Hawaii · 2026 planning data

Hawaii SUTA rate and employer cost for 2026

Hawaii's 2026 unemployment-insurance cost is employer- or industry-specific. The sourced wage base is $64,500 per employee, so EmployerCost presents a 2.41%–2.50% planning range until the assigned rate is available.

Calculate a Hawaii estimate

How the Hawaii SUTA line is estimated

State unemployment tax applies only up to the annual UI wage base for each employee. For an employee earning at least $64,500, the planning calculation is:

Hawaii does not provide one universal new-employer percentage for every business. EmployerCost uses the official 2.41%–2.50% planning range until the assigned notice is available.

What this Hawaii estimate does not include

Hawaii employers owe one mandatory cost that this calculator does not add to the total, because it depends on facts the calculator never asks for — how many people the employer has, which city the work happens in, how much payroll it runs in a quarter. Adding it to every employer would overcharge the ones the rule does not reach, so it is named here instead of buried in a number.

• Prepaid Health Care Act premium — about $7,385 a year for a $60,000 employee, estimated

  The employer buys the coverage and pays the premium above the employee's statutory cap of 1.5% of monthly wages. On Hawaii's average single-coverage premium the employer absorbs about 90%.

  Applies when: Any employee working 20 or more hours a week, after four consecutive weeks. A state subsidy exists for employers with fewer than eight covered employees.

  Source: Hawaii DLIR: Highlights of the Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Law (rev. 06/2026)

What changes the real employer cost

• Hawaii's 2026 Schedule C new-employer UI rate is 2.40% on the first $64,500 of wages.
• Two current DLIR pages conflict on the E&T assessment (0.01% versus 0.10%), so EmployerCost brackets the new-employer total at 2.41% to 2.50% until the state reconciles the decimal.
• Employer Social Security, Medicare, and FUTA remain separate federal cost lines.
• Workers compensation in Hawaii runs 231% of the national median — 131% above it, 1st of 51 jurisdictions at $2.52 per $100 of payroll (Oregon DCBS 2024 premium rate ranking). That is a relativity between states, not your rate: class code, carrier, payroll exposure and experience modifier decide what you actually pay.
• Health benefits, retirement contributions, payroll software, and HR administration depend on the employer's choices.

Use the calculator's custom SUTA field whenever an official notice supplies a different rate. Read the SUTA rate guide and employer payroll tax guide before relying on a planning result.

Hawaii employer cost questions

What is the Hawaii SUTA wage base for 2026?

The sourced taxable wage base used by EmployerCost is $64,500 per employee. Wages above that cap are not included in this SUTA line, but can still affect Social Security, Medicare, benefits, workers compensation, and other costs.

What rate should a new Hawaii employer use?

Hawaii does not provide one universal new-employer percentage for every business. EmployerCost uses the official 2.41%–2.50% planning range until the assigned notice is available.

Is SUTA the full cost of a Hawaii employee?

No. Start with salary, then add employer FICA, FUTA, SUTA, workers compensation, benefits, and payroll administration. The Hawaii calculator keeps uncertain items as ranges.

Official sources

• Hawaii DLIR 2026 contribution-rate schedule
• U.S. Department of Labor — Significant Provisions of State UI Laws, effective January 2026

Verified against official sources July 30, 2026.

General planning information only. Not payroll, tax, legal, insurance, or HR compliance advice.