What a Hawaii LLC Actually Costs to Form and Run

The unavoidable upfront cost is the state filing fee for your Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1), paid to the Business Registration Division (BREG) when you file. The state collects $51 in total: a $50 nonrefundable filing fee plus a $1 State Archives fee that applies to the filing. BREG's July 2026 move to a new online portal didn't change any filing fees.

Optional add-ons at formation

• Expedited processing: BREG's fee list still shows a $25 expedited review, but on the new portal BREG says expedited processing is not available at this time, so for now there's nothing to buy here.
• Name reservation: If you want to lock in your name before you are ready to file, you can reserve it with BREG for 120 days for $10 (Form X-1). This is optional and separate from formation.
• Certified copies: If a bank or another party requires a certified copy of your filed Articles, the state charges a small fee to issue one.

What you should not pay for

Getting an EIN from the IRS is free. Anyone charging you for the number alone is charging for a form you can complete yourself in about ten minutes; when you form with Mainstay, we apply for it for you as part of the yearly price. Your operating agreement does not carry a state fee, since it is never filed. Be skeptical of any quote that inflates the true state costs or tacks on charges for things Hawaii does not require.

Forming the LLC is a one-time expense. Keeping it alive brings a small set of recurring costs, and one of them (the General Excise Tax) is the item that most surprises new owners.

Annual report fee

Every Hawaii LLC files an annual report with BREG. Filed online, it costs $12.50 (DCCA's July 2026 notice); the paper form is $15. The report is due by the end of the calendar quarter in which the LLC registered, so budget for it in the right window: first quarter registrations by March 31, second by June 30, third by September 30, fourth by December 31. Nothing is due in the year you register. File late and BREG adds a $10 late fee for each year you're delinquent.

Registered agent

If you live in Hawaii and serve as your own registered agent, there is no direct cost, but you have to be reachable at your business address for service and you put that address in the public record. A commercial registered agent charges an annual fee in exchange for a private professional address, staff to receive service of process, and reliable document forwarding. Changing agents later costs $25 in state fees. Mainstay Filing includes registered agent service, so this cost is bundled rather than a separate surprise.

General Excise Tax

This is not a flat fee (it is a tax on your gross business income), but it belongs in any honest cost picture for a Hawaii LLC. Because GET is assessed on gross receipts rather than net profit, and because it applies broadly to sales, services, and rents, it can be a meaningful line in your budget. You register for a GET license with the Hawaii Department of Taxation separately from forming the LLC (the license is a one-time $20 fee), then file and pay on a schedule the state assigns. Owners who forget to price GET into their offerings often find their margins thinner than planned.

Beyond the core state fees, several costs apply only to some businesses. Knowing which ones touch you keeps your budget realistic.

Foreign qualification

If your LLC was formed in another state and you are registering it to do business in Hawaii, you pay a foreign registration fee for the Certificate of Authority instead of the domestic formation fee, and you will usually need a certificate of good standing from your home state, which that state may charge for.

Trade name (DBA)

Operating under a name other than your LLC's legal name requires registering a trade name (Form T-1) with BREG, which carries its own fee and runs for five years before renewal. Only businesses using an alternate brand name need this.

Licenses and permits

Hawaii has no single general business license, but your industry or county may require permits or professional licensure, each with its own fee and renewal cycle. Short-term rental operators face Transient Accommodations Tax registration. These are separate from the LLC itself.

Professional help

An attorney to draft a complex operating agreement, or a CPA to handle GET filings and an S-corp election analysis, are optional but often worthwhile costs as the business grows. They are not state requirements. They are investments in getting the structure and taxes right.

A clear way to think about it: year one is the formation fee plus whatever recurring items start immediately, and every year after is the recurring set alone.

Year one

Expect the $51 state formation fee, your first registered agent term if you use a service, the $20 GET license and first GET payments once you start earning, and any optional add-ons like a $10 name reservation or a trade name. You won't owe an annual report in the year you form. Hawaii says an entity registered in the same year a report would be due doesn't file one for that year, so your first report comes due in your registration quarter the following year.

Ongoing years

Each following year is lighter: the $12.50 online annual report, your registered agent renewal, and your ongoing GET obligations. Hawaii's state-level recurring fees are genuinely low, so for most small LLCs the largest ongoing number is GET, which scales with revenue rather than being a fixed charge.

Where Mainstay Filing fits

Mainstay charges one flat yearly price that covers the whole job: preparing and filing your formation, applying for your EIN, serving as your registered agent every year you stay with us, and filing your annual report in your quarter each year. State fees are passed through at cost, and the receipt card shows exactly what you are paying. There are no padded state fees, no separate agent renewal, and no charges for things, like the EIN, that are actually free.