This immediate bonus depreciation deduction was set to decrease to 30% by 2019 and was only applicable to factory-new aircraft. Now, under the guidelines of the 2017 TCJA, private jet depreciation rates that you can deduct jumped from 50% to 100% during the first year of owning the aircraft, both pre-owned and new.

You can write off the cost of a private jet, but only if the travel is "ordinary and necessary" for your business operations. In 2026, the IRS (and most tax authorities) applies a strict "business vs. pleasure" test. If you charter a jet for a business meeting, to visit a job site, or to transport essential cargo, the entire cost is generally 100% tax-deductible as a business expense. However, if you use the jet for a vacation or personal trip, it is not deductible. For "mixed-use" trips—such as flying to a conference and then staying for a weekend of golf—you can only deduct the portion of the flight related to business. If your business owns the jet, the rules are more complex; you may be able to utilize depreciation (like MACRS) to write off the asset's value over several years, provided that more than 50% of its use is for business. Because private jet travel is a high-audit-risk item, it is essential to maintain meticulous flight logs, meeting agendas, and receipts to prove that the expense was a legitimate business necessity rather than a personal luxury disguised as one.