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Personal Airplane Property Tax / Use / Sales Tax

MD resident here. Unfortunately SB-121 only appears to exempt sales tax on parts to repair or upgrade aircraft, not the purchase of an aircraft or parts for a new aircraft. If you paid sales tax in Oregon then you would only owe MD the difference if there is any. No different than buying a car.

Could you buy and pay tax on the data plate then upgrade without tax?
 
Move to a state that does not have tax on planes. :D

Or do like the rich folks. Set up a LLC and base the plane in the no tax state. They do it all the time.

You don't need to be rich to create and maintain an out-of-state corporate entity. But even corporations that make no money will need to pay minimum taxes and fees annually. This may soon add up to more than the one-time sales or use tax. So unless you have other reasons to incorporate (whether in-state or out-of-state) this is probably not a money saving option.

This becomes a very attractive option if your corporation is engaged in commerce and making revenue, in which case you can offset the revenue with your airplane expenses, or even depreciate the aircraft for more write-offs.

Best to talk to an accountant.

-c
 
In MD they actively hunt down aircraft based in the state so registering it in an out of state LLC or another state may only buy you time. At most airports here they keep records of based aircraft which the MD Comptroller Aviation Division review regularly. MD also regularly checks the FAA registration database. Last year my partner and I dissolved the DE LLC our plane was in and re-registered it to our names and within a month I had a notice from the MD Comptroller saying I owed tax. Fortunately in MD changing the entity does not incur a new tax liability, I just had to show them we were the same owners.
 
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Some states will pro-rate the tax if the plane is effectively based in more than 1 state.

If you spend half your time at your vacation home with your plane you can pay half the tax for each state.
 
Hey looking through this thread it appears that the law in KS changed since the one lone comment about KS from back in 2011 or so.

As of 2013, state statutes say no property tax on experimental or antique (30+ year) aircraft that are solely recreational use.

I shall report back after that registration is assigned if I’m mis-informed
 
Minnesota is certainly not known as a "low tax" state. One does have to pay one-time sales tax on an airplane that they buy, but oddly there is no ongoing personal property tax. There is, however, an "annual registration fee" of $100 for aircraft owned and used here, which is less than the annual property tax on my 8 year-old 3/4 ton GMC.

There is no sales tax for equipment, parts, and installation labor to repair, maintain or upgrade aircraft if the aircraft is operated under Part 91 or Part 135.
 
In Kansas, the taxation and revenue department has decided that even though the legislators wrote a law KSA 79-220 that exempts Antique and Amateur -Built aircraft from all ad valorem or property taxes, you have to pay $100 fee and request an exemption, and they want copies of everything including your logbook. Even talked to legislators about this. Current thinking is a new law to allow legislators to prevent agencies from enacting rules that oppose legislation.

Keith
 
Alameda County, CA

Property taxes around $740 a year on my RV7a. Plus property taxes on my City owned hangar.

And if you still show on the FAA website as the owner on January 1st, you are responsible for the taxes for that year too. I sold my plane on December 14th but it is taking up to 90 days for the FAA to update their records.
 
Someone said Michigan is $1 pound per year. Need to move the decimal point, it is $0.01 per pound of gross weight per year. So my RV-10 is $27.00 a year for registration/tax.
 
Ventura CA

We just paid our assessment in Ventura County, California. $510. Not sure how the assessor arrived at that amount. Once upon a time it was 1% of assessed value and he wrote the assessment, but he valued our RV-6 at $48k. In the 90s, the Airport Board President ran him off the airport (private property!) more than once after seeing him pry hangar doors open, looking for tail numbers. One owner registered his airplane as based in New Jersey, his former home. When he advertised the airplane for sale, his wife took a call where the caller indicated interest in the airplane but the only thing he asked about was the tail number. Their tax bill arrived in the mail a few days later. It’s a complex, interesting business alright.
 
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