registered
Hawaii Annual Report Due Dates, $12.50 Online Fee and Reinstatement: Why the Deadline Depends on the Quarter You Registered
If you formed a Hawaii limited liability company (LLC) or a corporation organized for profit, you will owe an annual report every year after the year you registered. The deadline is not the same for every business. Hawaii ties your due date to the calendar quarter in which you registered with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), Business Registration Division (BREG). This guide covers how the hawaii annual report due date is set, what the hawaii annual report fee is, what happens if you miss it, and how to get back into good standing.
The annual report is a BREG filing. It keeps your public record current. It is not a tax return, and filing it does not satisfy any tax obligation you have with the Department of Taxation.
Who files a Hawaii annual report
Both domestic and foreign LLCs must file the hawaii llc annual report. Corporations organized for profit must file the hawaii corporation annual report (the BREG title is Annual Report of Domestic and Foreign Corporations Organized for Profit). The requirement is mandatory for both. Missing it has consequences, covered below, even if the business has no income that year.
Hawaii does not charge a franchise tax on LLCs, so many new owners assume there is no recurring state obligation. That assumption is wrong. The annual report is the recurring BREG requirement, and it runs on its own calendar separate from your tax filings.
Other entity types follow different fee schedules. Limited liability partnerships (LLPs) file at the same $12.50 online rate as LLCs and profit corporations. Partnerships pay $5.00 online, and nonprofits pay $2.50 online. If you operate under one of these structures, confirm your figure on the fee screen before you pay.
How the due date is set by your registration quarter
Your annual report is due by the end of the calendar quarter that matches the quarter in which you registered. Under HRS 428-210, the schedule is:
| Registration date falls between | Annual report due by |
|---|---|
| January 1 to March 31 | March 31 |
| April 1 to June 30 | June 30 |
| July 1 to September 30 | September 30 |
| October 1 to December 31 | December 31 |
Two rules matter most. First, the year you registered is skipped entirely. No annual report is required in that year. Second, the quarter is determined by your registration date on your BREG record, not by the date you started operating or opened a bank account. Pull the record from the BREG business search at https://hbe.dcca.hawaii.gov/search-and-buy if you are unsure of the date.
Worked examples
- An LLC registered on May 12, 2026 has no annual report due in 2026. Its first report is due by June 30, 2027, and then again by June 30 every year after that.
- A corporation registered on October 3, 2026 has no report due in 2026. Its first report is due by December 31, 2027.
- An LLC registered on February 20, 2027 has no report due in 2027. Its first report is due by March 31, 2028.
- An LLC registered on August 1, 2027 has no report due in 2027. Its first report is due by September 30, 2028.
Notice that a business registered late in the year gets a longer runway before its first report. A business registered in early January gets its first report due in the following year's March, which is the earliest possible first deadline. Either way, the rule is the same: skip the registration year, then file by the end of the matching quarter.
Why BREG sends no reminders
BREG does not send due-date notices. The state will not remind you that your report is coming up. Build your own reminder system as soon as you receive your registration confirmation. Put the due date on a shared business calendar, set a reminder 30 days out, and assign one person to own the filing. Many late filings happen because the owner changed, the mailing address stayed behind, or nobody knew the deadline existed.
What the annual report costs
Filing online through Hawaii Business Express (HBE) costs $12.50 for an LLC or profit corporation annual report. Filing on paper costs $15, so the online route saves $2.50 per report. BREG has stated that online filing is the most efficient method, and the division directs filers to HBE for that reason.
The fee amounts above come from the BREG release of July 1, 2026. Hawaii moved its registration system to a new portal that went live on July 6, 2026. Check the fee screen in the portal before you submit payment. If the fee shown differs from what this guide states, follow the portal and confirm the figure with BREG at https://cca.hawaii.gov/breg/.
Expedited review is not available right now. Hawaii normally charges an extra $25.00 per document for expedited corporate, LLC and partnership filings. BREG states that expedited processing is not offered during the transition to the new portal, so plan for routine processing. BREG does not publish a standard turnaround time for routine filings, which is another reason to file well before the deadline rather than on the last day.
