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Property tax foreclosure in Hawaii

In Hawaii, property taxes are set and collected by each county: Honolulu, Maui, Hawaii County and Kauai. Hawaii's statewide real property tax law was repealed in 2016, so the tax sale rules are in county ordinances. Each county uses a redeemable tax deed sale: the county auctions the property, the buyer gets a tax deed, and you have 1 year to buy it back by paying the buyer with 12% interest. Money above the taxes and costs is surplus that the former owner and lienholders must claim.

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Reviewed against Hawaii law and official sources on October 11, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

The property tax process in Hawaii, step by step

  1. Your county runs the process

    Call your county's real property tax office as soon as you fall behind. Honolulu uses Revised Ordinances of Honolulu sections 8-5.1 to 8-5.9, Maui uses Maui County Code chapter 3.48, and Hawaii County uses chapter 19 of its code.

    ROH §§ 8-5.1 to 8-5.9; MCC ch. 3.48; HCC ch. 19

  2. Delinquency and the road to a sale

    Usually after taxes are years behind

    Unpaid taxes become a lien and build penalties and interest. A 2021 Hawaii County audit says that county's tax office treats parcels more than 2 years delinquent as candidates for tax sale. Paying all taxes, penalties, interest and costs before the sale stops it.

  3. Notice of proposed sale

    Advertised for at least 4 weeks before the sale

    The county publishes a notice of proposed sale listing each parcel and its upset price, which is the taxes, penalties, interest and sale costs. Maui says its notices are advertised once a week for at least 4 weeks and posted at county offices and online.

  4. Tax deed auction

    Sale day

    The county auctions the property to the highest bidder for at least the upset price and gives the buyer a tax deed, subject to your right to redeem. The county does not warrant the title.

  5. Redeem within 1 year

    1 year from the sale, or from recording if the deed is recorded more than 60 days after the sale

    Pay the buyer what they paid, plus their costs and the deed recording fee, plus 12% interest a year. You deal directly with the buyer, not the county, so get the buyer's name from the county and keep proof of payment.

    MCC § 3.48.270

  6. After the redemption year

    After the redemption period ends

    If you do not redeem, the buyer keeps the property. Maui says removing anyone still living there is up to the buyer, not the county, so the buyer would have to go to court.

  7. Claim the tax sale surplus

    Hawaii County: lienholders within 1 year, owners within 2 years

    Money above the upset price may be claimed by the former owner and lienholders, and Kauai says you must file a claim. A 2021 Hawaii County audit says owner claims are due 2 years after the sale and unclaimed surplus then goes to the county's general fund, so file early with your county's tax office.

    MCC § 3.48.285

Common questions in Hawaii

Does Hawaii have a statewide property tax sale law?

No. The state's real property tax law, HRS chapter 246, was repealed in 2016. Each county now taxes property and runs its own tax sales under its own ordinances, so the rules and deadlines can differ by island.

How much does it cost to redeem my home after a Hawaii tax sale?

You pay the buyer the purchase price, the buyer's costs and recording fee, and 12% interest a year. In Maui County, if the redemption period is extended because the deed was recorded late, no interest is added for the extra time.

What happens to unclaimed tax sale surplus in Hawaii County?

A 2021 Hawaii County audit describes a 2-year deadline for owners to claim surplus, after which unclaimed surplus goes to the county's general fund. Ask the county's real property tax office for the claim form and deadline as soon as the sale happens.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Hawaii

Understand the process

What is happening and how much time there is.

Weigh your options

What can stop it, and what happens if it goes ahead.

Get help now

Who to call, and what to do when a sale is scheduled.

Also in Hawaii

Property tax foreclosure (this page)Claim surplus funds

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Sources for this page

  1. HRS chapter 246 (real property tax law, repealed 2016)
  2. County of Maui: Real Property Tax, Tax Sale FAQs
  3. County of Kauai: Proposed Foreclosure Sale of Real Property (tax sale instructions)
  4. City and County of Honolulu: Notice of Proposed Sale of Real Property (April 2026), Star-Advertiser legal notices
  5. Hawaii County Office of the County Auditor: Real Property Tax Division Revenue Cycle Management audit (2021)
  6. HRS § 523A-3 (presumptions of abandonment)
  7. HRS § 523A-25 (agreement to locate property)
  8. Hawaii Department of Budget and Finance: Unclaimed Property
  9. HRS Chapter 667, Foreclosures (current table of contents)
  10. HRS § 667-1 (definitions, including owner-occupant)
  11. HRS § 667-1.5 (foreclosure by action)
  12. HRS § 667-3 (proceeds, how applied)
  13. HRS § 667-10 (surplus after sale)
  14. HRS § 667-17 (attorney affirmation in judicial foreclosure)
  15. HRS § 667-20 (publication of notice of public sale in a foreclosure by action)
  16. HRS § 667-22 (notice of default and intention to foreclose)
  17. HRS § 667-24 (cure of default)
  18. HRS § 667-25 (date and place of public sale)
  19. HRS § 667-27 (public notice of public sale, cure up to three business days before sale)
  20. HRS § 667-29.5 (eligible bidder, subsequent bid; added 2025)
  21. HRS § 667-31 (distribution of sale proceeds in power of sale foreclosure)
  22. HRS § 667-33 (recordation of affidavit and conveyance; possession)
  23. HRS § 667-38 (deficiency judgment against owner-occupant prohibited)
  24. HRS § 667-41 (public information notice describing both foreclosure types)
  25. HRS § 667-53 (conversion to judicial foreclosure)
  26. HRS § 667-55 (required statement on conversion and deficiency)
  27. HRS § 667-56 (prohibited conduct)
  28. HRS § 667-59 (lender bound by agents' communications)
  29. HRS § 667-71 (dispute resolution: applicability)
  30. HRS § 667-78 (owner-occupant's election of dispute resolution; $300 fee; 30 days)
  31. HRS § 667-83 (stay of nonjudicial foreclosure during dispute resolution)
  32. HRS Chapter 480E, Mortgage Rescue Fraud Prevention Act (table of contents)
  33. HRS § 480E-10 (prohibitions for distressed property consultants)
  34. Act 105, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025 (S.B. 332), effective July 1, 2025
  35. Hawaii Rules of Civil Procedure (Rule 12(a), 20 days to answer)
  36. Hawaii State Judiciary: Mortgage Foreclosure (conversion, Third Circuit mediation pilot, legal help contacts)
  37. Hawaii State Judiciary: Judicial Foreclosure Cases and Conversion Petitions Filed (monthly counts through September 2026)
  38. H.B. 1417 (2013), legislative findings on lenders' move to judicial foreclosure
  39. DCCA: Mortgage Foreclosure Dispute Resolution (MFDR) Program and FAQs
  40. DCCA: Hawaii Foreclosure Information Center
  41. DCCA: Foreclosure Scams
  42. HHFDC: Homeowner Assistance Fund (all programs closed to new applications)
  43. U.S. Department of the Treasury: Homeowner Assistance Fund
  44. Governor of Hawaii: Thirty-Second Proclamation Relating to Wildfires (August 2026, through October 23, 2026)
  45. County of Maui Resolution 23-244 (December 2023) urging a foreclosure moratorium, noting HRS Chapter 667 had not been suspended
  46. DCCA Division of Financial Institutions: Consumer Complaint FAQs
  47. Hawaii State Bar Association: Lawyer Referral and Information Service
  48. Legal Aid Society of Hawaii: Get Help