Gambling winnings tax in Hawaii

Hawaii allows gambling losses only as an itemized deduction on the state return, whether or not you itemize federally. Take its standard deduction and it taxes your gross winnings. Whether only 90 percent of your losses count from 2026 is not settled.

Checked against Hawaii’s own sources on 2026-09-16.

In short

Hawaii’s limit on itemized deductions never reduces your gambling losses. But a win raises the income the limit is measured on.7, 8
Hawaii’s standard deduction is small, so itemizing can be worth it at much lower income than on your federal return.7
For 2026, Announcement 2026-06 says Hawaii will follow the federal rule that disallows miscellaneous itemized deductions. Your gambling losses should survive it, but no Hawaii source confirms it and the 2026 form is not published.6, 5

How Hawaii treats gambling losses

4, 5

Hawaii does not tie the deduction to your federal itemizing choice. You can itemize on the Hawaii return even if you take the federal standard deduction, but the losses count only if you do, in place of Hawaii's standard deduction.

The two examples below are the same numbers the calculator uses, worked at Hawaii rates.

Two examples, worked at 2026 Hawaii rates

A single filer with $60,000 of other income who takes the standard deduction on everything except gambling losses.

A losing year

You win $50,000 and lose $52,000, so you finish down $2,000.

Federal: $3,596
Hawaii: $851
Total: $4,447

You finished the year down and still owe tax.

Federally you itemize, so your losses offset your winnings, but the 2026 rule caps that deduction at 90 percent and leaves $3,200 taxable. Hawaii lets you deduct gambling losses as an itemized deduction on the state return, whether or not you itemize federally. Your Hawaii income, after the larger of the standard deduction and your itemized deductions, and your $1,144 personal exemption, goes from $50,856 without the win to $62,056 with it. The extra $11,200 is taxed at 7.6 percent, which comes to $851.

A winning year

You win $50,000 and lose $10,000, so you finish up $40,000.

Federal: $10,350
Hawaii: $3,724
Total: $14,074

Federally you take the $16,100 standard deduction, which is worth more than itemizing, so your gambling losses do not reduce your federal tax at all. Hawaii lets you deduct gambling losses as an itemized deduction on the state return, whether or not you itemize federally. Your Hawaii income, after the larger of the standard deduction and your itemized deductions, and your $1,144 personal exemption, goes from $50,856 without the win to $99,856 with it. The extra $49,000 is taxed at 7.6 percent, which comes to $3,724.

Hawaii income tax rates, 2026

Single filer thresholds. Married filing jointly and head of household use different bands. Married filing separately uses the single bands.

Taxable income	Rate
$0 to $9,600	1.4 percent
$9,600 to $14,400	3.2 percent
$14,400 to $19,200	5.5 percent
$19,200 to $24,000	6.4 percent
$24,000 to $36,000	6.8 percent
$36,000 to $48,000	7.2 percent
$48,000 to $125,000	7.6 percent
$125,000 to $175,000	7.9 percent
$175,000 to $225,000	8.25 percent
$225,000 to $275,000	9 percent
$275,000 to $325,000	10 percent
$325,000 and above	11 percent

The calculator also applies what this table leaves out: a personal exemption of $1,144 a person, taken before the table and a cut to itemized deductions above a line of income, taken before the table.

The federal 90 percent loss limit in Hawaii

4, 6, 10

From tax year 2026 the federal deduction for gambling losses is cut to 90 percent of what you lost, and never more than what you won. Public Law 119-21 did it, at section 70114(a), by rewriting 26 U.S.C. 165(d).

Hawaii has not said whether the federal 90 percent limit applies. Its own law measures the state deduction by the federal figure, so the limit can arrive without Hawaii doing anything. Hawaii follows the federal code as it stood on 2025-12-31.

Our estimate assumes the limit applies, which gives the higher tax. The calculator also shows the tax if the limit does not apply. We would rather tell you the number could be lower than let you plan around one that turns out to be too low.

If you do not live in Hawaii

Hawaii taxes the entire income of a resident without regard to source, so out-of-state and online winnings are fully taxable. A resident gets a credit for tax paid to another state.

The calculator works the bill for somebody who lives in Hawaii. It does not apportion income between states, so a nonresident return is not what the figure above describes.

More about Hawaii

Standard deduction or itemizing

Hawaii figures itemized deductions on its own worksheets. Its standard deduction is small, so itemizing can be worth it at much lower income than on your federal return.7

For 2026 the Hawaii standard deduction roughly doubles, to $8,000 single and $16,000 joint.3

The limit on itemized deductions

Hawaii limits itemized deductions above an income threshold. The limit takes no more than 80 percent of your deductions other than gambling losses and a few others, so it never reduces your losses. But a win raises the income it is measured on. The 2025 Form N-11 worksheet gives the thresholds as $166,800, or $83,400 married filing separately. Hawaii law fixes them at the federal thresholds for 2009, so they are not indexed. The 2026 form is not published yet.7, 8

Gambling losses from 2026

For 2026, Announcement 2026-06 says Hawaii will follow IRC 67(h), which disallows miscellaneous itemized deductions. Hawaii puts gambling losses on the Miscellaneous Deductions worksheet. Federal law keeps wagering losses out of that rule under IRC 67(b), so they should survive. But no Hawaii source confirms it, and the 2026 form is not published.6, 5

Withholding

No rule for withholding on gambling or lottery winnings was found in Hawaii income tax law. So the rate and the payout at which withholding would start are listed below as not confirmed.4

Illegal gambling and your tax

Gambling is illegal in Hawaii, but that makes no difference to the tax on your winnings.

About this estimate

For 2026 the calculator uses the same thresholds as the 2025 form.

The calculator takes off your $1,144 personal exemption, or $2,288 on a joint return, and $1,144 more for each person 65 or older. It leaves out $1,144 for each dependent.

Sources

Every figure above traces to a primary source: a statute, an administrative code, a state agency page, or official form instructions.

1. HRS 235-54(a): an additional exemption for the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s spouse who is 65 or older, at $1,144 an exemption. HRS 235-55.7(c): the low-income renters credit, $50 an exemption, doubled at 65 or older, under AGI of $30,000 (checked 2026-10-12)
2. HRS 235-54(a), personal exemptions of $1,144 each (checked 2026-10-11)
3. HRS 235-2.4(a)(2)(F), standard deduction for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025 (checked 2026-09-25)
4. HRS chapter 235, sections 235-51 rates, 235-2.3 conformity, 235-2.4(c) IRC 68 and 235-2.4(l) IRC 165, 235-4 residents (checked 2026-09-16)
5. Form N-11 instructions (2025), gambling losses on Worksheet A-6 line 30 (checked 2026-09-11)
6. Announcement 2026-06, Act 35 conformity to the Code as of December 31, 2025 (checked 2026-09-11)
7. 2025 Form N-11 instructions, Total Itemized Deductions Worksheet: 3 percent of Hawaii AGI over $166,800 ($83,400 separate), at most 80 percent, lines 2a to 2d left out (checked 2026-09-27)
8. HB2329 CD1 (Act 35, SLH 2026), section 68 operative in its form of December 31, 2024, with 2009 thresholds, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025 (checked 2026-09-27)
9. 2025 Form N-11 instructions, refundable food/excise tax credit (checked 2026-09-24)

The federal rule, for the parts of this page that rest on it

10. Public Law 119-21 section 70114(a), which rewrote 26 U.S.C. 165(d) on wagering losses from tax year 2026 and sets out its text (checked 2026-10-18)

We could not confirm these from an official source: whether any city or county tax applies; the payout at which withholding starts; the withholding rate.