State Aircraft Registration? (U.S.)

The Aviation Guru » Airport Aviation » State Aircraft Registration? (U.S.)

Question:

I find this quite amazing, so much so that I thought a poster from Illinois who pays $12/yr was trolling.

Are you sure that’s not $12 every two years? I can personally attest to the fact that Illinois requires its resident pilots to register as I had to do that when I received my license. But at the time, IIRC, the fee was $5 a year (and perhaps it was paid every two years?). But for registering you got a rather nice guide to the state’s airports, including black and white aerial pictures. — William LeFebvre Group sys Consulting +1 770 813 3224

Response:

{snip]…but a letter back to them with the details of the private sale and "proof" is all that’s needed to keep them off your back. [snip]

What, may I ask, is the "proof" you are refering to? I am in NJ and as of yet have not received a letter for a plane I purchased privately several months ago. Would like to be ready when I do get the letter. Gary * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet’s Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet – Free!

Response:

$4? $20? Wow. Massachusetts wants $125/year for registration, and 5% up front at purchase, regardless of where you buy it or who you buy it from. The sales/use tax can be gotten around legally by parking out-of-state for six months; there’s a bill to axe it permanently. I’ll be amazed if it passes. andrew, hoping to be amazed

Response:

Arizona does also. Sales tax from dealer, but not private party. They charge property tax also. ie: 1976 PA-140 = $117.50 But Arizona calls it a registration fee. I guess that is in hopes that people forget to deduct this, which really IS a property tax, from their income taxes. Same goes for auto registration here.

I don’t think they’re trying to fool anyone. I haven’t seen this year’s registration, but in the past, the form itemized the charges. The registration fee and the tax were clearly spelled out. The reason for that was so you could deduct the tax only. The fee is not deductable. Not very sneaky at all. John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180) Before you buy.

Response:

Arizona does also. Sales tax from dealer, but not private party. They charge property tax also. ie: 1976 PA-140 = $117.50

But Arizona calls it a registration fee. I guess that is in hopes that people forget to deduct this, which really IS a property tax, from their income taxes. Same goes for auto registration here. — Jim McGill

Response:

If it is what they did here, for cars a few years ago, and for planes this year. It is not a mistake to not declare it. It is a fee, and since ours are not based on value, they can’t be construed as property taxes and CAN’T be deducted. They start out lower, and SUPPOSEDLY revenue neutral. How long does anyone figure before they go back up to the same dollar values as the old system and in the end we will be paying 50% more. Marc

Response:

Arizona does also. Sales tax from dealer, but not private party. They charge property tax also. ie: 1976 PA-140 = $117.50 – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Here in California they charge a sales tax at the time of purchase (8.25%) and personal property tax (1%) each year for virtually any vehicle (car, plane, boat, trailer). This is a huge revenue source for the state. For cars, they try to hide the personel property tax in to the registration fee. But, when your registration fee drops as your car ages, its pretty obvious that value is being used in the calculation. The state is very agressive about this tax. When every someone sells a plane and the state gets wind of it through FAA registrations, etc, they send two letters. The first goes to the seller asking them who they sold the plane to and where did they sell it. It also states that the seller has no tax obligation. The second goes to the buyer telling them to pay up. So they let the seller prove the case of taxes owed for them. What states require that an aircraft be registered with the state DOT in addition to the FAA? What is the point besides revenue generation? Are there any other taxes besides the usual sales tax? What states require that an aircraft be registered with the state DOT in addition to the FAA? What is the point besides revenue generation? What do they charge?

Response:

Last summer I was planning on selling my half of my airplane to my partner. I backed out of the deal (just couldn’t stand losing a beautiful Bonanza), but it appeared to us that despite our already having paid sales tax when we bought it, he was going to have to pay sales tax on the half of the airplane I sold back to him. He was checking to see if there was some loophole to get around this. I’m not usually in favor of complex legal structures for aircraft ownership, but this sort of deal makes ownership of an airplane by a corp or partnership advantageous. The principals can change without triggering a "sales event." – Mark

Response:

