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Bonus depreciation is permanent for business jets. Now use is the test

After three years of a looming deadline, 100% first-year bonus depreciation for business jets is now permanent. Buyers are no longer racing to beat the clock and finalize purchases by year's end based on the original guidance. Instead, their attention should turn to how their aircraft is used, as the qualifications to be considered a business jet have now tightened. 100% bonus depreciation enables a buyer to deduct an aircraft's cost from their income taxes in its first year instead of spreading it over the normal MACRS schedule of several years. Under a 2017 tax law, that first-year share was 100% depreciation, which dropped to 80% in 2023 and 60% in 2024. The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA) that was enacted on July 4, 2025, reset it back to 100% of the aircraft's cost that can be deducted. The OBBBA also removed the planned phase-down, so buyers are no longer rushing to get their jets by December 31, 2026. The depreciation applies to qualified aircraft acquired after Jan. 19, 2025, and placed into service on or after Jan. 20, 2025. The aircraft must be operationally ready for its intended use to qualify, so if a buyer signs the purchase agreement in 2026 without placing it in service the same year, they will not get the deduction for 2026. The date that controls that write-off is the date it is placed in service. It does apply to used aircraft purchases, not just new ones. IADA's Q1 2026 market report, released in April, cited 100% bonus depreciation as a factor boosting demand for jets. What buyers now need to calculate is how the aircraft is used. To claim bonus depreciation, a jet must be used more than 50% for qualified business use in the year it is placed in service. Jets that do not cover the business-only 50% threshold will not receive the bonus, instead dropping to slower straight-line depreciation. The caveat is the qualified business-use 25% sub-test. Certain uses, like leasing to a related party, only count toward the 50% if the aircraft's other qualified business use is at least 25% of total use on its own. Additionally, the deductible amount scales with the business use percentage. For personal or entertainment use, it reduces the amount of time that can be written off. With no time limit, it is better to wait, research and purchase the aircraft you know is what you need on a clean prebuy rather than rushing a year-end close on one that may not be right for you. Have a clear date that the aircraft entered service and keep records of business use from the beginning. Owners that have that discipline will be the ones who keep their deduction when the time comes.
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