Owners of real property in Maui County who occupy their home as a principal residence may be entitled to a home exemption if certain requirements are met. Home exemption applications for the 2019 Assessment Year are due by December 31. 2018. There are significant property tax savings for homeowners who qualify. Some of the requirements for the 2019 Assessment Year are:

• Owner must own and occupy the property as their principal residence as of January 1, 2019 and file a claim for home exemption on or before December 31, 2018. The property must be owner occupied for more than two hundred seventy (270) days per year.
• Owner must file a 2017 State of Hawaii Resident Income Tax Return with a reported address in the County prior to January 1, 2019. Annual Hawaii Resident Income Tax filing required thereafter.
• Property taxes on the property must not be delinquent.
• Owner must not rent the entire premises for any portion of the year

The requirement to file a state resident tax return was changed in 2012 to ensure that homeowners receiving the exemption were in-state residents. Non-resident and part-year resident tax returns do not qualify for the home exemption. If you receive a notice from the Real Property Tax office informing you that your home exemption may be disallowed, please review it carefully and contact the Real Property Tax office for more information.

If you do qualify for a home exemption, make sure to get your application in on or before December 31, 2018 as you will need to wait a whole additional year to qualify if you miss the deadline.

Some links with additional information:

Claim for Home Exemption Form

Maui Real Property Tax Website