Hawaii veteran taxes

Military retired pay in Hawaii

Exempttax year 2025Source 1

Hawaii does not tax military retirement pay. The Department of Taxation’s 2025 Form N-11 instructions list a military pension among pension or annuity distributions from a government retirement system that Hawaii does not tax, unless voluntary contributions were made by an employee under an elective right; the instructions set no age or dollar limit.

Survivor Benefit Plan annuities

Check with the stateSources 2, 3

The Department of Taxation’s 2025 N-11 instructions do not name Survivor Benefit Plan annuities. They exclude distributions from a government retirement system, including a military pension, that are paid by reason of retirement, disability or death, but not benefits attributable to voluntary contributions made by an employee under an elective right, and they do not say how SBP annuities are treated.

Property tax relief for disabled veterans

Exemption or creditSources 4, 5

Hawaii’s real property tax is administered by each county. The state Office of Veterans’ Services says real property owned and occupied as a home by a totally disabled veteran or the veteran’s widow(er) has tax exemptions that vary by island, and directs veterans to the local real property tax office. In the City and County of Honolulu (Revised Ordinances of Honolulu § 8-10.5), the home of a veteran totally disabled due to injuries sustained on active duty is exempt from real property taxes except the minimum tax.

• Honolulu: claim on Form E-8-10.5 with a physician’s certificate of disability, filed by June 30 for the first payment or December 31 for the second payment.
• Maui County and Kauai County pages were not readable today; Hawaii County’s office is not on a government domain, so its rule was not read.

Vehicle registration for disabled veterans

Fee waiver or discountSources 6, 7, 8, 4

Under HRS § 249-31.5, a Hawaii resident who was other than dishonorably discharged and has a VA service-connected 100 percent disability rating is exempt from all annual vehicle registration fees required by HRS § 249-31 (the $46 state registration fee), for one vehicle not used for commercial purposes. The Office of Veterans’ Services says this covers only the $46 state fee, so county registration charges are still due, and the veteran needs a new exemption letter from that office each year.

• Separately, a passenger car furnished by the federal government because of a service disability, as the VA certifies, is exempt from the county vehicle weight tax under HRS § 249-6 (one vehicle, not commercial).
• The Office of Veterans’ Services says veteran and other military plates cost the same as a regular plate; no fee-free disabled veteran plate appears in the sources read.