What It Actually Costs to Retire on Maui
The listing price gets you in the door. This is what the place costs every month after that.
There is no single number. There is a tier that fits the life you want, and then a few choices that shape what it costs you every month: cash or financing, owner-occupant or second home, and how you plan for the everyday cost of living on the island. Set those below and see the real monthly figure.
Start with the tier that fits the life you want
Comfortable tier. Wailuku and Kahului are the most accessible way in, with Kihei and Pukalani running higher.
Your situation
What it costs every month
The same $1,500,000 property would cost $731 more every month if you bought it as a second home, purely from the county tax classification and the $300,000 home exemption. That is $8,770 a year on an identical house.
The exemption has to be filed by December 31 to take effect the following assessment year, which is one of the easiest deadlines to miss.
Also budget for what does not show up here: special assessments, which have been landing more often as insurance costs rise and older buildings need work, plus closing costs and any furnishing or shipping to get set up.
Want this run on a real property?
Diane will come back with the numbers on actual listings in your tier, including the association dues and assessment history the listing price never shows.
Name and email are all that is needed. Diane also sees the tier you looked at and the monthly figure the tool showed, so she can answer something useful. Nothing else is sent: what you put in the calculator, including how you would pay for it, stays in your browser and never reaches her or anyone else.
Property tax uses Maui County rates effective July 1, 2026 (FY 2026-27) (Resolution 26-69 FD2), applied as graduated tiers to the purchase price. The county sets assessed value separately and it often differs from what you pay, so treat this as a planning estimate rather than a tax bill. Rates, exemption amounts, and insurance costs change. Diane Bercik is a licensed REALTOR Broker, not a tax advisor or financial planner. Confirm anything you plan to rely on with the Maui County Real Property Tax office and your own tax professional.
Keep reading
- Retiring on Maui: the complete guide covers healthcare access, Hawaii tax treatment of retirement income, pet quarantine, and how the communities compare.
- Current Maui market updates for where prices and days on market actually sit right now.
- Talk it through with Diane if you want the numbers run against a specific property.