You are correct in your belief of the law’s wording. It states "resident pilots are required to register annually with the aviation division." Note that it is a "registration" not a "license" or "certificate". It is allowed because the "registration fee is used for air search and rescue, safety and education." They don’t use any of the fees collected for administration costs. Guess they figure that they are paying the office staff to be there no matter what they are doing. Kind of like saying I don’t include fixed expenses in my operating costs because I have to pay them whether or not I fly. The air search and rescue funds pay for reimbursement of fuel expenses for search aircraft and the safety money goes to the airport guide. (I got a new one two years ago, you might check with state aeronautics and see what happened to yours). The education money goes to pilot refresher clinics and to the A&P / IA refresher clinics they sponser each year. All in all, well worth the $5.00 annual fee to my mind. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Now you are telling me some states tax this Federal Government’s recognition of skill. Therefore I formally request that this thread cease IMMEDIATELY, before some New York State bureaucrat sees it and gets a bright idea!!! I don’t know the exact wording of the law, but I suspect it says that all WA residents who fly in the state must register in the state. There is no test nor qualification process – they simply require you to register and maintain a current address so they can find you if they need you for something. There was one thread on this a few years back and someone argued that it is Ok because it funds an airport guide that WA state publishes which includes aerial photographs of the airports. But this perk has vanished because I haven’t gotten one in a couple years; I still get a bill for the $4 each year though. So given that they have to maintain a mailing list, postage to mail a renewal notice, clerical time to cash your check and print a new certificate, postage to mail it back, etc…. I bet they lose money on the whole deal. Absolutely ridiculous. But you have to show the registration if you are going to do a bi-annual or rent an airplane. As I said earlier, I don’t think it would pass a stiff challenge in court. (The state law I’d love to mount a serious legal challenge to is the monopoly that car dealers have on sales tax computation when you trade in a car. Only a car dealer is allowed to charge sales tax on the difference between the new car and the trade-in; if you sell your car privately and buy a new car, you have to pay sales tax on the full price of the new car. This is completely unfair and gives car dealers an 8.7% advantage in assessing your trade-in value. And they know this, consistently underbidding the value of a trade-in by about 10% compared to book values. I understand that someone in Alabama challenged their similar law recently and won – now you can show that you purchased a new car within 90-days of selling your old and only pay tax on the difference.) – Mark

Response:

WA is also one of the few states that requires that pilots register with the state and pay a yearly $4 fee…

I find this quite amazing, so much so that I thought a poster from Illinois who pays $12/yr was trolling. I view my Pilot’s Certificate almost like a High School or Collage Diploma. It doesn’t expire, expresses a defined level of competency at the time of issuance, and if misplaced for thirty years will be replaced by the issuing authority (nothing to do with the State). Now you are telling me some states tax this Federal Government’s recognition of skill. Therefore I formally request that this thread cease IMMEDIATELY, before some New York State bureaucrat sees it and gets a bright idea!!! Mike.

Response:

As I said earlier, I don’t think it would pass a stiff challenge in court.

If it ever got beyond a nuisance fee, I suspect that people like AOPA would be clamoring for a federal preemption. They’ve already done this to keep the states from enacting onerous "air laws."

Response:

CA does the same thing. Plus, property tax at 1-1/2% of the assessed value, which will be at least the purchase price. Lee

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What is really bad in WA is paying sales tax on aircraft purchase when you purchase a used aircraft from a private WA owner. The state has already collected the tax at least once when the seller bought the plane. I tried to see if I just had to pay the tax on the difference between what he had paid and what I was paying, put that did not fly with the state and I ended up paying $14,000 in sales tax. Ouch big time! Norm I don’t know the exact wording of the law, but I suspect it says that all WA residents who fly in the state must register in the state. There is no test nor qualification process – they simply require you to register and maintain a current address so they can find you if they need you for something. There was one thread on this a few years back and someone argued that it is Ok because it funds an airport guide that WA state publishes which includes aerial photographs of the airports. But this perk has vanished because I haven’t gotten one in a couple years; I still get a bill for the $4 each year though. So given that they have to maintain a mailing list, postage to mail a renewal notice, clerical time to cash your check and print a new certificate, postage to mail it back, etc…. I bet they lose money on the whole deal. Absolutely ridiculous. But you have to show the registration if you are going to do a bi-annual or rent an airplane. As I said earlier, I don’t think it would pass a stiff challenge in court. (The state law I’d love to mount a serious legal challenge to is the monopoly that car dealers have on sales tax computation when you trade in a car. Only a car dealer is allowed to charge sales tax on the difference between the new car and the trade-in; if you sell your car privately and buy a new car, you have to pay sales tax on the full price of the new car. This is completely unfair and gives car dealers an 8.7% advantage in assessing your trade-in value. And they know this, consistently underbidding the value of a trade-in by about 10% compared to book values. I understand that someone in Alabama challenged their similar law recently and won – now you can show that you purchased a new car within 90-days of selling your old and only pay tax on the difference.) – Mark

Response:

Here in California they charge a sales tax at the time of purchase (8.25%) and personal property tax (1%) each year for virtually any vehicle (car, plane, boat, trailer). This is a huge revenue source for the state. For cars, they try to hide the personel property tax in to the registration fee. But, when your registration fee drops as your car ages, its pretty obvious that value is being used in the calculation. The state is very agressive about this tax. When every someone sells a plane and the state gets wind of it through FAA registrations, etc, they send two letters. The first goes to the seller asking them who they sold the plane to and where did they sell it. It also states that the seller has no tax obligation. The second goes to the buyer telling them to pay up. So they let the seller prove the case of taxes owed for them. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What states require that an aircraft be registered with the state DOT in addition to the FAA? What is the point besides revenue generation? Are there any other taxes besides the usual sales tax? What states require that an aircraft be registered with the state DOT in addition to the FAA? What is the point besides revenue generation? What do they charge?

