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State rules · Hawaii

Hawaii: estate, probate and Medicaid rules in one place

What applies in Hawaii, collected from the site’s state datasets: estate and inheritance tax, transfer-on-death deeds, small-estate procedure, Medicaid long-term-care rules, and state income tax on retirement income. Where the dataset holds a source, the entry links it with its effective marker and check date; where it does not, the entry shows its verification status and the reason.

Quick answers

Does Hawaii have a state estate tax?

State estate tax: Yes (Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 236E (§ 236E-6 exclusion; § 236E-8 rate schedule)). Estate-tax exemption: $5,490,000 (Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 236E (§ 236E-6 exclusion; § 236E-8 rate schedule); 2026 deaths). Estate-tax top rate: 20% (Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 236E (§ 236E-6 exclusion; § 236E-8 rate schedule); 2026 deaths).

Does Hawaii have an inheritance tax?

Inheritance tax: No (Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 236E (§ 236E-6 exclusion; § 236E-8 rate schedule)).

Can you use a transfer-on-death deed in Hawaii?

Transfer-on-death deed for real estate: Available — Transfer-on-death deed. Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 527 (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act) — verify the current section on the Hawaii State Legislature's statute site

What is the Medicaid look-back period in Hawaii?

Look-back period: 60 months (Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 17-1725.1; Effective September 30, 2013).

Does Hawaii tax Social Security benefits?

Social Security benefits: pending. Primary-source classification has not yet been completed for this income type.

State estate tax

Estate-tax dataset 2026.v2

State estate tax
YesVerified

Source: Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 236E (§ 236E-6 exclusion; § 236E-8 rate schedule) · Checked July 18, 2026

Estate-tax exemption
$5,490,000Verified

Source: Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 236E (§ 236E-6 exclusion; § 236E-8 rate schedule) · Effective: 2026 deaths · Checked July 18, 2026

Estate-tax filing threshold
$5,490,000Verified

Source: Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 236E (§ 236E-6 exclusion; § 236E-8 rate schedule) · Checked July 18, 2026

Estate-tax top rate
20%Verified

Source: Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 236E (§ 236E-6 exclusion; § 236E-8 rate schedule) · Effective: 2026 deaths · Checked July 18, 2026

Full detail: Hawaii estate and inheritance tax page

Inheritance tax

Estate-tax dataset 2026.v2

Inheritance tax
NoVerified

Source: Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 236E (§ 236E-6 exclusion; § 236E-8 rate schedule) · Checked July 18, 2026

Full detail: Hawaii estate and inheritance tax page

Transfer-on-death deed

Transfer-on-death deed for real estate
Available — Transfer-on-death deedNot primary-verified

Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 527 (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act) — verify the current section on the Hawaii State Legislature's statute site

· Checked July 26, 2026

Controlling statute
Not primary-verified

Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 527 (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act) — verify the current section on the Hawaii State Legislature's statute site

· Checked July 26, 2026

Full detail: Hawaii transfer-on-death deed page

Small-estate procedure

Current rule
$100,000 gross Hawaii estate excluding motor vehicles; no death-date waiting periodVerified

Source: HRS § 560:3-1201 · Effective: current · Checked August 23, 2026

Successor accountability
HRS § 560:3-1202Verified

Source: HRS § 560:3-1202 · Effective: current · Checked August 23, 2026

Full detail: Hawaii small-estate procedure page

Medicaid long-term-care eligibility

Medicaid dataset 2026.v16

Optional categorically needy aged or disabled income standard
$1,530 per month (100% of the federal poverty level)Verified
  • Applies to: one-person household.

Source: Hawaii 2026 MAGI and MAGI-excepted income standards chart · Also: Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 17-1719 · Effective: Effective January 13, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Medically needy income level
$469 per month before incurred-medical-expense spenddownVerified
  • Applies to: one-person household.

Source: Hawaii 2026 MAGI and MAGI-excepted income standards chart · Also: Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 17-1719 · Effective: Effective January 13, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Applicant resource limit
$2,000Verified
  • Applies to: single applicant.

Source: Hawaii 2026 MAGI and MAGI-excepted income standards chart · Also: Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 17-1725.1 · Effective: Effective January 13, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Maximum community-spouse resource allowance
$162,660Verified
  • Applies to: institutionalized applicant with a community spouse.

