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Hawaii Revised Statutes

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 232-17 (2026)

  Appeals from taxation board of review to tax appeal court

✓ current as of July 2026
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APPEALS FROM BOARDS OF REVIEW

 

     §232-17  Appeals from taxation board of review to tax appeal court.  An appeal shall lie to the tax appeal court from the decision of the state taxation board of review, or equivalent administrative body established by county ordinance.  An appeal to the tax appeal court shall be properly commenced by the filing, by the taxpayer, county, or director of taxation, of a written notice of appeal in the office of the tax appeal court within thirty days after the filing of the decision of the state taxation board of review or an equivalent county administrative body, and, in the case of any appealing taxpayer, the payment of the costs of court in the amount fixed by section 232-22, and service of the notice of appeal on the director of taxation in the case of an appeal involving the department of taxation, or on the real property assessment division of the county involved in the case of an appeal involving the county, or upon both the director of taxation and the real property assessment division of the county involved in the case of an appeal involving both the department of taxation and the county.  A notice of appeal shall be sufficient if it states that the taxpayer, county, or director of taxation appeals from the decision of the state taxation board of review, or an equivalent county administrative body, to the tax appeal court and may be amended at any time.  The appeal shall bring up for determination all questions of fact and all questions of law, including constitutional questions involved in the appeal.

     In case of an appeal by the county or director of taxation, a copy of the notice of appeal shall be forthwith delivered or mailed to the taxpayer concerned or to the clerk of the county concerned in the manner provided in section 232-7 for giving notice of decisions.

     An appeal shall be deemed to have been taken in time, and properly commenced, if the notice thereof and costs, if any, and the copy or copies of the notice have been deposited in the mail, postage prepaid, properly addressed to the tax appeal court, taxpayer or taxpayers, and director of taxation or, if relevant, the real property assessment division of the county involved, respectively, within the time period provided by this section. [L 1932 2d, c 40, §41; RL 1935, §1940; am L 1939, c 208, §7; RL 1945, §5212; RL 1955, §116-14; am L 1963, c 92, §10; HRS §232-17; am L 1973, c 51, §1; am L 1989, c 14, §10; am L 2007, c 154, §2; am L 2021, c 118, §10; am L 2025, c 49, §3]

 

Rules of Court

 

  Filing appeal, see RTAC rule 2.

 

Case Notes

 

  Scope of review.  34 H. 515 (1938).

  The determination that the board had no authority to increase the assessment at the request of the State upon an appeal filed by taxpayer was within the jurisdiction of the tax appeal court to make.  56 H. 229, 533 P.2d 1218 (1975).

  In appeal from board of review, tax appeal court jurisdiction limited to objections raised before board and any other issues of fact or law that were necessarily considered by the board.  81 H. 257, 915 P.2d 1358 (1996).

  The agency-specific appellate procedure prescribed in this section precluded appellants' resort to judicial review under §91-14(a); jurisdiction to hear appellants' tax appeal rested exclusively with the tax appeal court.  106 H. 318, 104 P.3d 905 (2004).

  Under the plain and unambiguous language of this section, it is the filing of the notice of appeal with the tax court that initiates the appeal, and not the filing of a copy of the notice of appeal with the assessor; thus, taxpayer's timely filing of taxpayer's notice of appeal with the tax court initiated taxpayer's appeal, and failure to file a copy of this notice in the assessor's office pursuant to this section did not divest the tax court, or the supreme court, of appellate jurisdiction.  112 H. 69, 143 P.3d 1271 (2006).

  According to the plain language of this section, as amended in 2007, a taxpayer must file a notice of appeal in the tax appeal court and serve the director of taxation with the notice of appeal to properly confer jurisdiction on the tax appeal court.  124 H. 325 (App.), 243 P.3d 285 (2010).

