Hawaii Sole Proprietorship

How to Become a Hawaii Sole Proprietor

In Hawaii, becoming a sole proprietor is straightforward. There’s no formal setup process or fees. To run a Hawaii sole proprietorship, simply start working. However, it’s important to note that while starting is easy, there are additional steps you might find beneficial. Though not mandatory, many sole proprietors choose to take these extra steps for their own benefit.

DBA Acquisition

A doing business as (DBA) name is a crucial part of many sole proprietorships, as it enables you to use an assumed name for your business, rather than your own personal name. The advantages of acquiring a DBA start with image ― most customers feel that an assumed name is more professional and trustworthy than doing business with a company that uses its owner’s personal name instead.

That said, sole proprietors can sign up for a business bank account using their DBA name, which is another step that goes a long way toward making customers feel more comfortable doing business with you.

You’ll start the process of acquiring a Hawaii DBA by running a business entity search to determine if your desired name is available. Then, you may fill out an Application for Registration of Trade Name and submit it to the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. You may do do either by mailing in a fillable pdf or online, and you will need to pay a $50 filing fee.

If you need further instruction on obtaining your Hawaii DBA, then you should take a look at our detailed guide here.

Determine Taxation Requirements

Sole proprietors without employees usually don’t need to acquire a federal tax ID number (EIN), because as a one-person business, you can typically just use your own social security number for most things an EIN is used for. Still, if you would rather not use your SSN for privacy purposes, it would be a good idea to get an EIN regardless.

Beyond that, the nature of your business will determine which taxes apply to you as a sole proprietor.

All Hawaiian businesses – even sole proprietorships – must register to pay a General Excise Tax (GET) on their gross business income. You may also need to pay other types of tax depending on the nature of your business, such as the transient accommodation tax on short-term rentals.

Hawaii also makes registering for business taxes rather simple. To register for business taxes, you can use Hawaii Tax Online, which will automatically register you to pay general excise tax as well as any other taxes that your business may be liable for.

Obtain Business Licenses and Permits

There isn’t a requirement in Hawaii for sole proprietors to acquire a general business license, but depending on the nature of your business you may need other licenses and/or permits to operate in a compliant fashion.

In Hawaii, all businesses must register for a General Excise Tax license with the Hawaii Business Registration Division’s online portal. This license will allow you to legally conduct your business in the State of Hawaii. In addition to your GET license, you may also need to obtain other types of business licenses or permits depending on the nature of your business. To see if you need to obtain any business-specific licenses, you should consult the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ page on professional and vocational licensing.

In addition, you should check to see if your business needs any licenses or permits on the local level.

Each Hawaiian county – Hawaii county, Honolulu county, Maui county, and Kauai county – has its own individual requirements for business licenses and permits.

What Is a Hawaii Sole Proprietor?

As opposed to a corporation or Hawaii limited liability company (LLC), the sole proprietorship is not a legal business entity. The sole proprietorship is a one-person business that is not considered to be a distinct entity from the person who owns it, and it is frequently operated using the owner’s personal name.

Here are the three main things you need to know:

Tax Responsibilities

Because there’s no distinction between the owner and the business itself, sole proprietors don’t need to file business tax returns ― they instead simply claim any business profits or losses on their personal tax returns.

Contracts

Sole proprietors are allowed to sign contracts using their personal name, and along those same lines, customers can write checks to the business by using the sole proprietor’s name.

More Flexible

The other big difference between sole proprietorships and more formal business structures is the fact that sole proprietors are allowed to commingle business and personal assets as much as they want to. With LLCs and corporations, ownership is required to keep their assets separate from those of the company. The downside of this aspect for sole proprietors is that if your business is sued, creditors are free to pursue your personal assets like your house, car, personal bank accounts, etc. For corporations and LLCs, creditors are limited to your business assets.