How to file online
- Create or log in to your account at https://hbe.dcca.hawaii.gov/.
- Locate your entity by name or BREG file number. If you need to confirm the exact legal name, use the free business name search at https://hbe.dcca.hawaii.gov/search-and-buy.
- Review the information on file for your entity, including the registered agent, addresses and the people listed as owners or officers. Update anything that has changed before you file.
- Complete the annual report and confirm the fee on the payment screen.
- Pay the fee and save the confirmation page or PDF to your permanent records, along with the date and the amount paid.
What happens if you miss the deadline
A late annual report triggers a BREG late fee of $10 for each delinquent year. Separately, under HRS 428-1302 the director may impose a penalty of up to $100, and that penalty can be waived. The late fee is the small cost. The larger risk is what happens if the reports keep going unfiled.
An LLC that skips its annual report for two years can be administratively terminated under HRS 428-809 and 428-810. Before termination, BREG must send notice by mail, and the LLC has 60 days from that notice. Because BREG mails the notice to the address on file, an outdated mailing address can mean you never see it. A terminated LLC may only wind up its affairs. It should not continue normal business operations while terminated.
Corporations should not assume the LLC termination rules apply to them. Confirm the consequences for a corporation that misses its report by checking with BREG directly.
Reinstatement within two years
If your LLC was administratively terminated, reinstatement is available within two years under HRS 428-811. The reinstatement fee is $25. To reinstate, you must:
- File every unfiled annual report.
- Pay all delinquent annual report fees, late fees and penalties.
- Obtain a tax clearance from the Director of Taxation.
The tax clearance is the step most owners underestimate. It requires coordination with the Department of Taxation, so start that process early and do not wait until you have assembled everything else. Confirm the current steps for tax clearance with the Department of Taxation at https://tax.hawaii.gov/, since the requirements depend on your filing history. If more than two years have passed, check with BREG about your options before assuming reinstatement is available.
What the annual report does not cover
The annual report is separate from your tax obligations. Hawaii has no state sales tax. Instead, it levies the General Excise Tax (GET) on the business's gross income or receipts, not on the customer. The state rate is 4.0 percent. Most retail and service activity also carries a 0.5 percent county surcharge, for a combined 4.5 percent rate. Wholesaling is taxed at 0.5 percent, and insurance commissions at 0.15 percent.
Every business operating in Hawaii needs a GET license from the Department of Taxation. It costs a one-time $20 fee and stays active until it is closed, surrendered or revoked. License holders must file periodic and annual GET returns even in a period with no income. Registering an LLC or corporation with BREG is a filing, not a license. Hawaii has no general statewide business license and no county general business license, so the GET license is the one universal state registration for most businesses. Other licenses depend on the industry, such as professional and vocational licenses from DCCA boards, food permits from the state Department of Health, and county or Public Utilities Commission approvals where they apply.
Corporations also file income tax returns with the Department of Taxation, including Form N-30 for corporate income tax. That return is separate from the annual report. Filing the annual report with BREG does not file your income tax return, and filing a tax return does not file your annual report.
If you have employees, the Prepaid Health Care Act applies to your business. Check with the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations for your specific obligations. That requirement is separate from BREG and the annual report.
Annual report checklist
- Find your registration date on your BREG record and note its quarter.
- Match the quarter to the due date table: March 31, June 30, September 30 or December 31.
- Skip the year you registered. No report is due that year.
- File online through HBE and pay the $12.50 fee, after confirming the figure on the portal's fee screen.
- Calendar the due date yourself, since BREG sends no reminders.
- Keep your mailing address and registered agent information current so BREG notices reach you.
- Save your confirmation and payment record each year.
Important information
This guide is informational only. It is not legal or tax advice. Fees, portal procedures and deadlines can change, so confirm current figures with BREG at https://cca.hawaii.gov/breg/ and with the Department of Taxation before you file or pay. For complex situations, such as a long filing lapse, a reinstatement beyond two years, multiple entities or tax questions, consult a qualified attorney or certified public accountant (CPA).