HB2444 • 2026

RELATING TO TAXATION.

Taxes

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: TEMPLO, ALCOS, AMATO, BELATTI, HUSSEY, IWAMOTO, KILA, KUSCH, LOWEN, MARTEN, MATAYOSHI, MORIKAWA, MURAOKA, PIERICK, POEPOE, SHIMIZU, SOUZA, TAKAYAMA
Last action: 2026-03-12
Official status: Referred to HOU, WAM.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

RELATING TO TAXATION.

What This Bill Does

RELATING TO TAXATION.
Low-Income Household Renters; Income Tax Credit; Income Eligibility Increase; Credit per Exemption Increases the income eligibility limit and credit amount per exemption claimed for the income tax credit for low-income household renters.
Effective 7/1/3000.
(HD3)

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: HB2444 HD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB2444 HD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
2444 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION .

HD2

Hawaii published version HD2

Plain English: HB2444 HD2 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB2444 HD2 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
2444 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
2 STATE OF HAWAII A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION .

HD3

Hawaii published version HD3

Plain English: HB2444 HD3 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB2444 HD3 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
2444 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
3 STATE OF HAWAII A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION .

Bill History

2026-03-12 S
Referred to HOU, WAM.
2026-03-12 S
Passed First Reading.
2026-03-12 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 421).
2026-03-10 H
Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 3 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Kong, Pierick excused (2). Transmitted to Senate.
2026-03-06 H
Forty-eight (48) hours notice Tuesday, 03-10-26.
2026-03-06 H
Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1089-26) as amended in HD 3, recommending passage on Third Reading.
2026-03-02 H
The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Alcos.
2026-02-27 H
Bill scheduled for decision making on Monday, 03-02-26 10:00AM in conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-02-27 H
The committee(s) on FIN recommend(s) that the measure be deferred until 03-02-26.
2026-02-24 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Friday, 02-27-26 2:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-02-20 H
Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1).
2026-02-20 H
Reported from ECD (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 620-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to FIN.
2026-02-18 H
The committee on ECD recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Ilagan, Hussey, Tam, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-02-12 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by ECD on Wednesday, 02-18-26 9:30AM in House conference room 423 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-02-11 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on ECD with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Holt excused (1).
2026-02-11 H
Reported from HSG (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 142-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to ECD.
2026-02-06 H
The committee on HSG recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Evslin, Miyake, Cochran, Grandinetti, Kila, Kitagawa, Muraoka, Pierick; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) La Chica.
2026-02-03 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by HSG on Friday, 02-06-26 9:30AM in House conference room 430 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-02-02 H
Referred to HSG, ECD, FIN, referral sheet 6
2026-01-28 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2026-01-27 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO TAXATION.
Low-Income Household Renters; Income Tax Credit; Income Eligibility Increase; Credit per Exemption
Increases the income eligibility limit and credit amount per exemption claimed for the income tax credit for low-income household renters. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD3)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB2444

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2444

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to taxation
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION
1.
�
The legislature finds that renters in
Hawaii face some of the highest housing and cost-of-living burdens in the
nation.
�
Unlike homeowners, renters do
not directly benefit from property tax relief programs and are
disproportionately impacted by regressive taxes, including the general excise
tax.
�
The legislature further finds that
targeted, refundable renter tax credits are an effective way to provide
immediate relief to lower-income households, support housing stability, and
improve economic security, particularly for families with dependents.

����
The
purpose of this Act is to increase the income tax credit for low-income
household renters from $50 to $100 per exemption claimed by the taxpayer.

����
SECTION
2
.
�
Section 235-55.7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

����
"(c)
�
Each taxpayer with an adjusted gross income
of less than $30,000 who has paid more than $1,000 in rent during the taxable
year for which the credit is claimed may claim a tax credit of [
$50
]
$100

multiplied by the number of qualified exemptions to which the taxpayer is
entitled; provided
that
each taxpayer sixty-five years of age or over
may claim double the tax credit; [
and
] provided
further
that a
resident individual who has no income or no income taxable under this chapter
may also claim the tax credit as set forth in this section."

����
SECTION
3.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.

����
SECTION 4.
�
This Act, upon its approval, shall apply to
taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Low-Income
Household Renters; Income Tax Credit; Increase

Description:

Increases
the tax credit for low-income household renters from $50 to $100 per exemption
claimed by the taxpayer.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.