Good to know
Good to Know
- There is no requirement for a foreign national to bring in a local Hawaii resident as a co-owner, partner, or sponsor to form or fully own an LLC or corporation in Hawaii.
- The DCCA Business Registration Division office that processes all filings, including those for Maui-based businesses, is physically located in Honolulu — everything is done by mail or online, not in person on Maui.
- Getting the EIN and opening a US business bank account are usually the slowest and most frustrating parts of the process for a non-resident foreigner, not the state filing itself.
- Forming a company does not grant any right to live or work in the US — that is governed separately by immigration/visa status, and running day-to-day operations in person on Maui without proper work authorization can create separate immigration issues.
- A registered agent with a real Hawaii street address is legally required at all times; letting this lapse can put the entity out of good standing.
- Hawaii has no sales tax, but the General Excise Tax (GET) is broader and often higher-impact for a small nomad-run business than a typical state sales tax would be, because it taxes gross receipts (including services, consulting, and digital products) with no small-business exemption.
- If you form a U.S. single-member LLC as a foreign owner, the IRS Form 5472 filing requirement applies even if the LLC had zero revenue that year — simply funding the LLC's bank account counts as a reportable transaction. Missing this filing carries a steep $25,000 minimum penalty, so budget for a U.S. accountant familiar with foreign-owned LLCs from day one.
- Freelancing without forming any company is legally simpler, but you still owe Hawaii GET on your gross business income and register for a GET license — 'not having a company' does not mean 'not having a Hawaii tax obligation.'
- This entry covers business/entity-level tax only; your personal income tax residency situation as a foreign national is a separate question covered in this city's Visa & Legal section.
General Excise Tax GET
- Base State Rate
- $4.00
- Maui County Combined Rate
- $4.50
- Maximum Visible Pass On Rate
- $4.71
- What It Is
- Hawaii has no traditional sales tax. Instead it levies the General Excise Tax (GET), a tax on a business's own gross receipts for the privilege of doing business in the state — not a tax collected from the customer.
Key Features
- GET is charged on gross revenue, not profit — it applies even in a loss-making year or on a business with thin margins.
- There is no small-business exemption or minimum revenue threshold; virtually every business activity (goods, services, consulting, rentals, digital products) is taxable.
- Passing GET on to customers as a line item is optional — the business owes the tax regardless of whether it's itemized on the invoice.
- A reduced 0.5% wholesale rate applies to qualifying business-to-business resale transactions.
Registration
- Form
- Form BB-1 (State of Hawaii Basic Business Application), filed via Hawaii Tax Online (hitax.hawaii.gov)
- One Time Fee
- $20
- Who Must Register
- Any person or entity conducting business in Hawaii, including foreign owners, freelancers, and sole proprietors — GET registration is required regardless of entity structure.
Federal Filing Obligations For Foreign Owners
C Corporation
- Requirement
- A U.S. C-corporation with 25% or more foreign ownership must file Form 5472 to report transactions with foreign related parties, in addition to its regular Form 1120 corporate tax return and payment of the 21% federal rate plus Hawaii's 4.4–6.4% state rate.
Single Member LLC Disregarded Entity
- Penalty
- Failure to file, or filing an incomplete Form 5472, triggers a $25,000 penalty per form, with additional $25,000 penalties for every 30-day period the failure continues after a 90-day IRS notice.
- Tax Owed
- The pro forma Form 1120 does not itself create corporate tax liability — it is a reporting attachment, not a tax return.
- Requirement
- A U.S. single-member LLC that is majority or wholly owned by a non-U.S. person is treated by the IRS as a 'foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entity' and must file Form 5472 attached to a pro forma Form 1120 every year in which there is a reportable transaction (which includes something as simple as the foreign owner's initial capital contribution to form the LLC).
- EIN Requirement
- The LLC must have an IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN) before filing; a foreign owner without a U.S. Social Security Number or ITIN cannot apply online and must apply by mail, fax, or phone using Form SS-4.
Multi Member LLC Taxed As Partnership
- Requirement
- A foreign-owned multi-member LLC taxed as a partnership is generally NOT subject to the Form 5472/1120 regime; instead it typically files Form 1065 (partnership return) with K-1s issued to each member if it has income, expenses, deductions, or credits to report.
Freelancer Sole Proprietor Vs Forming A Company
Sole Proprietor Freelancer
- Liability
- No liability shield — the individual's personal assets are exposed to business debts and claims.
- Structure
- No separate legal entity is created; the individual is personally taxed and personally liable for business debts.
- Hawaii Obligation
- Still required to register for and pay the Hawaii GET on gross business receipts via the same BB-1/Form process — GET applies regardless of whether the business is incorporated.
- Practical Note
- Simplest and cheapest path to start earning locally, but offers no asset protection and no separation between personal and business finances.
Forming An LLC Or Corporation
- Tradeoff
- Comes with the added federal reporting burden described above (EIN, Form 5472/pro forma 1120 for a foreign-owned single-member LLC) plus the $15/year Hawaii DCCA annual report and the need for a Hawaii registered agent.
- LLC Vs Ccorp
- A default LLC (disregarded entity or partnership) is pass-through and avoids the 'double taxation' a C-corp faces (21% federal + Hawaii 4.4–6.4% at the entity level, then tax again on dividends), but a foreign-owned single-member LLC still carries the strict Form 5472 reporting duty regardless of income level.