 

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 13 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1975–2026 · leading case: Narmore v. Kawafuchi, 143 P.3d 1271 (Haw. 2006).
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Narmore v. Kawafuchi, 143 P.3d 1271 (Haw. 2006). · cites it 250× “Notice of Appeal to Tax Appeal Court" on Appellee-Appellee Kurt Kawafuchi, Director of the Department of Taxation, State of Hawai`i (the Department), is not jurisdictional and, hence, failure to comply with such language did not deprive the Tax Appeal Court (the tax court) [3]…”
Kinkaid v. Bd. of Review of the City & Cnty. of Honolulu, 104 P.3d 905 (Haw. 2004). · cites it 33× “HRS § 232-17 Vests the Tax Appeal Court with Exclusive Jurisdiction Over Appellants’ Appeal from the Board’s Decision The parties are in disagreement as to whether exclusive jurisdiction to review the Board’s decision rests with the tax appeal court pursuant to HRS § 232-17.”
Aregger v. State, Dep't of Taxation, 243 P.3d 285 (Haw. App. 2010). · cites it 20× “The Director contends that notwithstanding the language of Rule 2(a), due to legislative amendments to HRS § 232-17 in 2007, it was mandatory that notice be served on the Director, not the tax assessor.”
In Re the Tax Appeal of Valley of the Temples Corp., 533 P.2d 1218 (Haw. 1975). · cites it 6× “208, § 7; 1 HRS § 232-17 (Supp. 1974). In 1967, the Legislature replaced the three-member Tax Appeal Court (an attorney who was designated judge and two lay members) with the present court composed of a first and a second judge so designated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme…”
Tax Appeal of Cnty. of Maui v. KM HAW., 915 P.2d 1349 (Haw. 1996). · cites it 2× “HRS § 232-17, which governs appeals from boards of review to the tax appeal court, is not relevant to the instant case.”
Tax Appeal of Grace Bus. Dev. Corp. v. Kamikawa, 994 P.2d 591 (Haw. App. 1999). · cites it 4× “]” HRS § 232-17 (1993) states in pertinent part: “An appeal shall lie to the tax appeal court from the decision of a state board of review, or equivalent administrative body established by county ordinance!.”
In re the Tax Appeal of Trade Wind Tours of Hawaii, Inc., 718 P.2d 1122 (Haw. App. 1986). · cites it 2× “See HRS § 232-17 (1976). HRS § 232-13 (1976) specifies that“[t]he hearing before the tax appeal court shall be a hearing de novo[,]” wherein “[e]ach party shall have the right to introduce .”
Kauai Hotel, L.P. v. Cnty. of Kaua'i, 915 P.2d 1358 (Haw. 1996). · cites it 3× “) Finally, HRS § 232-17 provides in pertinent part: § 232-17 Appeals from boards of review to tax appeal court.”
Kalaeloa Ventures, LLC v. City & Cnty. of Honolulu., 424 P.3d 458 (Haw. 2018). · cites it 2× “However, Kinkaid dealt with a conflict between two state statutes of coequal authority-HRS § 232-17, establishing the right to appeal to the tax court from a decision of a state or county board of review, and HRS § 91-14(a), granting a right of appeal to the circuit court from a…”
In re: Tax Appeal of Mikami v. Dir. of Taxation (Haw. App. 2026). · cites it 12× “This court has previously held that similar requirements in HRS § 232-17 (2017) – that a taxpayer file a notice of appeal and serve the Director of Taxation within thirty days – are jurisdictional.”
Ocean Resort Villas Vacation Owners Ass'n v. Cnty. of Maui. Petition for Writ of Mandamus, filed 08/10/2018. (Haw. 2020). · cites it 6× “208, § 7; HRS § 232-17 (Supp. 1974).” (Emphasis added; footnote omitted).”
Piezko v. Cnty. of Maui (Haw. 2025). · cites it 4× “HRS § 232-17 (Supp. 2021). Similar to appeals to the TAC, real property taxes may be appealed to the BOR for (1) certain over-valuations of property, (2) lack of uniformity or inequality, (3) denial of exemptions or certain tax credits a taxpayer is entitled to or qualified for,…”
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