Source: Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 17-1725.1 · Also: CMS 2026 SSI and January spousal-impoverishment standards · Effective: Effective September 30, 2013 · Checked September 5, 2026

Maximum monthly maintenance-needs allowance
$4,066.50 per monthVerified
  • Applies to: institutionalized applicant with a community spouse.

Source: Hawaii Medicaid State Plan Attachment 2.6-A · Also: CMS 2026 minimum maintenance-needs standards · Effective: TN 98-003 effective October 1, 1998; approved December 11, 1998 · Checked September 5, 2026

Current home-equity limit
Not yet verified
  • Applies to: applicant subject to Hawaii's state-selected federal endpoint.

The reviewed primary material did not provide a current, effective-dated value or rule for this cell.

· Checked September 5, 2026 · Ask the state agency

Full detail: Hawaii Medicaid eligibility page

Medicaid look-back

Medicaid dataset 2026.v16

Look-back period
60 monthsVerified

Source: Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 17-1725.1 · Effective: Effective September 30, 2013 · Checked September 5, 2026

Transfer-penalty divisor
Not yet verified

The reviewed primary material did not provide a current, effective-dated value or rule for this cell.

· Checked September 5, 2026 · Ask the state agency

How the state administers the penalty
Hawaii aggregates uncompensated transfers, divides by the statewide average private-pay nursing-facility rate in effect when long-term-care coverage is requested, retains partial months, and applies the penalty from the later date specified in the rule.Verified

Source: Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 17-1725.1 · Effective: Effective September 30, 2013 · Checked September 5, 2026

Full detail: Hawaii Medicaid look-back page

Medicaid estate recovery

Medicaid dataset 2026.v16

Recovery scope
Expanded estate recovery includes probate property and specified nonprobate interests such as joint ownership, survivorship interests, life estates, living trusts, and other arrangements in which the recipient held an interest at death.Verified

Source: Hawaii Medicaid State Plan Attachment 4.17-A · Effective: State-plan Attachment 4.17-A page 2 effective February 1, 1996 · Checked September 5, 2026

Controlling authority
Hawaii Revised Statutes §§ 346-29.5 and 346-37, Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 17-1705, and State Plan Attachment 4.17-A govern recovery.Verified

Source: Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 17-1705, Subchapter 5 · Also: Hawaii Medicaid State Plan Attachment 4.17-A · Effective: Rules governing medical-assistance recovery effective September 30, 2013 · Checked September 5, 2026

Exemptions and deferrals
Recovery is postponed while a surviving spouse lives and while a surviving child is under 21, blind, or disabled; lien rules also protect a qualifying sibling or caregiver child residing in the home.Verified

Source: Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 17-1705, Subchapter 5 · Effective: Rules governing medical-assistance recovery effective September 30, 2013 · Checked September 5, 2026

Hardship waiver
The state plan provides an undue-hardship waiver process for estate recovery.Verified

Source: Hawaii Medicaid State Plan Attachment 4.17-A · Effective: State-plan Attachment 4.17-A page 2 effective February 1, 1996 · Checked September 5, 2026

Lien practice
Hawaii may impose a lien on real property after determining an institutionalized recipient cannot reasonably be expected to return home, subject to protected-occupant and notice rules; the lien is dissolved if the recipient returns home.Verified

Source: Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 17-1705, Subchapter 5 · Effective: Rules governing medical-assistance recovery effective September 30, 2013 · Checked September 5, 2026

Full detail: Hawaii Medicaid estate-recovery page

State income tax on retirement income

Retirement-income tax dataset 2026.v4

Social Security benefits
Pending

Primary-source classification has not yet been completed for this income type.

Public pensions
Pending

Primary-source classification has not yet been completed for this income type.

Private pensions
Pending

Primary-source classification has not yet been completed for this income type.

IRA and 401(k) distributions
Pending

Primary-source classification has not yet been completed for this income type.

Military retirement pay
Pending

Primary-source classification has not yet been completed for this income type.

Full detail: Retirement-income tax dataset, all states (JSON)

About this page

This page assembles entries from datasets the site already publishes; it adds no figure of its own. Entries marked “Not yet verified” or “Pending” have no primary-source value in the underlying dataset yet. Rules change, so confirm anything you plan to act on with the source, the state agency, or a licensed attorney.

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