For anyone thinking of buying an airplane, one of the first things they may seek advice on is tax. Although this is understandable, there are other issues which U.S. buyers need to consider before they tackle the taxation side of things.

We spoke with David Norton, a leading U.S. aviation lawyer who owns and flies his own plane. “If you start with tax, I can almost guarantee that you are going to end up with a structure that the FAA considers to be a commercial operation, and if not done correctly will be viewed as an illegal charter operation,” he comments. Rather, Norton explains, the first question should always be, “Who is going to be the registered owner?” It`s worth knowing that you have to be a U.S. citizen to place title to your aircraft on the U.S. civil registry – and that the definition of who qualifies as a U.S. citizen for this purpose is very tight.

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