How much does an IFTA license cost in Hawaii?

The state publishes no flat license or decal fee on the page this site cites; the fee rows above carry its own notes on how licensing is charged instead of a guess.

Do I need IFTA decals in Hawaii?

No. Hawaii is not an IFTA member and checks no IFTA credential for Hawaii miles.

Who collects fuel tax in Hawaii?

The Department of Taxation, from licensed distributors who file monthly. The counties set their own fuel tax rates on top of the state's.

Can I claim back fuel tax on off-highway diesel?

Yes. A user who pays the highway rate on diesel later burned off the highway can claim the difference from the Department of Taxation.

Where does a Hawaii carrier get an IFTA license?

From an IFTA member jurisdiction where it operates, if that jurisdiction accepts the application. If Hawaii ever joins, the carrier must move its license to Hawaii.

Hawaii IFTA Registration and Filing

By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 5, 2026

Hawaii is not an IFTA member jurisdiction, so no Hawaii agency issues IFTA licenses or decals and there is no Hawaii quarterly IFTA return. Fuel used on Hawaii's highways is taxed at the distributor level under HRS chapter 243: distributors pay a state tax of 16 cents a gallon on highway diesel and gasoline plus a county fuel tax set by each county, and file monthly with the Department of Taxation. A Hawaii-based carrier that runs vehicles into IFTA jurisdictions can apply for an IFTA license to any member jurisdiction it operates in, which may accept or reject it (IFTA Articles R325), or can buy trip permits instead (R310).

Hawaii IFTA administration

IFTA member: No
Agency: None for IFTA. Hawaii's fuel tax is administered by the State of Hawaii Department of Taxation (808-587-4242; toll free 1-800-222-3229).
License fee: Not applicable: Hawaii issues no IFTA license. Hawaii licenses fuel distributors, not motor carriers; the distributor license is free and valid until revoked (Tax Facts 99-1).
Decal fee: Not applicable: Hawaii issues no IFTA decals.
Application: An applicant not based in a member jurisdiction may apply for IFTA licensing to any member jurisdiction where it operates. That jurisdiction may accept or reject the application, and a licensee admitted this way must make its records available for audit there or pay auditors' reasonable travel costs. If Hawaii ever joins IFTA, the carrier must apply to Hawaii right away and the Hawaii license takes effect the next license year (Articles of Agreement R325).
Application: alternative: In place of an IFTA license, a carrier may satisfy fuel use tax trip by trip (R310), buying the trip permit each member jurisdiction sells.
Application: acceptance by jurisdiction: Each member jurisdiction decides for itself whether to accept a Hawaii-based carrier's application under R325. Which jurisdictions currently do was not confirmed for this page, so ask the IFTA office of the jurisdiction you plan to apply to before you file.
Filing frequency: No Hawaii fuel tax return for carriers that buy taxed fuel. Distributors file Form M-20A monthly, due by the 20th of the month after the sales month; there is no annual return. A carrier that bought diesel tax-reduced for off-highway use and later burns it on a public highway files Form M-22, a quarterly return for additional fuel taxes due. A Hawaii-based carrier licensed elsewhere under R325 files that jurisdiction's IFTA return.
Base jurisdiction: summary: IFTA defines the base jurisdiction as a member jurisdiction where the qualified motor vehicles are based for registration (R212), so Hawaii cannot be one. Any person based in a member jurisdiction running qualified vehicles in two or more member jurisdictions must license under the agreement (R305); Hawaii-based carriers fall outside that rule and use R325 or trip permits instead.

Hawaii state fuel tax

HRS 243-4 taxes distributors on each gallon of liquid fuel sold or used in the state. For diesel used on public highways the state tax is 1 cent under 243-4(a)(1) plus 15 cents under 243-4(b), 16 cents in all, the same 16 cents that applies to gasoline; each county adds its own fuel tax by ordinance. The Department of Taxation's schedule (effective July 1, 2020) lists highway gasoline and diesel at 16.0 cents state plus county tax of 16.5 cents in the City and County of Honolulu (32.5 total), 24.0 in Maui County (40.0), 23.0 in Hawaii County (39.0) and 17.0 in Kauai County (33.0). Off-highway diesel is taxed at 1 cent, and a user who pays highway tax on diesel burned off the highway can claim the excess back on Form M-36. Distributors also pay the environmental response, energy and food security tax of $1.05 per barrel of petroleum product.

Highway rate: $0.1600 per gallon
Who pays as a user: The tax falls on licensed distributors, who may pass it on. Any person who sells or uses liquid fuel knowing the distributor it was bought from has not paid the tax must pay the tax that would have applied (HRS 243-4(a)).

Licensing rules, records, and penalties

Which vehicles the licence covers, how long it runs, what Hawaii can ask you to post or produce, and what a late or wrong return costs. Each one is sourced.

Application: Summary: An applicant not based in a member jurisdiction may apply for IFTA licensing to any member jurisdiction where it operates. That jurisdiction may accept or reject the application, and a licensee admitted this way must make its records available for audit there or pay auditors' reasonable travel costs. If Hawaii ever joins IFTA, the carrier must apply to Hawaii right away and the Hawaii license takes effect the next license year (Articles of Agreement R325).
Application: Alternative: In place of an IFTA license, a carrier may satisfy fuel use tax trip by trip (R310), buying the trip permit each member jurisdiction sells.
Application: Acceptance by jurisdiction: Each member jurisdiction decides for itself whether to accept a Hawaii-based carrier's application under R325. Which jurisdictions currently do was not confirmed for this page, so ask the IFTA office of the jurisdiction you plan to apply to before you file.

No Hawaii IFTA license

Hawaii does not appear in IFTA's member directory. No Hawaii agency issues IFTA licenses or decals, and there is no Hawaii fuel-use return for carriers. IFTA's base jurisdiction rules assume a member state, so Hawaii cannot be one.

How Hawaii taxes fuel

Licensed distributors pay the state fuel tax plus a county tax that differs by county, and file monthly with the Department of Taxation. The tax rides in the pump price, so a carrier buying taxed fuel files nothing.

Two exceptions apply. Anyone using fuel they know went untaxed owes the tax, and a carrier that burns off-highway diesel on a public road files a quarterly return for the difference.

Running outside Hawaii

A Hawaii-based carrier that runs qualified vehicles in IFTA jurisdictions has two routes. It can apply for an IFTA license to any member jurisdiction where it operates, which may accept or reject it and can require records to be open for audit there. Or it can buy each member jurisdiction's trip permit.

Which jurisdictions accept Hawaii carriers is up to each one and is not recorded here.

The tax rates live in the quarterly matrix

IFTA rates change every quarter, so we keep them in one refreshed store instead of copying them onto every state page. The current quarter is 4Q 2026, effective Oct 1, 2026 through Dec 31, 2026, provisional until Dec 4, 2026. Use the IFTA rates by state table for the full matrix, or the IFTA calculator to run your miles and gallons against the current rates.

What pairs with IFTA

IFTA and IRP travel together: the same interstate operation that needs a fuel tax license usually needs apportioned plates through Hawaii IRP. If you are still setting up, the full order of operations is in start a trucking company in Hawaii.