HB 2546 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO TAX CREDIT FOR RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.

Summary

Amends the tax credit for research activities by: allowing qualifying taxpayers to claim the credit for all qualified research expenses without regard to the amount of expenses for previous years; amending from March 31 to March 1 the deadline for qualified high technology businesses to submit to the Department of Business, Economic development, and Tourism written, certified statements identifying qualified expenditures and the tax amount of tax credits claimed in the previous taxable year; for any taxable year the annual aggregate cap is reached, requiring the credit to be divided between all qualified high technology businesses in proportion to the amount of qualified research expenses claimed; and requiring DBEDT to establish an annual application period and notify each qualified high technology business applicant of the credit amount certified. Applies to costs incurred beginning after 12/31/2025. Repeals the credit on 1/1/2029. Effective 7/1/3050. (SD2)

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Apr 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 28, 2026 Last action May 1, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB2546_SD1 → HB2546_SD2 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Hawaii's research activities tax credit to remove the restriction that prevented companies from claiming credits for expenses incurred in previous years, effectively allowing full credit for all qualified research costs. It also updates the annual funding cap to $5,000,000 and establishes a proportional distribution method if the cap is reached, ensuring fair access for all qualifying businesses. Additionally, the bill sets a specific end date for the credit program, repealing it on January 1, 2029.

Scope change

The bill modifies the eligibility criteria by removing the prior-year spending limitation and clarifies the application deadline for qualified high technology businesses.

ELIGIBILITY

Removed the limitation that reduced credits based on prior-year spending, allowing taxpayers to claim credits for all qualified research expenses without regard to previous expenditures.

FISCAL

Maintained the annual statewide cap at $5,000,000 but changed the allocation method to divide credits proportionally among all qualified businesses if the cap is reached.

TIMELINE

Added a repeal provision that will terminate the tax credit on January 1, 2029.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the deadline for submitting certified statements to the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism from March 31 to March 1.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 5:40 PM; Conference Room 309.

upper

May 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 5:37 PM; Conference Room 329.

upper

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday, 05-01-26 at 4:31PM in Conference Room 411.

lower

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday, 05-01-26 at 11:30AM in Conference Room 411.

lower

Apr 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 05-01-26 8:01AM in conference room 411.

lower

Apr 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Thursday, 04-30-26 8:30AM in conference room 411.

lower

Apr 16, 2026

Amended

House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Introduced

Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 701) in amended form (SD 2).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.

upper

Apr 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WAM were as follows: 12 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Lee, C..

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-01-26 10:03AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Reported from EDT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3238) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Mar 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDT were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) DeCoite, Wakai, Kim, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fukunaga.

upper

Mar 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDT has scheduled a public hearing on 03-24-26 1:04PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to EDT, WAM.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 435).

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Iwamoto voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Pierick excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 16 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

Reported from ECD (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 511-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on ECD recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Ilagan, Hussey, Holt, Tam, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Feb 2, 2026

Committee

Referred to ECD, FIN, referral sheet 6

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

10 primary · 0 co-sponsors