(The Center Square) – A bill introduced Thursday would end tax breaks tied to private jet expenses, following a 2025 federal law that expanded tax benefits for them and other business aircraft.
U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman, D-Va., along with Reps. Kristen McDonald-Rivet, D-Mich., and Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, introduced the legislation, which would block companies from writing off the cost of private jets and related expenses, according to the bill.
Stop Subsidizing Private Jets Act of 2025, as the legislation is known, would prohibit deductions for what it defines as “disqualified private plane expenditures,” including costs associated with purchasing, maintaining and operating certain private aircraft.
The bill includes exemptions for aircraft primarily used to transport property, as well as planes used for agriculture, firefighting, emergency medical services, flight instruction, skydiving operations and certain commercial flights available to the public.
If passed, the changes would apply to expenses incurred after Dec. 31, 2025. The battle will be uphill for the Democratic colleagues – the U.S. House of Representatives is split 217 Republicans, 212 Democrats and one independent formerly Republican, with five vacancies.
The proposal comes after Congress restored 100% bonus depreciation for business assets, including private aircraft, in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law July 4. That provision allows businesses to deduct the full cost of qualifying assets in the first year they are placed into service.
A November 2025 letter from Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., cited a Joint Committee on Taxation estimate that making bonus depreciation permanent could reduce federal revenue by about $362.7 billion over 10 years.
Vindman’s office said the tax treatment can result in significant savings for private jet owners. In one example, the office said a $100 million aircraft could generate about $21 million in tax benefits in the first year, with additional deductions allowed for operating expenses under existing business rules.
The office also pointed to broader questions about how aviation is funded. Citing data from the Institute for Policy Studies, the office said private jets account for roughly one out of every six flights handled by the Federal Aviation Administration but contribute about 2% of the taxes that fund the system.
Commercial airline passengers pay a 7.5% federal excise tax on tickets, which helps fund the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport and Airway Trust Fund, the primary source of funding for federal aviation programs.
The trust fund pulls from several sources, including ticket taxes, cargo fees and aviation fuel taxes, including those paid by private aircraft operators. Because the system relies heavily on ticket-based taxes, commercial airline passengers account for a significant share of contributions, while private aviation contributes primarily through fuel taxes.
Industry groups representing private aviation have argued that business aircraft operate differently from commercial airlines and often use less congested airports.
“Right now, the tax code allows those buying private jets worth tens of millions of dollars to receive enormous write-offs, while middle-class families do not get deductions for basics like gas or groceries,” Vindman said in a statement.
The office said a formal revenue estimate from the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation specific to the proposal is not yet available.
