Lawmakers Press to Eliminate Private Jet Travel Subsidies

One of the great injustices of our current tax system is that working people often end up subsidizing the luxury consumption of the billionaire class.  

One example of this phenomena can be found in the world of private jets, one of the most ecologically indefensible forms of transformation. The private jet lobby has worked for years to secure tax breaks for aircraft purchases and fuel — and shift their costs on to taxpayers and the commercial flying public.

The lobby scored a big win when a 100 percent bonus depreciation for business assets including private planes was included in the 2017 Trump tax cut. That provision was renewed in 2025’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” 

With that provision in place, if a billionaire buys a $170 million luxury jet, they can deduct the entire purchase as a business expense in the year they buy it, greatly reducing their tax bill. Most business expenses are deducted to reflect their depreciation over multiple years. A purchase of a truck or vehicle, for example, is typically depreciated over five years.

Current tax loopholes give the ultra-wealthy —including both private citizens and businesses — millions in tax write-offs for their luxurious travel, including the costs of planes themselves and related expenditures like private pilots and fuel.

The Private Jet Accountability Project (PJAP) at the Institute for Policy Studies has been working with members of Congress to rollback these subsidies. U.S. Representatives Eugene Vindman (Va-07), Kristen McDonald Rivet (Mich.-08), and Greg Landsman (Ohio-01) recently introduced the Stop Subsidizing Private Jets Act of 2026. 

“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. That is wrong,” Vindman said in a statement. “My bill is a commonsense fix that ends these unfair giveaways while protecting farmers, small businesses, and emergency responders who depend on aviation for real business and community needs.” 

Today, private jets, even those valued at $100 million or more, are not considered a luxury vehicle, which means the full value can be a business expense write-off. Expenses such as fuel, pilots, decor, and in-flight services are also a write-off. It is estimated that the owner of a $100 million jet can get a $21 million tax benefit.

This legislation will end these loopholes while protecting “exemptions for aircraft, primarily used to transport property, as well as planes used for agriculture, firefighting, emergency medical services, flight instruction, sky diving operations and certain commercial flights available to the public” as described in the bill.

These are funds we cannot afford to lose. An Institute for Policy Studies report found that private air travel is a significant portion of air traffic, with a ratio of one private jet per six commercial planes. Despite this, private jet travel only contributes 2 percent of the taxes that go to fund the Federal Aviation Administration. At the same time, people flying commercial pay a 7.5 percent federal excise tax on tickets to fund the FAA’s Airport and Airway Trust Fund. Every day commercial flyers are taxed more heavily for their tickets compared to private jet travelers who are only taxed on their jet fuel.

“It’s ridiculous and unfair that the ultra-wealthy get million-dollar tax breaks for their private jets while working families are seeing their health care and food assistance cut,” said Rep. McDonald Rivet. “We need to get rid of this insane loophole, because if you can afford a private jet, you can afford to pay your fair share in taxes.” 

“The fact that our tax dollars are still funding tax breaks for someone’s private jet is insane,”  Rep. Landsman added. “We have to fix the tax code so the super-wealthy stop getting special treatment, and our small businesses and farmers can actually get ahead.” 

In the face of the jet fuel crisis, European lawmakers are exploring banning certain kinds of private jet operations. Here in the U.S., all we are asking is that private jets pay their fair share.

Luxury travel that isn’t taxed appropriately epitomizes the inequality that exists in the tax and travel systems. Why should everyday Americans foot the bill for the ultra-wealthy’s private air travel and the air travel infrastructure we all use? 

The passage of the Stop Subsidizing Private Jets Act of 2026 is an important step in correcting the imbalance of wealth and power in our democracy.