General Exercise Tax is similar in some respects to a sales tax. When you buy something at a store, GET is usually added to the purchase price. GET also applies to independent contractors, such as landlords, realtors, handymen, etc. The State of Hawaii collects GET at several different levels.
Transient Accommodations Tax is also known as the hotel room tax. It applies primarily to short term rentals, generally defined as less than 180 days
So everyone who has a rental unit will require a GET and if you do short-term rental that is less than 6 months then you will also need to get TAT.
You can get them both at the same time via an online website
By clicking on this link, it will lead you to the Hawaii Business Express where you will then
click on create an account
enter your email
Your legal name and your contact info
You will be doing as sole proprietor (for most people it is the case)
and you can select how often you report your GET and TAT.
For most, you can start out with a semi-annual reporting frequency
and for some, you may choose quarterly reporting.
