Honolulu's Empty Homes Tax: What Oʻahu Homeowners Should Actually Know

If you own a home on Oʻahu that sits vacant for part of the year — a family property between renters, an inherited home still in probate, a place you're slowly fixing up — you may have heard talk of a new "Empty Homes Tax." It's been in the news again this year, and for good reason: it keeps almost happening, then not happening. Here's where things actually stand.

What the Empty Homes Tax would actually do

The general idea behind the proposal is a steep additional property tax on residential homes that sit vacant for more than six months out of the year, on top of what owners already pay. The most recent detailed version (Bill 46) called for a phased-in rate — around 1% of the property's assessed value in the first year, climbing to roughly 3% in later years — with a long list of exemptions for things like active construction, probate, medical absence, and military deployment. The goal, according to supporters, is to push empty homes back onto the rental or sales market to help with Oʻahu's housing shortage.

It has failed before — repeatedly

• 2020, 2022, 2024. Versions of this tax (Bill 6, Bill 9, and Bill 46) have each come before the Honolulu City Council and failed to pass, for reasons ranging from enforcement concerns to legal risk.
• 2026 ballot attempt blocked. A separate push to let Oʻahu voters decide the issue directly through a City Charter amendment was blocked in July 2026, when the Honolulu Charter Commission voted 8–5 to keep it off the November ballot — one vote short of the supermajority needed. Commissioners who opposed placing it on the ballot argued the charter isn't the right vehicle for a tax this complicated, and that it belongs with the City Council instead.

So is it in effect right now?

No. As of this writing, there is no Empty Homes Tax in effect anywhere on Oʻahu, and no version of it has been enacted into law. It has been proposed and killed multiple times over the past several years, and the most recent attempt to get it in front of voters was also blocked. That said, given how many times it has resurfaced, it would be a mistake to assume the idea is gone for good — supporters have said they intend to keep pushing it back to the City Council.

What this means for you right now

• Nothing changes today. Your property tax bill is calculated under the current rules — this proposal has no legal effect unless and until an actual ordinance passes.
• If you have a vacant property, the bigger near-term risks are practical, not tax-related. Insurance vacancy clauses, squatters, and deterioration are real issues right now, regardless of what happens with this proposal — see my article on the hidden dangers of a vacant home for what to actually do about it.
• Keep an eye on this if it affects you. If you own a second home, an inherited property, or a place you rent out seasonally, a future version of this tax could eventually apply to you. It's worth staying generally aware, without losing sleep over a bill that hasn't passed.

Getting the right help

Whether a future version of this tax would apply to your specific property, and what exemptions might realistically cover your situation, will depend entirely on whatever final ordinance — if any — eventually passes. I can't predict city council politics. What I can help with is making sure you're not caught off guard, and connecting you with the right resources if your vacant property situation needs attention now, regardless of this proposal.