Aircraft Owners Save up to 95 percent on Taxes in West Virginia

Jan. 15, 2009
West Virginia’s Special Aircraft Property Valuation Act applies to airplanes and helicopters owned or leased by commercial airlines and charter carriers.

CHARLESTON, WV — A new law dramatically reduces the property tax paid on business aircraft based in West Virginia. The tax code enacted in 2008 assesses corporate, commercial, and other business aircraft at the lower of fair market salvage value or five percent of the aircraft’s original cost.

The Special Aircraft Property Valuation Act drops the assessed value of business aircraft subject to the West Virginia property tax by as much as 95 percent. The act is effective for property tax assessment years beginning on and after July 1, 2009.

For example, under the previous property tax law, an aircraft with a market value of $10 million would be taxed at $130,200. Under West Virginia’s new Special Aircraft Property Valuation Act, the same aircraft would be taxed at only $6,510, with a resulting average tax savings (depending on the jurisdiction) of approximately $123,690. That is 95 percent of the tax that would be payable absent the special valuation.

West Virginia’s Special Aircraft Property Valuation Act applies to airplanes and helicopters owned or leased by commercial airlines and charter carriers.

West Virginia’s public and private airports are typically located close to other intermodal forms of transportation, allowing greater access and more cost-effective transportation opportunities to businesses and individuals. The state’s airports with commercial airline service include Yeager Airport, Charleston; Tri-State Airport, Huntington; Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport, Parkersburg; North Central West Virginia Airport, Clarksburg; Morgantown Municipal Airport; Greenbrier Valley Airport, Lewisburg; and Raleigh County Memorial Airport, Beckley.

Bridgeport hosts the Mid-Atlantic Aerospace Complex (MAAC), major aviation and aerospace industry leaders and the Robert C. Byrd National Aerospace Education Center. The state’s capital city of Charleston is host to Yeager Airport and the 130th Airlift Wing. Berkeley County’s Martinsburg is base for the Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport, several aviation and aerospace firms and the West Virginia 167th Air National Guard.

For more information visit www.openforbusiness.com.