Title 3 — Real Property Tax Plain-Language Service Free · no account

A plain-language navigator to Maui County Code Title 3, Ch. 3.48 (Real Property Tax): a live parcel lookup, the tax-year calendar, the $300,000 home exemption, how property is classified, how to appeal your assessment, and who pays. Assessment is by the Real Property Assessment Division (Finance); you pay at mauipropertytax.com — this service explains the law and hands you off to the official systems, it does not replace them. Rates change every year; figures marked expanding are being filled in. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.

★ Parcel lookup live data

Your tax starts with the parcel. Enter a Maui County TMK to see its designations from the Hawaiʻi Statewide GIS. For the parcel's assessed value, classification, exemptions, and tax bill (held by the Real Property Assessment Division, not GIS), the result links you to the qPublic assessment record and the mauipropertytax.com payment portal.

Live designations: Hawaiʻi Statewide GIS. Assessment record: qPublic — Maui Real Property Assessment; pay at mauipropertytax.com. No parcel or tax data is stored or fabricated — fetched live / linked to source. assessed-value overlay

1 · The property-tax year sourced

The annual cycle under Ch. 3.48 — assessment, appeal, then two payment installments.

1. Assessment notice — by March 15
   The Real Property Assessment Division mails your annual assessment notice by March 15, showing assessed value and classification for the coming tax year.
   Expense: none to receive · the County assesses
2. Appeal window — by April 9
   If you disagree, file an appeal with the Board of Review by April 9, with a $75 fee per appeal. You must still pay your taxes on time while the appeal is pending.
   Expense: $75 appeal fee · paid by: owner
3. 1st installment — due August 20
   The first-half bill is mailed July 20 and is due August 20.
   Expense: half the year's tax · paid by: owner
4. 2nd installment — due February 20
   The second-half bill is mailed January 20 and is due February 20.
   Expense: half the year's tax · paid by: owner
5. Late: 10% + 1%/month
   Miss a due date and a one-time 10% penalty plus 1% monthly interest accrues on the unpaid balance until paid.
   Expense: penalty + interest · paid by: owner

County of Maui Finance — Real Property Tax Payments + Appeals; dates per County notices (assessments by Mar 15, appeal by Apr 9). MCC Ch. 3.48.

2 · Key dates & amounts sourced

The fixed dates and amounts of the RPT year. Tax RATES (per $1,000 of value, by class) are set by the Council annually — see the County rates page.

County of Maui Finance — RPT Payments, Tax Rates, Exemptions FAQ. Amounts as published; confirm the current year with Finance. current per-class rate table

3 · The home exemption — $300,000 off sourced

The single biggest break for resident homeowners. File once; it carries forward while you qualify.

The home exemption reduces your taxable assessed value by $300,000 and reclassifies the property into the lower-taxed Owner-occupied class. To qualify you must: occupy the home more than 270 days of each calendar year; not rent the entire premises for any part of the year; and file a Hawaiʻi resident income-tax return with a Maui County address for the prior year. File your claim by December 31 for it to apply to the following assessment year — and note that missing the December 31 deadline cannot be appealed.

Maui County Code Ch. 3.48, Art. IX (Exemptions) — §3.48.455 + County Exemptions FAQ. additional exemptions (long-term rental, disability, age)

4 · Tax classifications sourced

Your classification (not just your value) drives your rate. The Council sets a separate rate for each class.

County of Maui — Classification for Tax-Rate Purposes + MCC Ch. 3.48 Art. IX (§3.48.410). full class list + the year's per-class rates

5 · Appeals sourced

If your assessed value is wrong, you can challenge it — but on the County's clock. Not tax advice.

File an appeal with the Board of Review by April 9 (the next business day if it falls on a weekend/holiday), with a $75 fee per appeal. Common grounds: the assessment exceeds market value, lacks uniformity with comparable properties, or the classification/exemption is wrong. You must keep paying your taxes by the Aug 20 / Feb 20 due dates while the appeal is pending — an appeal does not pause the bill, and unpaid amounts still draw the 10% + 1%/month penalty.

County of Maui — Appeals + Appeal Instructions & Form. Board of Review vs. Tax Appeal Court track

6 · Who pays — the charter lens analysis

Labeled analysis — the tax read through two charters. Not adopted law; an interpretive lens beside the Code.

7 · Reform & codification candidates analysis

• Index the home exemption. The $300,000 exemption is a fixed dollar amount that erodes as values rise. → Codify an inflation index so the homestead protection holds its real value. expanding
• Codify classification criteria. Class placement (e.g. long-term-rental vs non-owner-occupied) drives the bill but turns on administrative definitions. → Tighten the in-Code criteria so classification is predictable and appealable.
• Rate-setting transparency. Per-class rates are set annually. → Require a published, plain-language who-pays-what table with each rate ordinance so residents can see the shift between classes year over year.

Analysis grounded in MCC Ch. 3.48 + the County's classification framework; reform context = the Council's Real Property Tax Reform committee.