Headline rate, caps, minimum spend, payroll fringe, and the official film office for Hawaii. Reference data for producers, line producers, and financiers structuring a Hawaii shoot.
+5% neighbor islands
Illustrative reference. Verify before deal.
Hawaii's refundable tax credit returns 22% on qualified expenditures on Oahu and 27% on the neighbor islands of Kauai, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and Hawaii Island. The $50 million annual cap and $17 million per-project cap require careful budget scaling, especially for larger productions competing for limited allocation. The minimum spend of $100,000 is one of the lowest nationally, making the program accessible to independent features and documentary projects. Hawaii's unique tropical landscapes are impossible to replicate on a soundstage, and the state operates the only state-owned film studio in the country, located on Oahu. Logistics costs, including travel, shipping, and island-specific per diems, are materially higher than mainland production, which producers should model carefully against the credit benefit.
The questions producers ask first when sizing a Hawaii shoot, answered against the state's current program structure and fringe environment.
Headline rate is the start, not the end. Compare Hawaii side-by-side with every other U.S. jurisdiction on caps, minimum spend, refundability, and fringe before locking the location.
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