# North Carolina aircraft tax

> North Carolina charges 4.75 percent state sales or use tax on aircraft, capped at $2,500 per aircraft, with no local tax. Repairs and parts for aircraft of 2,000 pounds or more are exempt, and counties tax aircraft as personal property each year.

Source: https://www.aerscheduler.com/aircraft-tax/united-states/north-carolina
Checked: 2026-10-18

## Do you pay sales tax on an aircraft bought in North Carolina?

**Taxed.** 4.75 percent state sales tax on the price, including attached accessories, with a maximum tax of $2,500 per aircraft. Local and transit sales taxes do not apply. An occasional and isolated sale by someone not in the business of selling, such as an owner selling a personal aircraft, is not taxed.

> "The retail sale of an aircraft, including all accessories attached when delivered to the purchaser, is subject to the 4.75% general state rate of sales and use tax with a maximum tax of $2,500 per article."
>
> North Carolina Department of Revenue, [Aircraft and Qualified Jet Engines](https://www.ncdor.gov/taxes-forms/sales-and-use-tax/aircraft-and-qualified-jet-engines). Checked 2026-10-18.

> "Aircraft are not subject to the local and transit rates of sales and use tax."
>
> North Carolina Department of Revenue, [Aircraft and Qualified Jet Engines](https://www.ncdor.gov/taxes-forms/sales-and-use-tax/aircraft-and-qualified-jet-engines). Checked 2026-10-18.

> "An occasional and isolated sale is not subject to sales and use tax."
>
> North Carolina Department of Revenue, [Sales and Use Tax Bulletins, SUTB 2-7](https://www.ncdor.gov/sutb-2026pdf/open), dated January 2026. Checked 2026-10-18.

## Do you owe use tax on an aircraft bought outside North Carolina?

**Depends.** If sales tax was not paid, use tax at 4.75 percent, capped at $2,500, applies to an aircraft bought inside or outside North Carolina for use here. Sales or use tax paid to another state is credited and the difference is owed, but only if that state gives a similar credit for North Carolina tax.

> "If sales tax has not been paid on the taxable purchase of an aircraft, a use tax at the 4.75% general state rate of sales and use tax with a maximum tax of $2,500 per article applies to an aircraft purchased or received from within or without this state for storage, use, or consumption in this state."
>
> North Carolina Department of Revenue, [Aircraft and Qualified Jet Engines](https://www.ncdor.gov/taxes-forms/sales-and-use-tax/aircraft-and-qualified-jet-engines). Checked 2026-10-18.

> "The credit allowed by this subdivision does not apply to tax paid to a state that does not grant a similar credit for sales or use taxes paid in North Carolina."
>
> North Carolina General Statutes, [G.S. 105-164.6(c)(2)](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_105/GS_105-164.6.html). Checked 2026-10-18.

## What aircraft sales tax exemptions does North Carolina have?

**Depends.** Exemptions are narrow. Aircraft bought for resale are exempt, and parts, repairs and service contracts for aircraft of 2,000 pounds or more are exempt. The Department's aircraft guidance names no nonresident fly-away exemption and no carrier exemption for the aircraft itself.

> "Any aircraft, accessories, and supplies purchased for resale as provided in SUTB 5."
>
> North Carolina Department of Revenue, [Sales and Use Tax Bulletins, SUTB 9-3](https://www.ncdor.gov/sutb-2026pdf/open), dated January 2026. Checked 2026-10-18.

> "An aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of 2,000 pounds and above."
>
> North Carolina General Statutes, [G.S. 105-164.3(197)](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_105/GS_105-164.3.html). Checked 2026-10-18.

## Are aircraft rentals taxed in North Carolina?

**Taxed.** A lease or rental of an aircraft is taxed at the same rate and maximum as a sale: 4.75 percent, with the $2,500 maximum figured separately for each lease or rental.

> "The applicable percentage rate is the rate and the maximum tax, if any, that applies to a sale of the property that is leased or rented."
>
> North Carolina General Statutes, [G.S. 105-164.4(a)(2)](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_105/GS_105-164.4.html). Checked 2026-10-18.

> "The maximum tax, if applicable, must be determined for each lease or rental of tangible personal property, not on the aggregate tax for all leases or rentals of the leased tangible personal property."
>
> North Carolina Department of Revenue, [Sales and Use Tax Bulletins, SUTB 54-1](https://www.ncdor.gov/sutb-2026pdf/open), dated January 2026. Checked 2026-10-18.

> "The retail sale of an aircraft, including all accessories attached when delivered to the purchaser, is subject to the 4.75% general state rate of sales and use tax with a maximum tax of $2,500 per article."
>
> North Carolina Department of Revenue, [Aircraft and Qualified Jet Engines](https://www.ncdor.gov/taxes-forms/sales-and-use-tax/aircraft-and-qualified-jet-engines). Checked 2026-10-18.

## Is flight instruction taxed in North Carolina?

**Not clearly published.** North Carolina does not publish guidance on flight instruction or on the aircraft rental inside a lesson. Its aircraft guidance and sales tax bulletins do not mention flight schools.

## Are aircraft parts and maintenance labor taxed in North Carolina?

**Depends.** Repair, maintenance and installation services, and the parts used, are exempt for a qualified aircraft, one with a maximum take-off weight of 2,000 pounds and above. Repairs to lighter aircraft are taxable.

> "Parts and accessories used to repair or maintain a qualified aircraft or qualified jet engine."
>
> North Carolina Department of Revenue, [Sales and Use Tax Bulletins, SUTB 9-3](https://www.ncdor.gov/sutb-2026pdf/open), dated January 2026. Checked 2026-10-18.

> "An aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of 2,000 pounds and above."
>
> North Carolina General Statutes, [G.S. 105-164.3(197)](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_105/GS_105-164.3.html). Checked 2026-10-18.

> "The sales price of or gross receipts derived from repair, maintenance, and installation services to tangible personal property or certain digital property, regardless of whether the tangible personal property or certain digital property is taxed under another subdivision in this section or is subject to a maximum tax under another subdivision in this section."
>
> North Carolina General Statutes, [G.S. 105-164.4(a)(1)c](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_105/GS_105-164.4.html). Checked 2026-10-18.

## Does North Carolina register or tax aircraft every year?

**Taxed.** Aircraft are personal property, taxed each year by the county where they are listed. An antique airplane, model year 1954 or older and not used to earn income, is assessed at the lower of its true value or $5,000.

> "All property, real and personal, within the jurisdiction of the State shall be subject to taxation unless it is:"
>
> North Carolina General Statutes, [G.S. 105-274(a)](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_105/GS_105-274.html). Checked 2026-10-18.

> "It is registered with the Federal Aviation Administration and is a model year 1954 or older."
>
> North Carolina General Statutes, [G.S. 105-277.12(a)(1)](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_105/GS_105-277.12.html). Checked 2026-10-18.

> "An antique airplane shall be assessed at the lower of its true value or five thousand dollars ($5,000)."
>
> North Carolina General Statutes, [G.S. 105-277.12(b)](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_105/GS_105-277.12.html). Checked 2026-10-18.

_Not tax advice. Confirm with the state's revenue department or a CPA before a purchase or a pricing decision._