What a vacation rental owner report should show every month

One page on the 1st: nights sold, the rate, revenue against last year and the market, expenses, tax lines shown the state's way, and what comes next.

A monthly owner statement should fit on one page and answer five questions: how many nights sold, at what rate, what that earned against last year and the market, what it cost, and what changed. It should show the transient accommodations tax and general excise tax as separate lines. And it should arrive on the 1st.

Why the 1st matters

An owner in Poʻipū opens her email on the first morning of the month. If the statement is there, she reads it with coffee and moves on. If it is not, she starts wondering. By the 10th she is reading a competitor's website.

The date is the product. A statement that lands on the same day every month tells the owner someone is watching the property. A statement that drifts tells her nobody is. Put the 1st on the calendar and treat it like a closing date.

The five sections, in order

Occupancy. Nights sold out of nights available. Show both numbers, not only the percentage. If nights were blocked for repairs or owner use, say so on the same line.

Nightly rate. Average rate on the nights sold, with the cleaning fee shown separately. Say whether you moved the rate during the month and why.

Revenue. Gross rental proceeds for the month, next to the same month last year, next to what comparable homes in the area did. Three columns. If you do not have market data, say so and show the two you have. Never show a number you cannot stand behind.

Expenses. Every charge against the owner's account with a date, a vendor, and one line of plain English. Cleanings, repairs, supplies, your management fee. An owner who can see every expense does not have to ask about any of them.

Net to owner. The figure that hits the bank, and the date it hits.

The tax lines, shown the way the state shows them

Hawaiʻi puts three taxes on a short-term rental. The state transient accommodations tax (TAT) applies to gross rental proceeds. Kauaʻi County adds its own TAT, paid separately to the county. The general excise tax (GET) applies to gross income, with a county surcharge on top.

The current figures, from the Department of Taxation and the county:

• State TAT: 11.00% on gross rental proceeds received on or after January 1, 2026, up from 10.25%, under Act 96. Tax Announcement 2025-03 explains how the change applies by the date the money was received.
• Kauaʻi County TAT: 3% on gross rental proceeds, effective October 1, 2021, paid to the county, not the state.
• GET: 4% plus the Kauaʻi County surcharge of 0.5%, in effect through December 31, 2030. The maximum a business may visibly pass on to a guest on Kauaʻi is 4.7120%.

The state's rule on how to show them is specific. GET and TAT that are visibly passed on to the guest, as separate lines on the bill, are excluded from the gross rental proceeds that TAT is calculated on. TAT that is visibly passed on is exempt from GET. But GET that is passed on is included in the income GET is calculated on. If you charge one flat price with no separate tax lines, the state taxes the whole amount for both TAT and GET.

So the guest's bill, and the owner's statement, should show four lines: the room charge, the state TAT, the county TAT, and the GET. The statement should then show the tax collected for the month and the tax remitted, with the filing date. Periodic state returns are due on the 20th of the month after the period closes. County returns are due on the 20th as well.

Two details owners miss. Mandatory cleaning fees count as gross rental proceeds for TAT, according to Tax Facts 96-2. And using a manager does not move the tax duty. The Department of Taxation's rental page says the owner remains responsible for seeing that the taxes are reported and paid. That is why the tax lines belong on the owner's statement every month, in a form she could hand to a tax preparer.

What changed, and what is next

Two short paragraphs close the statement. The first says what happened this month that was not routine: a rate change, a repair, a guest problem, a new review. The second says what you are doing next month: a rate plan for the coming season, a maintenance visit, a listing photo refresh.

This is the part the owner actually reads. Numbers tell her the property is running. Words tell her someone is thinking about it.

A format that survives

Keep the same layout every month. Same order, same labels. The owner should be able to lay January next to July and see the difference in ten seconds. Send it as a PDF she can forward to her accountant. Do not make her log in to see what she earned.

If you want to know where your current statement stands against this standard, the ten-second reading is free. Owner reporting is one of the five systems every Hawaiʻi business runs on.

Questions owners ask

My manager sends the statement whenever the bookkeeper finishes. Is that a problem? A statement that arrives on a different date each month reads as an afterthought. Ask for a fixed date and hold your manager to it. The 1st works because it matches the calendar owners already think in.

Should the TAT and GET be one line or separate lines? Separate. The Department of Taxation's TAT brochure says taxes shown separately on the bill are excluded from the TAT base, and passed-on TAT is exempt from GET. A flat price with no tax lines is taxed on the full amount. Your statement should mirror the guest's bill.

The TAT rate changed. Which rate applies to a booking made last year for a stay this year? Tax Announcement 2025-03 says it depends on when the money was received. Under the cash method, which the state presumes unless you prove otherwise, proceeds received before January 1, 2026 carry 10.25% and proceeds received on or after that date carry 11.00%. Ask your manager which method the books use and confirm with a tax preparer.

Do I still need to check the taxes if my manager files them? Yes. The state's rental page says the owner stays responsible for the taxes being reported and paid, even with a manager or a third-party rent collector. Your statement should show tax collected and tax remitted so you can see both without asking.

Sources

• Hawaiʻi Department of Taxation, Tax Announcement 2025-03 (June 9, 2025): TAT rises from 10.25% to 11.00% on January 1, 2026 under Act 96; cash versus accrual timing. files.hawaii.gov/tax/news/announce/ann25-03.pdf. Fetched September 14, 2026.
• Hawaiʻi Department of Taxation, An Introduction to the Transient Accommodations Tax (May 2025): visible pass-on rules, flat-fee treatment, returns due on the 20th. files.hawaii.gov/tax/legal/brochures/TAT_brochure-25.pdf. Fetched September 14, 2026.
• Hawaiʻi Department of Taxation, General Excise Tax Information: 4% rate, Kauaʻi surcharge 0.5% through December 31, 2030, maximum pass-on 4.7120%, returns due on the 20th. tax.hawaii.gov/geninfo/get/. Fetched September 14, 2026.
• Hawaiʻi Department of Taxation, Renting Residential Real Property: GET passed on is included in gross income; owner remains responsible when using a manager. tax.hawaii.gov/rental/. Fetched September 14, 2026.
• Hawaiʻi Department of Taxation, Tax Facts 96-2 (May 2025): mandatory cleaning fees are gross rental proceeds. files.hawaii.gov/tax/legal/taxfacts/tf2025-96-2.pdf. Fetched September 14, 2026.
• County of Kauaʻi, Department of Finance, Transient Accommodations Tax: 3% county TAT effective October 1, 2021, due on the 20th, paid separately from the state. kauai.gov/.../Transient-Accommodations-Tax. Fetched September 14, 2026.

Information, not legal, tax, insurance, or financial advice.