- Why Foreigners Do It
- Provides liability protection separating personal assets from business debts, and can make it easier to open a U.S. business bank account or contract with local clients/vendors.
Typical Costs
USD
USD
USD
Expedited Processing Add-on
- Expedited Processing Add On
- $25
Annual Report Filing Fee (Online)
- Annual Report Filing Fee (Online)
- $13
Annual Report Filing Fee (Mail)
- Annual Report Filing Fee (Mail)
- $15
Certified Copy of a Filing
- Certified Copy Of A Filing
- $13
USD
Entity Options
DCCA Business Registration Division
- Entity Type
- Domestic LLC (formed fresh in Hawaii)
- Filing Form
- Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1)
DCCA Business Registration Division
- Entity Type
- Domestic Corporation (formed fresh in Hawaii)
- Filing Form
- Articles of Incorporation
DCCA Business Registration Division
- Entity Type
- Foreign (out-of-state/out-of-country) LLC registering to do business in Hawaii
- Filing Form
- Application for Certificate of Authority (Form FLLC-1)
DCCA Business Registration Division
- Entity Type
- Foreign (out-of-state/out-of-country) Corporation registering to do business in Hawaii
- Filing Form
- Application for Certificate of Authority for Foreign Corporation (Form FC-1)
Jurisdiction Note
Maui is a county within the U.S. state of Hawaii; business tax rules here are set at the federal (IRS) and Hawaii state level — there is no separate Maui-only business tax code beyond the county GET surcharge noted below.
Federal Corporate Tax
- Rate
- Flat 21% federal corporate income tax rate on net taxable income (standard U.S. federal C-corp rate, unrelated to Hawaii-specific rules).
- Applies To
- C-corporations (including foreign-owned single-member LLCs that elect corporate taxation)
Entity Registration With State
- Agency
- Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA)
- Registered Agent
- A Hawaii-based registered agent with a physical Hawaii address is required for any LLC or corporation, which matters for foreign owners who don't have a local address.
- LLC Annual Report Fee
- $15
Annual report required to keep an LLC in active/good standing
Hawaii State Corporate Income Tax
- Cite
- Yes
- Brackets
- 4.4% on income up to $25,000; 5.4% on income over $25,000 up to $100,000; 6.4% on income over $100,000
- Structure
- graduated
- Note
- Citation pending
Core Steps
Core Steps
- Choose an entity type (LLC is the most commonly used structure for small nomad-run businesses) and check name availability with DCCA.
- Appoint a Hawaii-based registered agent with a physical street address.
- File the appropriate formation form (Articles of Organization / Articles of Incorporation) or, if the entity already exists elsewhere, the foreign-qualification Certificate of Authority form, online via Hawaii Business Express or by mail/email/fax.
- Obtain a federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. Non-US-resident foreigners without a Social Security Number cannot use the IRS's instant online EIN tool and must apply by phone, fax, or mail, which is noticeably slower.
- Register with the Hawaii Department of Taxation for a General Excise Tax (GET) license — required for essentially any business activity in the state, separate from the entity filing itself.
- Open a US business bank account — non-resident foreigners often find this the most friction-heavy step, sometimes requiring an in-person visit to a US branch.
- File the required Annual Report with DCCA every year to keep the entity in good standing.
- Obtain any additional Maui County or state professional/trade licenses relevant to the specific business activity.
Jurisdiction Note
Business entity registration in Hawaii is handled entirely at the state level by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), Business Registration Division (BREG) in Honolulu — there is no separate Maui-specific incorporation authority. A Maui-based business filed the same way as one in Honolulu or Kona. Maui County does administer its own separate operating permits (e.g. general business license checks, zoning, health permits for food businesses) which are additional to, and separate from, state incorporation.
Realistic Timeline
- Expedited Option
- Paying the extra $25 expedited fee gets same-day/24-hour review of the filing itself.
- EIN For Foreign Owners
- US citizens/SSN holders can get an EIN instantly online; foreign owners without an SSN/ITIN must apply by phone, fax, or mail, which commonly adds several weeks before the entity has a usable EIN for banking and tax registration.
- Entity Formation Online
- Online filings are typically processed in about 5 business days.
- Overall Realistic Estimate
- Roughly 1–3 weeks for the Hawaii entity filing itself to be approved, but plan for 4–8 weeks total before the business is fully operational (EIN issued, GET license active, and a US bank account open), given the added friction non-resident foreigners face with the EIN and banking steps.
- Entity Formation Mail Email Fax
- Mail, email, or fax filings can take up to about a week once received, plus mail transit time.
Registered Agent Requirement
Mandatory for every Hawaii LLC or corporation (domestic or foreign-qualified). The registered agent must have a physical street address in Hawaii (no P.O. boxes) and be available during normal business hours. A foreign owner not living in Hawaii will typically need to hire a commercial registered agent service.
Official Government Registry Link
Local Partner Or Sponsor Requirement
None. The United States, including Hawaii, does not require a foreign national to have a local/US-citizen partner, sponsor, or nominee shareholder to form or own 100% of an LLC or corporation. A non-resident foreigner can be the sole owner, member, or director.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this business permits & incorporation for foreigners research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.