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Hawaii (HI) · Requirement Summary
Hawaii charitable solicitation requirements summary
A quick, operational table pulled from the Master State Requirements (MSR). Use this as a starting point for planning filings and tracking risk.
Requirement Summary Table
Columns removed: processing times, last verified, and confidence score.
| Requirement | Hawaii (HI) |
|---|---|
| Filing Authority | Hawaii Attorney General – Tax & Charities Division. |
| Filing Method | Online – Hawaii Charities system (eHawaii) for all filings (no paper). |
| Filing Calendar & Triggers | Initial: Prior to soliciting in Hawaii. Renewal: Annually by 15th day of 5th month after fiscal year end (e.g. FYE Dec 31 → May 15). Matches IRS deadlines; IRS extension extends HI due date to 15th of 11th month. |
| Filing Due Date | 4.5 months after FYE (same as IRS Form 990 due). Example: FYE Jun 30 2025 → Nov 15 2025 due; extended to May 15 2026 if IRS 990 extended. |
| Renewal Detail | Annual renewal (Hawaii Annual Charity Registration). Filed online with updated info and financials (IRS 990 or fill in revenues). Fee: $0 if <$25k, $50 if ≥$50k revenue. |
| Extensions Calendar | Yes: Hawaii honors IRS 990 automatic 6-month extension – just file renewal by extended IRS deadline (no separate HI request needed). |
| Exemptions | Small & religious: Exempts charities normally receiving < $25,000/year in donations with no paid fundraiser. Also exempts churches and purely religious orgs, and governmental units. |
| Good Standing Required for Charity Filing? | Yes. Must be a registered nonprofit entity. Foreign charities should obtain a Hawaii Certificate of Authority before registering with the AG. |
| Solicitation while Curing Deficiencies? | No. Hawaii does not permit fundraising by an organization with an expired registration. If the charity has applied for renewal (or extension) on time, it may continue soliciting pending approval; otherwise, it must cease until compliance is restored. |
| Enforcement Posture | Moderate. Hawaii monitors compliance and can levy fines for failure to register ($1000 per violation under HRS 467B). Generally, the AG’s office works with late filers to cure, but it will pursue enforcement (including public notice of noncompliance) if ignored. |
| Recovery Method | Simple reinstatement. Hawaii generally only requires the most recent annual filing to reinstate a registration. Back-to-back missing filings are handled by submitting the latest financials; the AG doesn’t mandate separate reports for each missed year unless enforcement action compels it. |
| Required Documents | Initial: Hawaii online registration requires IRS determination letter and basic org information; upload of founding docs not explicitly required but recommended. Renewal: Submit IRS Form 990 (or HI financial report form if no 990) each year. If contributions > $500k, organization must have an independent CPA audit (retained for records) – the AG may request the audited financials but does not require automatic submission unless part of investigation. |
| Financial Audit/Review Thresholds | >$500,000 contributions: Independent audit by CPA generally required. (Hawaii law expects charities above this threshold to have audited financials available.) ≤$500k: no audit/review mandated. |
| Schedule B Reaction Rule (Donor Names) | Remove. Hawaii does not request Schedule B donor information – charities file financials sans donor names. (Donor lists are not part of HI’s public records.) |
| Signature Requirements | Electronic. Hawaii’s online filing is signed electronically by an authorized officer. No notarization or multiple signatures needed. (Paper submissions, if any, would require an officer’s signature under certification.) |
| High-Risk Traps / Enforcement Notes | – IRS alignment critical: Hawaii’s deadline tightly tracks the IRS. If you extend your IRS 990 to Nov 15, you must also renew by then – forgetting to do so by the extended date will leave you expired without further notice. – Penalty: Hawaii can impose fines, but often first sends a “Notice of Failure to File” giving 60 days to comply. Don’t ignore these; the next step can be an AG enforcement action. – Email Alerts: Hawaii’s system sends reminders to the email on file – ensure it’s current, as missing the reminder is not an excuse under the law. HIGH Late fee alert:Daily late fees (e.g., $20 per day, up to caps around $1,000) |
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