Guide for Uber drivers in Hawaii

How to get a Hawaii GE license as an Uber driver

Driving for Uber is a business in Hawaii’s eyes, so you need a General Excise Tax license, a “GE license”, before you file. It costs $20, once, and the application takes a few minutes online.

Do you need one?

Yes. The Department of Taxation says anyone who receives income from business activities in Hawaii, services included, must register for a GE license. Its Tax Information Release 2025-01 says rideshare drivers owe General Excise Tax on what they earn: fares at the 0.5% wholesale rate, and tips at 4% plus the county surcharge.

The license matters for that 0.5% rate too: the form instructions say that if you need a license and don’t get one, you may be denied GET benefits such as lower tax rates.

Doing business without a license can bring a $500 fine from a Department investigator. Having a license but not showing it when asked can bring $500 too. Both are higher for what the Department calls a cash-based business: $2,000 and $1,000.

What it costs

$20, once. A GE license doesn’t need renewing: it stays open until you cancel it. A duplicate copy is free.

Apply online at Hawaii Tax Online

It’s the fastest way: your Hawaii Tax ID comes in about 5 to 7 days.

Go to Hawaii Tax Online (hitax.hawaii.gov) and choose Register New Business License. It asks the questions on Form BB-1, the State’s Basic Business Application.
Have these ready: your Social Security number (or an FEIN, if you have one), your mailing and home addresses, the date you started driving in Hawaii, and the $20 fee.
The business type is sole proprietorship, unless you drive through an LLC or a company of your own.
For the business activity, the industry code for rideshare driving is NAICS 485310, Taxi and Ridesharing Services.
The form also asks for an accounting period and method. Most drivers keep a calendar year and count money when it’s paid to them (the cash method); ask your tax professional if you aren’t sure which fits you.
Choose General Excise/Use Tax as the tax type, and how often you’ll file (below).

How often you’ll file

Every license holder files a periodic return, Form G-45, and one annual return, Form G-49, each year. How often you file the G-45 depends on the GET you’ll pay in a year, county surcharge included:

Twice a year if it’s $2,000 or less. Most drivers are here.
Quarterly if it’s $4,000 or less.
Monthly if it’s more than $4,000. Then you must also file online.

Each G-45 is due on the 20th of the month after its period ends (July 20 for January to June), and the G-49 on April 20 of the next year. Filing more often than you need to moves you to monthly filing. Not sure of your number? GETdone’s free estimate works out your GET for each year from your Uber Tax Summaries. More on both forms: Forms G-45 and G-49 for drivers.

Other ways to apply

By mail: send Form BB-1 with the $20 fee to Hawaii Department of Taxation, P.O. Box 1425, Honolulu, HI 96806-1425. Your Tax ID comes in about 4 to 6 weeks.
In person: bring two copies of your completed Form BB-1 and the $20 fee to any Department of Taxation district office, and you get your Tax ID on the spot.

Once you have it

Put your Hawaii Tax ID on every return and payment. You can look up a license with Search Tax Licenses on Hawaii Tax Online.
The Department says to display your license at your place of business, as the license itself says, and an investigator may ask to see it. Keep it where you can show it.
File every return, even for a period with no income: report $0. A license that goes unused can be revoked for abandonment, which the Department does each July 1; revoking it doesn’t cancel any tax or return still owed.
If you stop driving for a while, you can ask to put the license on inactive status with Form L-9, for up to two years at a time, filing only the annual return. If you stop for good, cancel it on Hawaii Tax Online.

Been driving without one?

Register now, then file the returns for the periods you’ve already driven. GETdone works out every past period from your Uber documents, with the late-filing penalty and interest, and what it would come to if the penalties were waived. Talk to a tax professional about catching up.

Next: see what you owe, free

Drop in your Uber Tax Summaries. GETdone works out your General Excise Tax for every period, on your device: nothing is uploaded.

Start free

Sources

Read on October 6, 2026. The Department’s pages are the final word: check them, and your tax professional, before you file.

This guide explains the Department’s rules in plain words. It isn’t tax or legal advice.