For decades, out-of-state investors have enjoyed the Hawaii real estate market. There is a very large pool of potential renters in Hawaii. The inventory for real property here remains low, while demand remains high. This all paints a very positive picture for landlords who rent out Hawaii real estate.
Every year, many real property owners in Hawaii begin renting their homes, but because there's no centralized, required procedure to convert a home into a rental, landlords sometimes don't know that they're supposed to report their income and expenses to the State of Hawaii, and pay certain taxes like general excise tax (GET), income tax, and possibly even Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT).
The state has issued a brochure that explains the obligations that apply to any rental property in Hawaii. The name of the brochure is "An Introduction to Renting Residential Real Property" and the link is here: http://files.hawaii.gov/tax/legal/brochures/res_rp_brochure.pdf
This brochure should be at the top of every new landlord's "must read" list.