Haw. Code R. § 18-251-2.5-01
"Average paid use period" means the total time a lessor's vehicles are rented or leased divided by the total number of rentals entered into. Average paid use period is calculated per taxable period.
"Organization" means any person or company as defined in section 237-1, HRS.
"Paid use period" means the total time a lessor's vehicle is rented or leased and is computed from the time the vehicle is rented or leased until the time the vehicle becomes available for rent or lease to a different customer or becomes unavailable to any customer. "Paid use period" shall not include any complimentary grace period provided by a lessor.
"Taxable period" means the organization's taxable year.
Example:
Customer rents a vehicle from Lessor at 10:00 a.m. Customer parks and shops for one hour. During the time Customer is shopping, the vehicle remains available only to Customer and is not available to other customers of Lessor. Customer then returns to the vehicle, drives home to deliver her purchases, and relinquishes the vehicle at 1:00 p.m. the same day, at which time the vehicle becomes available to other customers of Lessor. Lessor has entered into one rental for which the paid use period is three hours. Even if Customer is not charged for the time she is shopping, the rental in this example may not be treated as two separate rentals because the vehicle did not become available to a different customer of Lessor during that time and remained available to Customer.
Example:
Customer rents a vehicle from Lessor at 8:00 a.m. and relinquishes the vehicle at 8:00 a.m. the following day. The vehicle becomes available to other customers of Lessor at that time. Customer then decides she needs to use a car again, immediately returns to the same vehicle, rents the vehicle from Lessor at 8:02 a.m., and relinquishes the vehicle at 10:02 a.m. the same day. Because the vehicle became available to other customers between periods of rental, Lessor has entered into two rentals, one with a paid use period of one day and another with a paid use period of two hours.
Example:
Customer rents a vehicle from Lessor at 8:00 a.m. The vehicle is faulty and Customer returns the vehicle to Lessor's facility at 8:10 a.m., at which time it is put into the shop for maintenance, repaired and re-enters Lessor's fleet the following day. The paid use period is ten minutes because after ten minutes of rental the vehicle became unavailable to any customer.
Example:
Customer rents a vehicle from Lessor at 8:00 a.m. and returns the vehicle at 10:00 a.m. the following day. Lessor has entered into one rental for which the paid use period is twenty-six hours. Note that even if Lessor is a car-sharing organization, Lessor is liable for tax for two days at the rate set forth in section 251-2, HRS, because the paid use period is six hours or more.
Example:
Lessor rents a vehicle for a two-day period, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Monday and ending 9:00 a.m. Wednesday by which time the vehicle must be returned to lessor. The customer returns the vehicle at 5:00 a.m. Wednesday. The paid use period is forty-eight hours unless Lessor can prove that the vehicle became available to other customers at 5:00 a.m. or became unavailable to any customer at 5:00 a.m. Note that even if Lessor is a car-sharing organization, Lessor is liable for tax for two days at the rate set forth in section 251-2, HRS, because the paid use period is six hours or more.
Example:
Customer rents a vehicle from Lessor at 1:00 p.m. Lessor offers a complimentary grace period based on traffic conditions. Customer returns the vehicle at 3:15 p.m. the same day. Per Lessor's terms, Customer's rental qualifies for a complimentary grace period of fifteen minutes. The paid use period for the rental is two hours.
Example:
For a taxable period, Lessor enters into seventy-five separate rentals consisting of twenty-five thirty-minute rentals, twenty-five one-hour rentals, and twenty-five twelve-hour rentals. Lessor has rented vehicles for a total of 337.5 hours during the taxable period. The average paid use period is calculated by dividing 337.5 total rental hours by seventy-five total rentals. The average paid use period for the taxable period is 4.5. Lessor satisfies the average paid use period requirement to qualify as a car-sharing organization.
Example:
For a taxable period, Lessor enters into two hundred separate rentals consisting of seventy-five thirty-minute rentals, fifty one-hour rentals, forty two-hour rentals, twenty-five twelve-hour rentals, and ten two-day (forty-eight hours each) rentals. Lessor has rented vehicles for a total of 947.5 hours during the taxable period. The average paid use period is calculated by dividing 947.5 total rental hours by two hundred total rentals. The average paid use period is 4.73. Lessor satisfies the average paid use period requirement to qualify as a car-sharing organization.
Haw. Code R. § 18-251-2.5-01