Tax credits for low-income Hawai‘i families available

Looming deadlines for state and federal income tax filings in April make this a dreaded time of the year, but with all of the tax credits now available, Hawai‘i families should make filing their taxes a priority this year.

“The combination of federal and state tax credits has continued to benefit vulnerable families in our islands,” said Deborah Zysman, executive director of Hawai‘i Children’s Action Network, a nonprofit organization that advocates for a better quality of life for Hawai‘i families. “It is money that is theirs for the asking.”

• Earned Income Tax Credit: Households earning less than $67,000 can qualify to receive up to $7,830 from the IRS and $3,132 from the State of Hawaiʻi.
• Child Tax Credit: Federal child tax credit (CTC) up to $2,000 per qualified child for children up to 16 years old is available for families that worked in 2024.
• Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit: Working families who paid expenses for day care, preschool or another form of caregiving can receive as much as $2,100 from the IRS and $3,000 from the State of Hawai‘i.
• Food/Excise Tax Credit: Eligible households can receive up to $220 per family member. An analysis of state income tax records conducted jointly by the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Office and the Hawai‘i Department of Taxation released last year showed that in 2021, low-income households in Hawai‘i — were eligible for about $42 million through the state’s refundable food/ excise income tax credit, but more than one-third of this amount —or $15.3 million—was unclaimed. The analysis noted that as many as 158,000 residents did not claim what was rightfully theirs and estimated that about 140,000 of these eligible residents did not file a tax return at all.

“All of these tax credits offer a way for low-income families in Hawai‘i to claim money they are entitled to receive,” Zysman said. “But many Hawai‘i families are leaving money on the table because of the complexity of filing a tax return or because it is cost-prohibitive for them to hire a qualified tax preparer.”

Hawai‘i Children’s Action Network is offering ways to reduce the barriers for ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained Employed) families to access tax refunds by listing resources for income tax preparations at no cost. Families can go to hawaii-can.org/getcashback2025 for more information on online and in-person assistance with their tax filing.