Updated . Educational only — not tax, legal, or lending advice. Confirm figures with your CPA, the state revenue department, and a lender before you close.
Check the Special Rule Before You Memorize the General Rate
The 2026 planning habit is simple: do not type the state’s general sales-tax rate into the calculator until you know the aircraft is actually taxed at that rate.
- Washington. A 10% luxury excise on higher-value private aircraft was enacted for April 1, 2026. Flying Finance reports it was repealed before it took effect. Confirm with the Department of Revenue, then read the Washington page.
- North Carolina is described as capping aircraft tax at $2,500. The cap math.
- Virginia uses a 2% aircraft tax, not its general rate. Virginia.
- New York and Massachusetts are described as exempting many aircraft purchases from sales and use tax, with other taxes still possible. New York, Massachusetts.
- Georgia is described as having no general fly-away. Georgia.
- California still taxes trade-ins on the full price and still presumes use if you bring the aircraft in within 12 months. That is CDTFA, not a trend piece. California.
Federal income-tax depreciation also changed relative to the old phase-down story. That is not a state sales-tax trend. It is the 2026 bonus-depreciation page.
Questions buyers actually ask
Where is the 50-state table?
Jaken Aviation publishes one at jakenaviation.com. This site keeps narrative pages for the states where a wrong assumption is expensive, linked from the hub.
Did every state change rates on January 1, 2026?
No. Some general rates were inflation-adjusted or legislated. The aircraft-specific rule is what you look up, not a rumor that “rates went up.”