Forming an LLC for your aircraft in Washington

Washington’s general-aviation scene is dense and serious — Boeing Field and Renton in the middle of Seattle, Paine Field under the 747 line’s old shadow, Felts Field in Spokane, Arlington’s experimental crowd, floatplanes working Lake Union and the San Juans. The state’s aircraft tax structure is quietly one of the most owner-friendly in the country in one specific way: instead of a value-based property tax that bills a jet tens of thousands of dollars a year, Washington charges a flat annual excise by aircraft class — in lieu of property tax entirely. In 2025 that calm was interrupted: the Legislature passed a 10% luxury tax on aircraft over $500,000, then repealed it in 2026 before it ever took effect, trading it for higher flat fees that phase in from 2027. An LLC is often the right container for the plane — for liability and co-ownership reasons — but it changes none of this tax math.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Aircraft ownership sits where FAA regulation, state tax, and insurance overlap; an aviation attorney and a CPA who knows aircraft are worth every dollar before you close.

Every bill a Washington-based aircraft actually gets

Owners moving in from value-based property-tax states are usually braced for the wrong thing. Here is the complete list:

That last row deserves its own section, because a lot of 2025-vintage articles still describe the tax as if it were coming.

The luxury tax that came and went

In 2025, Washington’s transportation-revenue package (ESSB 5801) enacted a 10% luxury tax on the portion of a noncommercial aircraft’s sale price or fair market value above $500,000, scheduled to take effect April 1, 2026 — a tax that would have added $150,000 to a $2 million purchase and made Washington one of the most hostile states in the country for buying a serious airplane. The aviation community — AOPA, NBAA, and the Pacific Northwest Business Aviation Association among them — pushed back hard through the 2026 session, as flight departments began leaving the state and in-state purchases went on hold.

The repeal wasn’t free. The same bill raised the aviation system’s flat fees to fund sustainable-aviation-fuel infrastructure: the annual excise tax rises steeply by class on January 1, 2027 — from a bit more than double for a single-engine piston to nearly tenfold for a turbojet — the registration fee doubles to $30 the same day, and the aircraft fuel tax rises from $0.18 to $0.25 per gallon on November 1, 2026. For owners of high-value aircraft, that trade — a few hundred to a bit over a thousand dollars a year instead of a six-figure one-time luxury tax — is dramatically better. Which brings us to the excise tax itself.

The flat excise tax — Washington’s quiet bargain

Under RCW 82.48, Washington levies an annual excise tax for the privilege of using an aircraft in the state, at a flat amount per aircraft class — not a percentage of value. It’s due each January, collected by the WSDOT Aviation Division together with the registration fee, and prorated by month if you register mid-year. Crucially, RCW 82.48.110 provides that no aircraft on which the excise is payable may be listed and assessed for ad valorem taxation — the flat fee is the whole recurring state bill.

The current schedule, and what it becomes on January 1, 2027 (RCW 82.48.030, as amended by 2026 c 255 § 406):

The 2027 amounts index upward by 2% per year beginning in 2028, and commuter air carriers pay a separate weight-based schedule. The increases stung Washington’s pilot community — a turbojet’s bill rises nearly tenfold — but keep the comparison honest: a $2 million jet based at Boeing Field owes $125 this year and $1,220 a year from 2027. The same jet on a California ramp is assessed annually on its value by the county — on the order of 1%, roughly $20,000 a year. Washington’s worst-case flat fee is about 0.06% of that hull’s value. Even after the increase, the excise-in-lieu structure remains one of the best recurring-cost deals in aviation.

Who escapes the excise entirely? RCW 82.48.100 exempts government aircraft, foreign-registered aircraft, aircraft registered in another state unless based in Washington for 90 days or longer, aircraft engaged principally in interstate or foreign commercial flying, and manufacturer or dealer inventory. Note the trap in the fine print: aircraft exempt from the excise as commercial operations aren’t tax-free — they generally fall back into the property-tax system instead.

Use tax at purchase — the bill the LLC can’t dodge

The excise tax is small; the purchase-time tax is not. Buy from a Washington dealer and retail sales tax is collected at the sale. Buy from a private party, or out of state, and Washington use tax applies when the aircraft is used or based here — at the combined state-and-local rate for where the plane is kept. The state portion is 6.5%; local add-ons push combined rates to roughly 7.6% to 10.7% depending on the airport’s taxing jurisdiction. On a $500,000 aircraft at a representative 9% combined rate, that’s $45,000 — the dominant tax event in Washington aircraft ownership.

The Department of Revenue’s aircraft guidance recognizes a short list of use-tax outs: a credit for sales or use tax legally paid to another state, an exemption for nonresident aircraft temporarily in the state no more than 90 days in any continuous 12-month period, aircraft used more than 50% in interstate or foreign commerce transporting persons or property for hire, and narrow carve-outs such as large private aircraft (over 41,000 pounds) sold to nonresidents. What Washington does not offer general aviation is the kind of broad occasional-sale or fly-away exemption that Texas hands private buyers — a private-party purchase that would be tax-free in Texas is simply a use-tax bill here. For the state-by-state picture, see our aircraft sales-tax reference table.

