Business aircraft deductions start with use, records, and timing.
A fact-first guide to Section 162, hobby-loss exposure, listed-property records, aircraft business-use tests, and current depreciation choices.
What's inside
- Why FAA Parts 61, 91, 135, and 141 describe operations but do not decide Section 162 deductibility
- Section 183 profit-motive factors and the aircraft records that support a business position
- Section 280F and Section 274 substantiation for each flight leg and passenger
- The separate 50% and aircraft-specific 25% tests for accelerated depreciation
- Permanent 100% bonus depreciation after January 19, 2025, plus transition-date traps
- A practical flight-level record template and year-end CPA checklist
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An FAA certificate does not create a tax deduction.
Part 91 generally governs aircraft operations, Part 61 covers pilot certification and some flight training, Part 141 covers FAA-certificated pilot schools, and Part 135 covers commuter and on-demand operations. Those rules matter, but ordinary-and-necessary treatment under Section 162 still depends on the taxpayer's actual trade or business and the facts of each use.
Most business aircraft remain listed property. Accelerated depreciation can require both the general more-than-50% qualified-business-use test and an aircraft-specific 25% test. Flight legs and passengers may need separate classification, so a single annual hours percentage can be incomplete.
For eligible property acquired after January 19, 2025, current law generally restored permanent 100% bonus depreciation. Acquisition, binding-contract, placed-in-service, listed-property, and transition rules still control the result. The guide shows which dates and records to give your CPA before making a purchase decision.
General educational information reviewed through 2026.08.09. It is not tax, legal, FAA, or transaction-specific advice. Eligibility depends on current law and your facts. Alex Sears CPA LLC is a Texas-licensed CPA firm.