Aircraft maintenance labor charges will be largely exempt from Florida state taxes effective January 1, according to the Florida Aviation Trades Association (FATA). Airplanes with an mtow of more than 2,000 pounds and rotorcraft with an mtow of more than 10,000 pounds are covered under legislation introduced and passed in mid-March during the 2012 Florida Legislative Session.

FATA worked with the Florida Airports Council and AOPA to change the language of the statute to clarify that FBOs and MROs are exempt from the “intangible tax.”

According to FATA executive director Paula Raeburn, “Several states have sales-tax exemptions on labor and maintenance done on aircraft. The pre-existing Florida law provided a sales-tax exemption for [maintenance labor on] aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of more than 15,000 pounds. The change now gives the tax exemption to aircraft weighing 2,000 pounds or more, making most general aviation aircraft eligible. This will put Florida on a more competitive playing field.”

Florida is home to many business aircraft maintenance facilities, including those from OEMs Cessna, Daher-Socata, Embraer and Piper.