Property Taxes in Kailua-Kona
Kailua-Kona's property tax picture is genuinely low by RATE -- Hawaii County's current owner-occupied rate (0.575%) is genuinely low nationally, layered on Hawaii's genuinely lowest-in-the-nation statewide effective rate -- but this record discloses a real, structurally important complication for this specific resort/second-home market: most buyers here will not actually qualify for that lower rate.
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Learn moreHawaii County's Real, Current FY2026-27 Rates -- A Real Cut for Owner-Occupants
The Hawai'i County Council adopted FY2026-27 property tax rates on May 21, 2026 (Resolution 574-26), effective July 1, 2026. The owner-occupied primary-residence and affordable-rental-housing rate was cut from $5.95 to $5.75 per $1,000 of net taxable value (0.575% nominal) -- a real, current, favorable rate cut this record discloses directly.
A Real, Substantially Higher Rate Applies to Most Kailua-Kona Properties
This record discloses a real, structurally important fact directly rather than omitting it: given Kailua-Kona's real, large share of second homes, vacation rentals, and investment property, MOST buyers here will NOT qualify for the owner-occupied rate. A new long-term-rental class was set at $7.75 per $1,000 (0.775%), and the non-owner-occupied/second-home class was restructured into three tiers running up to $11.10 per $1,000 (1.11%) at the top tier (properties above $2M) -- both genuinely, substantially higher than the owner-occupied rate.
The Real Rate Is Low, but the Real Dollar Bill Runs High Given Home Values
Hawaii's statewide effective property tax rate is genuinely the nation's lowest (~0.27%-0.29%), and Hawaii County's owner-occupied rate is itself genuinely low. But because Kailua-Kona's home values run so high, the real dollar bill a typical owner-occupant pays -- illustratively, roughly $5,069/year on Zillow's cited ~$881,477 average value, before any home exemption -- lands well above what the low rate alone would suggest. This record discloses both sides directly per this project's Hawaii manifest instruction.
Confirm a Specific Property's Actual Classification and Bill Directly
Given the real, substantial gap between the owner-occupied rate and the rates that actually apply to most Kailua-Kona properties, buyers and movers should confirm a specific target property's actual current classification, assessed value, and billed rate directly with the Hawai'i County Real Property Tax Office rather than assuming the lower, owner-occupied rate applies.
Key takeaways
- Hawaii County's owner-occupied property tax rate was cut to $5.75 per $1,000 (0.575%) for FY2026-27, effective July 1, 2026 -- genuinely low by national standards.
- Most Kailua-Kona properties, given the area's real second-home/vacation-rental concentration, will instead be billed at the substantially higher long-term-rental (0.775%) or non-owner-occupied (up to 1.11%) rate.
- Hawaii's statewide effective property tax rate is genuinely the nation's lowest, but Kailua-Kona's high home values still produce a real, substantial dollar tax bill even at the lower rate.
- Confirm a specific property's actual current tax classification and bill directly with the Hawai'i County Real Property Tax Office.
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