Response:

Only if AOPA can get some real good press and not have to work real hard.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – As I said earlier, I don’t think it would pass a stiff challenge in court. If it ever got beyond a nuisance fee, I suspect that people like AOPA would be clamoring for a federal preemption. They’ve already done this to keep the states from enacting onerous "air laws."

Response:

What is really bad in WA is paying sales tax on aircraft purchase when you purchase a used aircraft from a private WA owner. The state has already collected the tax at least once when the seller bought the plane. I tried to see if I just had to pay the tax on the difference between what he had paid and what I was paying, put that did not fly with the state and I ended up paying $14,000 in sales tax. Ouch big time! Norm – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I don’t know the exact wording of the law, but I suspect it says that all WA residents who fly in the state must register in the state. There is no test nor qualification process – they simply require you to register and maintain a current address so they can find you if they need you for something. There was one thread on this a few years back and someone argued that it is Ok because it funds an airport guide that WA state publishes which includes aerial photographs of the airports. But this perk has vanished because I haven’t gotten one in a couple years; I still get a bill for the $4 each year though. So given that they have to maintain a mailing list, postage to mail a renewal notice, clerical time to cash your check and print a new certificate, postage to mail it back, etc…. I bet they lose money on the whole deal. Absolutely ridiculous. But you have to show the registration if you are going to do a bi-annual or rent an airplane. As I said earlier, I don’t think it would pass a stiff challenge in court. (The state law I’d love to mount a serious legal challenge to is the monopoly that car dealers have on sales tax computation when you trade in a car. Only a car dealer is allowed to charge sales tax on the difference between the new car and the trade-in; if you sell your car privately and buy a new car, you have to pay sales tax on the full price of the new car. This is completely unfair and gives car dealers an 8.7% advantage in assessing your trade-in value. And they know this, consistently underbidding the value of a trade-in by about 10% compared to book values. I understand that someone in Alabama challenged their similar law recently and won – now you can show that you purchased a new car within 90-days of selling your old and only pay tax on the difference.) – Mark

Response:

What states require that an aircraft be registered with the state DOT in addition to the FAA? What is the point besides revenue generation? Are there any other taxes besides the usual sales tax?

New Mexico has a state registration fee for private aircraft that is based on the max gross weight of the aircraft. It’s a penny and pound a year (so it costs me a whopping $24 per year to register my Cherokee). To be honest, I have no idea what they do with the money, but given that there are probably on the order of 3,000 (I’m guessing) private a/c in the state, I don’t see how this fee could add up to enough money to cover the expenses of levying the fee. I didn’t have to pay any sales tax on the plane when I bought it. However, when I sell it, I’ll have to pay New Mexico’s "gross receipt tax". – Dane | Dane Spearing _____(o)_____ PA-28-180D, N6328J o O o KLAM, Los Alamos, NM

Response:

Hi Guys, As far as I know… New Jersey does NOT charge a sales tax on aircraft purchased privately… ie. not from a dealer… but they are aware that you own the aircraft. That means that they are in receipt of the FAA registration records. They will send you a letter saying "you may owe sales tax" but a letter back to them with the details of the private sale and "proof" is all that’s needed to keep them off your back. And, to my knowledge… there is no property tax, use tax, fondling tax… oogling tax or any other kind of tax on private aircraft or pilots in the fair state of New Jersey. The state does publish some nice, free, (not for navigation) aviation maps mimicing the New York Sectional and that’s about it. The reason things are so lenient here is probably because of the bloody fortune in sales tax (6%) the state is able to collect on parts sold and the labor on repairs. All in all… I’M NOT COMPLAINING!!!! I know it could be MUCH WORSE ELSEWHERE! Cheers. Roger

Response:

Now you are telling me some states tax this Federal Government’s recognition of skill. Therefore I formally request that this thread cease IMMEDIATELY, before some New York State bureaucrat sees it and gets a bright idea!!!

