Hawaii charity registration renewal and annual reporting

Hawaii’s registration guide and Tax & Charities FAQ distinguish the one-time registration statement from the recurring annual financial report. Do not create another Hawaii Initial Registration for a later fiscal year. Start from the existing organization record, confirm the account owner and fiscal period, and select the annual filing route that matches the federal return.

Reconcile the legal name, EIN, fiscal year, solicitation names, leadership, programs, related entities, fundraiser relationships, and prior filing status before beginning. The first annual report covers the fiscal year after the year used for initial registration. A calendar that assumes every charity follows the same May 15 deadline will misstate Hawaii’s two statutory timing rules.

A registered organization that files Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF submits that return to Hawaii within 10 business days after filing it with the IRS. The current filing hub states that Schedule B is no longer required with registration or annual reporting. If the organization is required to file Form 990-T, section 467B-6.5 includes that return in the annual report.

Use the Hawaii Annual Charity Transmittal route, attach the correct filed federal return, authenticate the submission, and retain the accepted copy. If another government authority or third party required an audit, Hawaii also requires the audit report with the annual filing. Apply the live instructions to the reporting year rather than relying on last year’s upload set.

An organization that files Form 990-N, or is not required to file Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF, files the Hawaii annual report no later than the fifteenth day of the fifth month after fiscal year end. The Division publishes a special annual transmittal guide for this route because an e-postcard is not a PDF Form 990 that can simply be attached.

Select the correct state form, complete the prescribed financial and organization information, use the authorized signer, and preserve the transmitted record. Do not upload a blank federal return or wait for an IRS filing that the organization is not required to make. Record the statutory state deadline independently from any internal federal-tax calendar.

Section 467B-6.5 bases the annual fee on total revenue: $0 below $25,000; $25 from $25,000 to under $50,000; $50 from $50,000 to under $100,000; $100 from $100,000 to under $250,000; $150 from $250,000 to under $500,000; $200 from $500,000 to under $1 million; $250 from $1 million to under $2 million; $350 from $2 million to under $5 million; and $600 at $5 million or more.

The annual-report guide describes fee payment after filing acceptance through the Hawaii payment portal. Save the filing acceptance and fee receipt together. Unless reasonable cause applies, the statute imposes $20 for each late day, capped at $1,000, when a required report or fee is not filed or paid. Do not promise a waiver; document facts and follow record-specific agency direction.

Keep the annual transmittal, federal or state report, authentication, audit when applicable, acceptance notice, fee receipt, correspondence, and a dated public-status check. Section 467B-6.5 requires true fiscal records to remain available for department inspection and to be retained for at least three years after the end of the related fiscal year.

A federal extension affects the federal filing date and therefore the 10-business-day transmittal route, but Hawaii may request a copy of the extension; the statute requires the organization to provide it within 20 days after the Attorney General requests it. Track the federal return, Hawaii report, annual fee, audit, extension evidence, and next public-status review as separate controls.