Hawaii is one of only two states that take one of these deductions and refuse the other. Act 35 of 2026 adopted the federal tips deduction but expressly declined the overtime one, so tips cut your Hawaii tax and overtime does not. Hawaii then taxes what is left after an $8,000 standard deduction and a $1,144 exemption per person, at rates from 1.4% to 11%.
What it means on a real paycheck
Take a single filer earning $50,000 a year, $8,000 of it in tips. Against the same person with no tips to declare, the federal deduction is worth $960.
In Hawaii it is worth $563 more, because the state follows the federal deduction. Together that is $1,523.
How Hawaii works out the tax
Hawaii charges graduated rates from 1.4% up to 11%, across 12 bands, after a standard deduction of $8,000 single or $16,000 filing jointly and an exemption of $1,144 a person. It begins from your federal adjusted gross income and applies its own reliefs from there.