District of Columbia aircraft sales and use tax

Do you pay sales tax on an aircraft bought in District of Columbia?

Taxed. No exemption or special rate for aircraft was found, so a retail sale of an aircraft in the District owes the general sales tax: 6.0% before October 1, 2026, and 7.0% from that date.

• The rate of such tax on the gross receipts from sales of or charges for such tangible personal property and services shall be 6.0% before October 1, 2026, and 7.0% beginning on October 1, 2026, and continuing thereafter

  Code of the District of Columbia, D.C. Code 47-2002(a) · checked October 18, 2026

Do you owe use tax on an aircraft bought outside District of Columbia?

Taxed. Compensating use tax applies at the same rate, 6.0% before October 1, 2026 and 7.0% from that date, to tangible personal property bought elsewhere and used or stored in the District.

• There is hereby imposed and there shall be paid by every vendor engaging in business in the District and by every purchaser a tax on the use, storage, or consumption of any tangible personal property and service sold or purchased at retail sale.

  Code of the District of Columbia, D.C. Code 47-2202(a) · checked October 18, 2026

• The rate of tax imposed by this section on the sales price of such tangible personal property and services shall be 6.0% before October 1, 2026, and 7.0% beginning on October 1, 2026, and continuing thereafter

  Code of the District of Columbia, D.C. Code 47-2202(a) · checked October 18, 2026

What aircraft sales tax exemptions does District of Columbia have?

Depends. The only aircraft exemption found is for property a common carrier holds for use mainly outside the District in interstate commerce, as part of an aircraft. No fly-away or nonresident exemption for aircraft was found.

• The use or storage within the District of tangible personal property owned and held by a common carrier or sleeping car company for use principally without the District in the course of interstate commerce, or commerce between the District and a state, in or upon, or as part of, any train, aircraft, or boat; or

  Code of the District of Columbia, D.C. Code 47-2201 · checked October 18, 2026

Are aircraft rentals taxed in District of Columbia?

Taxed. A lease or rental of tangible personal property, of any length, is a taxable sale, with the tax computed on the rent.

• The sale or charges for possession or use of any article of tangible personal property granted under a lease or contract, regardless of the length of time of such lease or contract or whether such lease or contract is oral or written; in such event, for the purposes of this chapter, such lease or contract shall be considered the sale of such article and the tax shall be computed and paid by the vendor upon the rental paid

  Code of the District of Columbia, D.C. Code 47-2001(n)(1)(F) · checked October 18, 2026

Is flight instruction taxed in District of Columbia?

Not clearly published. Flight instruction is not among the services the District lists as taxable, and no guidance addresses lessons or the aircraft time inside them.

The state's published guidance does not clearly answer this.

Are aircraft parts and maintenance labor taxed in District of Columbia?

Taxed. Repair services on tangible personal property, including installing replacement parts, are taxable, whether or not parts are transferred.

• The sale of or charges for the service of repairing, altering, mending, or fitting tangible personal property, or applying or installing tangible personal property as a repair or replacement part of other tangible personal property, whether or not such service is performed by other means of coin-operated equipment or by any other means, and whether or not any tangible personal property is transferred in conjunction with such service;

  Code of the District of Columbia, D.C. Code 47-2001(n)(1)(I) · checked October 18, 2026

Does District of Columbia register or tax aircraft every year?

Not clearly published. No District aircraft registration or aircraft-specific yearly tax was found. Whether the District's personal property tax on business property reaches an aircraft was not confirmed.

The state's published guidance does not clearly answer this.