Extend the earned income and food/excise tax credits before they expire.
Two credits that help Hawaiʻi families afford groceries and other basics are set to shrink after 2027 unless the Legislature acts. The child and dependent care tax credit also helps working parents with the cost of childcare.
that working families would lose in 2028 if the credits expire
households claim the state EITC each year
In 2023, Act 163 doubled two of Hawaiʻi’s most important credits for working families: the state Earned Income Tax Credit (to 40 percent of the federal credit) and the refundable food/excise tax credit, which helps offset the general excise tax on groceries and other basics.
Those expansions end after the 2027 tax year.
Extend both credits at their current levels, so families do not take a pay cut from the tax code in 2028.
Average loss per household in 2028 if the credits expire, by household income group. Three in four households in the lowest-income fifth would be affected, losing $460 on average.
Average across all households in each group, including those who do not claim the credits. Source: Hawaiʻi Appleseed tax model, tax year 2028.
Loss in 2028 if the credits expire, by family type.
Source: same model as above.
Estimates: Hawaiʻi Appleseed tax model, tax year 2028; EITC claims from the Department of Taxation, tax year 2024.
We also support a refundable state Child Tax Credit of $650 per child aged 0–18, and RxKids, which would give cash payments to mothers in the first months of a child’s life. We will post updates here as those proposals move.
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Our other 2027 priorities: Increase the Tax on Luxury Homes and Tax Profits Like Paychecks. See all three.