Hawaii SUTA Tax Calculator
Figure basis: Official U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment InsuranceState Unemployment Tax Act (SUTA) tax is the state unemployment insurance tax that employers pay to fund unemployment benefits in Hawaii. This calculator estimates your Hawaii SUTA liability for the 2026 tax year. Enter the average annual wages per employee, your number of employees, and your assigned SUTA rate to see the taxable wages, tax per employee, and total tax. SUTA is charged only on the first $64,500 of each employee's wages (the 2026 Hawaii taxable wage base); wages above that per employee are not taxed. Your rate is set by the state based on your business's unemployment claim history (your "experience rating"); a new employer pays 2.4%. SUTA is separate from the federal FUTA tax and, in most states, is paid entirely by the employer and never deducted from employee wages. All wage-base and rate figures are sourced from U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance and verified for 2026. Replace the default rate with the rate on your state tax-rate notice for an exact figure.
In Hawaii, employers pay SUTA on the first $64,500 of each employee's wages for 2026, and a new employer pays 2.4%. For 5 employees earning $50,000 each at 2.4%, the estimated annual SUTA tax is $6,000.00 ($1,200.00 per employee).
How Hawaii SUTA tax works
Hawaii charges state unemployment tax on each employee's wages up to the taxable wage base of $64,500 for 2026. Once an employee has earned that much in the year, no further SUTA is due on that employee. Your rate is assigned by the state from your experience rating; a new employer pays 2.4%.
taxable wages per employee = min(annual wages, $64,500)
SUTA tax per employee = taxable wages per employee x rate / 100
total SUTA tax = SUTA tax per employee x number of employees
Worked example: 5 employees each earning $50,000 in Hawaii at 2.4%. Each employee's taxable wages are capped at $64,500, so the tax per employee is $1,200.00 and the total is $6,000.00.
Hawaii SUTA figures (2026)
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Taxable wage base | $64,500 | U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance |
| New employer rate | 2.4% | U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance |
| Experience rate range | 0% to 5.6% | U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance |
The experience-rate range shown is the base statutory range. Most states add mandatory assessments on top (for example a fund-building, solvency, or administrative surcharge), so an employer's effective rate can be higher than the range shown, and the new-employer rate may exclude those add-ons. Your exact assigned rate is on your annual state tax-rate notice.
Why Hawaii's high wage base drives the bill
Hawaii stands out for the size of its wage base. For 2026 you pay SUTA on the first $64,500 of each employee's wages, one of the highest bases in the nation and many times larger than low-base states like Florida or Georgia. That single figure means Hawaii employers keep paying unemployment tax on a worker far later into the year, and total SUTA cost is substantial even at modest rates.
A new Hawaii employer pays a flat 2.4% rate. Against the $64,500 base that is up to $1,548.00 per employee per year, well above what a new employer would pay in most mainland states. Once experience-rated, assigned rates run from 0% to 5.6%: an employer with a strong record can reach the 0% floor and owe nothing, while the ceiling reaches roughly $3,612.00 per employee on the full base.
Because the base is so high, the gap between a low and a high rate is large in dollars, so managing claims carefully matters more here than in low-base states. Note that the 0% to 5.6% figures are the base experience range and Hawaii can add a separate Employment and Training assessment, so the rate on your annual notice is the number to use. SUTA is employer-paid and never withheld. Replace the 2.4% default above to see your exact figure.
Hawaii SUTA tax: frequently asked questions
What is the Hawaii unemployment (SUTA) taxable wage base for 2026?
For 2026, Hawaii employers pay state unemployment tax on the first $64,500 of each employee's wages. Wages above $64,500 per employee are not subject to SUTA.
What is the Hawaii new employer SUTA rate?
New employers in Hawaii pay a SUTA rate of 2.4% until they have enough history to be experience-rated. On the $64,500 wage base that is up to $1,548.00 per employee per year.
How is Hawaii SUTA tax calculated?
Multiply each employee's wages, capped at the $64,500 taxable wage base, by your assigned experience rate, then add up across employees. SUTA is primarily an employer-paid tax and is not deducted from employee pay.
Is the Hawaii SUTA rate the same for every employer?
No. After the new-employer period, Hawaii assigns each employer an experience rate based on its history of layoffs and claims, generally ranging from about 0% to 5.6% for experience-rated employers before any state add-on surcharges. The rate field above defaults to the new-employer rate; replace it with the rate on your state tax notice for an exact figure.
Official sources
- Hawaii unemployment taxable wage base and rates (tax year 2026): U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance, as at Jul 15, 2026.
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 15 July 2026. See our methodology. General information, not tax or legal advice.