Honolulu County, HI tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Honolulu holds one in-person tax sale a year in early May at Mission Memorial Auditorium, 550 South King Street. Watch the Honolulu Star-Advertiser legal notices in April for the parcel list.
• •Bring a cashier's check drawn on a Hawaii bank for the full bid; payment is due at the sale.
• •The former owner can redeem for one year after the sale at 12 percent a year on the amount paid plus required costs. Order a title search before bidding.

Hawaii rules

Redemption

The former owner redeems by paying the purchaser directly; the counties take no part in it. The clock runs from the sale, not from recording, except in Honolulu and Maui, where a deed not recorded within 60 days of the sale extends the window to one year from the day the deed is recorded, without further interest for the extension. Hawaii County advises buyers not to build during the year, since the former owner need not pay for improvements, and says a buyer may sell during the year only subject to the redemption right.ROH 8-5.6, Honolulu tax deed and one-year redemption at 12 percent a yearROH 8-5.6Verified Sep 27, 2026

Deed deposit

No separate deposit: the whole bid is due at the sale, and each county sets its own payment forms. Honolulu takes cashier's checks payable to the "City and County of Honolulu" that show on their face they are drawn on a bank with a Hawaii address. Maui's 2026 sale took certified or cashier's checks, and active bidders must register and have funds verified at the event. Kauai's 2026 notice lists cash, certified checks, cashier's checks, traveler's checks or money orders. Hawaii County's June 2026 notice lists cash, cashier's checks, traveler's checks, money orders or certified checks, with no registration. No county takes personal checks or cards, and an overage on a check comes back as a county credit memo or check.ROH 8-5.2, Honolulu sale by foreclosure without suit at public auction, and its noticeROH 8-5.2Verified Sep 27, 2026

Surplus proceeds

Proceeds above the upset price are surplus, and the rules differ by county. Hawaii County (19-45) and Kauai (5A-5.9): lienholders of record who file a claim within one year of the sale are paid in priority, any lien left unsatisfied is extinguished against the property and the purchaser, then remaining taxes are paid, then the former owner is paid on a claim filed within two years (Hawaii County) or one year (Kauai), and anything left goes to the county general fund. Honolulu (8-5.9) and Maui (3.48.285): the director pays all taxes owed by the taxpayer from the surplus and, where entitlement is in doubt, may refuse to distribute and require claimants to interplead in circuit court.Hawaii County Code 19-45, surplus claims by lienholders (1 year) and the taxpayer (2 years)Hawaii County Code 19-45Verified Sep 27, 2026

Governing code

ROH 8-5.1 through 8-5.9Notice of Proposed Sale of Real Property for Failure to Pay Real Property Taxes, May 5, 2026 sale, Honolulu Director of Budget and Fiscal ServicesVerified Sep 28, 2026

What the deed conveys: Differs by county. Hawaii County (19-42) and Kauai (5A-5.6) vest fee title free and clear of any lien, claim or encumbrance except later real property taxes, subject only to State mineral rights and government easements. Honolulu (8-5.6) and Maui (3.48.270) say only that delivery of the deed vests title in the purchaser; Honolulu's 2026 sale notice nonetheless describes the parcels as sold in fee simple free and clear of all liens. Every county sells 'as is' with no warranty of title or condition, Hawaii County notes that title companies mostly will not insure a tax-deed title and that federal tax liens are a separate risk, and the former owner can redeem for a year. Get a title opinion before bidding.Hawaii County Code 19-42, tax deed free and clear, and one-year redemption at 12 percent a yearHawaii County Code 19-42Verified Sep 27, 2026 See the due diligence guide.

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