I don’t know the exact wording of the law, but I suspect it says that all WA residents who fly in the state must register in the state. There is no test nor qualification process – they simply require you to register and maintain a current address so they can find you if they need you for something. There was one thread on this a few years back and someone argued that it is Ok because it funds an airport guide that WA state publishes which includes aerial photographs of the airports. But this perk has vanished because I haven’t gotten one in a couple years; I still get a bill for the $4 each year though. So given that they have to maintain a mailing list, postage to mail a renewal notice, clerical time to cash your check and print a new certificate, postage to mail it back, etc…. I bet they lose money on the whole deal. Absolutely ridiculous. But you have to show the registration if you are going to do a bi-annual or rent an airplane. As I said earlier, I don’t think it would pass a stiff challenge in court. (The state law I’d love to mount a serious legal challenge to is the monopoly that car dealers have on sales tax computation when you trade in a car. Only a car dealer is allowed to charge sales tax on the difference between the new car and the trade-in; if you sell your car privately and buy a new car, you have to pay sales tax on the full price of the new car. This is completely unfair and gives car dealers an 8.7% advantage in assessing your trade-in value. And they know this, consistently underbidding the value of a trade-in by about 10% compared to book values. I understand that someone in Alabama challenged their similar law recently and won – now you can show that you purchased a new car within 90-days of selling your old and only pay tax on the difference.) – Mark

Response:

What states require that an aircraft be registered with the state DOT in addition to the FAA? What is the point besides revenue generation? Are there any other taxes besides the usual sales tax?

WA requires annual aircraft registration for $54/year which gets you a sticker for the tail. The money supposedly is used to maintain a number of state aircraft programs – education, fixing up state airports in the boonies, etc. But I imagine a big reason for the registration is to provide a mechanism to flag people who need to pay the sales/use tax of over 8%. No property taxes in WA, but state property taxes are common. There is talk that a new property tax will be imposed to raise revenue after a recent referendum that drastically lowered car excise tax fees. WA is also one of the few states that requires that pilots register with the state and pay a yearly $4 fee – they say this goes to "ASAR, safety, and education". There has been talk that this program is unlawful since the registration of pilots is a federal, not state, function. But no one has challenged it and we ante up the $4 each year which is probably about what it costs to collect the fee and issue the certificate. – Mark

Response:

In Illinois the state taxes (makes you register) your pilot certficate and your airplane. It’s only about $20.00 a piece. Revenue generation is the only reason for it. IDOT sends out a lame newsletter that usually arrives after all the events in the "Calendar of Events" have happened. There is sales tax if buying from a dealer or business. No sales tax for private transactions. No property taxes. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What states require that an aircraft be registered with the state DOT in addition to the FAA? What is the point besides revenue generation? Are there any other taxes besides the usual sales tax? What states require that an aircraft be registered with the state DOT in addition to the FAA? What is the point besides revenue generation? What do they charge?

Response:

Texas does sales tax on all purchases of aircraft and property tax yearly if plane is used for business deduction on your Federal tax. They exempt property tax as long as you send a notarized form to your county tax assessor every year attesting to non commercial use of plane. They don’t register the plane but I think they get a list of every plane hangared in Texas by visiting the local airports and getting infor from FBO. — – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What states require that an aircraft be registered with the state DOT in addition to the FAA? What is the point besides revenue generation? Are there any other taxes besides the usual sales tax? What states require that an aircraft be registered with the state DOT in addition to the FAA? What is the point besides revenue generation? What do they charge?

Response:

What states require that an aircraft be registered with the state DOT in addition to the FAA? What is the point besides revenue generation? Are there any other taxes besides the usual sales tax?

As for the registration, there’s really no point other than it generates a small revenue for the State Aviation Authority, which does a good job, so they can have my $5.00. The property tax goes into the general fund however.

Response:

What states require that an aircraft be registered with the state DOT in addition to the FAA? What is the point besides revenue generation? Are there any other taxes besides the usual sales tax?

Virginia requires registration for aircraft based in the state or owned by Virginia residents. It’s $5.00 a year for private use ($10 for commercial). Virginia also has a personal property tax paid by where the aircraft is located, varies by local municipality (county or city). It’s no small coincidence that there are practically no airports in Fairfax (High Tax) County. All of the aircraft parking at Dulles is on the Loudoun side of the border. -Ron

Response:

What states require that an aircraft be registered with the state DOT in addition to the FAA? What is the point besides revenue generation? Are there any other taxes besides the usual sales tax? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What states require that an aircraft be registered with the state DOT in addition to the FAA? What is the point besides revenue generation? What do they charge?

Response:

Iowa does. There IS no point aside from revenue. Shoot, the sales tax here in Iowa when we bought our Warrior was over $1000.00. THERE’S an expense to remember when you’re buying for the first time… Which makes the annual registration fee ($40.00, I think?) seem reasonable. Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Warrior N33431 – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What states require that an aircraft be registered with the state DOT in addition to the FAA? What is the point besides revenue generation? Are there any other taxes besides the usual sales tax? What states require that an aircraft be registered with the state DOT in addition to the FAA? What is the point besides revenue generation? What do they charge?