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Structuring aircraft ownership through a company—rather than holding it personally—is considered best practice for high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and businesses. This approach provides critical advantages in liability protection, tax efficiency, operational flexibility, and privacy.

Structuring the aircraft in a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) (a company), you ring-fence liability. This shields personal assets from risk as the company is the legal owner and operator.

If the aircraft is owned by a company and used for legitimate business purposes, it may deduct operating costs, depreciate the aircraft (accelerated methods like MACRS in the U.S.), and write off lease or finance interest.

A corporate entity in a tax-friendly jurisdiction, such as Delaware, Isle of Man or Malta, can minimize VAT/import duties, and enable treaty benefits and withholding tax reductions on leasing or charter income.

Malta offers a favorable regulatory environment, as a member of the EU, Malta’s aviation sector adheres to European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) standards, ensuring high safety and operational standards. Aircraft registration in Malta enables operators to freely operate across the EU without additional certifications.

Malta’s Aircraft Registration Act (2010) is considered one of the most progressive in Europe, accommodating various ownership structures, including fractional ownership and trust arrangements. The law also provides clarity on issues like registration, mortgages, and aircraft leasing.

Malta has an attractive fiscal landscape and offers a competitive corporate tax regime that can result in effective tax rates as low as 5% (depending on tax refunds and structuring). There is also no withholding tax and several VAT benefits, including the “VAT leasing” arrangement, potentially reducing VAT on the purchase to as low as 5.4%.

Malta is a recognised aviation hub in Europe with a high reputation which is attractive to financiers, lessors, and operators. It offers an efficient registration process for aircraft and mortgages, robust support infrastructure.

The Isle of Man offers a strong regulatory environment and well-regarded Regulator, the
Isle of Man Aircraft Registry (the "M-Register"), known for its high safety standards framework meeting international standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The Isle of Man offers many compelling financial benefits including the absence of VAT on private aircraft, 0% capital gains tax and 0% inheritance tax. The jurisdiction also boasts high privacy and confidentiality as the register does not publicly disclose ownership information. Its stable legal, political and economic environment make it ideal for aircraft financing and aircraft structuring. International ownership is permitted and aircraft mortgages and security interests can be easily registered in the Isle of Man.

Delaware is known for its robust and flexible corporate laws, which are favorable to aircraft ownership structures (LLCs, corporations, trusts), which offer flexibility and strong protection.

The legal framework also offers high confidentiality and can be used to obscure the beneficial owner’s identity.

Delaware offers operators with many tax advantages, including the absence of sales tax on aircraft transactions, low franchise taxes and zero personal property tax.

The state provides an efficient registration process, with minimal annual reporting requirements.