Washington State Bill To Repeal Aircraft Luxury Tax

Washington state legislators responded to critics of the 10% luxury tax enacted last year and set to take effect on April 1, 2026, with approval of HB 2711, which repeals that tax. The tax would have applied to private aircraft sales transactions exceeding $500,000.

HB 2711 was approved on March 12 and will become law after either Gov. Bob Ferguson signs the bill or automatically within 20 days of the legislature’s action, the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) said.

In addition to eliminating the luxury tax, HB 2711 raises aviation fuel taxes in the state by 7 cents per gallon, to 25 cents. Further, state aircraft registration fees will be adjusted and automatically increased by 2% per year.

According to NATA, 28% of aviation fuel taxes will go toward a new sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) airport infrastructure account, with the remainder heading to the state’s aeronautics account. A similar portion of the registration fees will also be deposited into the state’s SAF account.