State registration: WSDOT, every January

Separate from the FAA’s federal registry, RCW 47.68.250 requires every aircraft operated or based in Washington to register with the WSDOT Aviation Division for each calendar year, with the fee paid during January and the excise tax collected at the same time. The registration fee is $15 per year under current law, rising to $30 on January 1, 2027 (then +2% annually from 2028). Registration runs on a calendar-year basis, mid-year registrations are prorated, and WSDOT asks new purchasers to contact it within 30 days of buying an aircraft. Nonresident aircraft registered in another state are exempt until they’ve been based in Washington for 90 days or more — a genuine visitor accommodation, not a loophole for a plane that lives at Paine Field inside a Montana LLC.

No income tax — but watch the B&O line

Washington’s structural advantage carries over from the boat side: there is no state personal or corporate income tax, so a single-member LLC that simply holds an aircraft for personal use generally has no Washington income-tax filing on that basis. The exception is Washington’s business and occupation (B&O) tax, levied on gross business revenue rather than profit. A pure holding LLC with no revenue typically has no B&O activity — but the moment the LLC charters the aircraft, runs a leaseback to a flight school, or collects rent from other pilots, it’s operating a business, and that gross revenue can be B&O-taxable on top of the different FAA, insurance, and excise-classification consequences commercial use brings. If revenue is any part of the plan, design the structure with a Washington tax professional first.

The FAA layer: registration, citizenship, and the trap

None of Washington’s rules replace the federal ones. The aircraft itself lives on the FAA Civil Aviation Registry, and under 14 CFR Part 47 an LLC registering an aircraft is measured as a corporation or association: its president and at least two-thirds of its managing officers must be U.S. citizens, it must be under the actual control of U.S. citizens, and U.S. citizens must own or control at least 75% of the voting interest. When an LLC owns the plane, the registry requires — alongside the AC Form 8050-1 application — a statement in support of registration, made by someone with knowledge of the facts, describing how the LLC is organized, who holds management authority, and how it satisfies the citizenship definition, members included (see the FAA’s aircraft registration guidance for LLCs). Get the member list and citizenship facts right at formation, not at closing.

So where should the LLC be formed?

Separate the two questions, because they have different answers. Where the aircraft is taxed — that’s Washington, full stop, if the plane is based and flown here: use tax at purchase, the flat excise and registration every January, no matter where the entity was born. Where the holding LLC is formed — that’s a real choice about cost, privacy, and structure:

• A Washington LLC keeps everything in one state: $180 to file the Certificate of Formation, a $10 initial report within 120 days, then a $70 annual report each year in the LLC’s anniversary month (WA SOS fee schedule). No state income tax; the B&O caveat above applies only if the LLC has revenue.
• A Wyoming holding company adds privacy (members stay off the public record) and low annual costs, and is the common choice for a pure asset-holding structure; Delaware brings well-worn entity law for multi-partner ownership. Neither changes a dollar of the Washington tax math above.

Where FilingDesk fits

FilingDesk doesn’t file directly in Washington — but as the sections above show, Washington’s aircraft taxes attach to the aircraft, not the LLC’s home state, so most owners don’t need a Washington entity anyway. FilingDesk forms the holding LLC that will own the aircraft: describe it in plain English, we run the name check, prepare and file the paperwork with a human specialist reviewing every filing, then handle the EIN and operating agreement. $99 flat plus the state fee: Wyoming $199 all-in, Delaware $209, Florida $224, with a 60-day money-back guarantee and no upsells. The use-tax planning, the WSDOT registration, and the lease structuring stay with you and your aviation attorney and CPA — that’s their lane, and the math above is the same no matter who forms your entity. When your counsel signs off on the structure, start the entity.

FilingDesk is not a law firm and does not provide legal or tax advice. This guide is general information only; Washington’s aircraft excise tax, use tax, and registration rules are fact-specific and change over time — confirm current figures with the Washington Department of Revenue and the WSDOT Aviation Division, and consult a licensed aviation attorney and a CPA about your specific aircraft and situation.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• RCW 82.48.030 — Aircraft excise tax, amount of tax (current schedule + schedule effective Jan 1, 2027)
• RCW Chapter 82.48 — Aircraft excise tax (incl. § .100 exemptions and § .110 in-lieu-of-property-tax rule)
• Washington Department of Revenue — Aircraft excise tax (January due date, use-tax rules, exemptions)
• Washington Department of Revenue — 2026 tax legislation (luxury aircraft tax repealed prior to its effective date)
• WSDOT Aviation Division — Register an aircraft
• RCW 47.68.250 — Registration of aircraft ($15 annual fee, January, calendar-year basis)
• Final Bill Report, ESHB 2711 — C 255 L 26 (luxury aircraft tax repeal; excise, registration, and fuel-tax changes)
• Washington Secretary of State — Corporations fee schedule (LLC formation $180)
• Washington Secretary of State — Annual reports (annual report + initial report requirements)
• Washington Department of Revenue — Business & occupation (B&O) tax
• eCFR — 14 CFR Part 47, Aircraft Registration (citizenship, LLC eligibility)
• FAA Aircraft Registry — Register an Aircraft (LLC statement requirements, citizenship)
• eCFR — 14 CFR 119.1 (when an air carrier / commercial operator certificate is required)

This guide is general information, not legal advice. FilingDesk is not a law firm.