Financing and legal and tax aspects of buying a jet in Poland 2026

I remember the first meeting with a client who was seriously considering buying a jet in Poland. I was sitting in his office overlooking Warsaw, and he directly asked: “How much will it actually cost me besides the price of the plane?” This is a question I hear regularly, and it always leads to a fascinating conversation about legal structures, tax liabilities and financing options. After twenty years in the aviation industry, I’ve learned that buying a business jet is much more than a choice between a Citation CJ4 Gen2 and a Citation Latitude – it’s a thoughtful financial and legal decision that requires an understanding of the Polish tax system and ownership structuring options.

The business aviation market in Poland is growing rapidly. In 2024, leasing companies financed air means of transport to the amount of PLN 690 million, an increase of 157% compared to the previous year. This boom is no coincidence – Polish entrepreneurs recognize the value of time and flexibility provided by their own aircraft. However, before the keys are in your hands, you will face a journey through a maze of tax regulations, registration requirements and financial decisions. As a distributor of aircraft and helicopters in Poland, I’ve been helping clients navigate these waters for years, so let me share some practical first-hand knowledge.

Registration and legal requirements when buying a jet in Poland

Let’s start with the basics – every aircraft operating in Polish airspace must be registered in the Register of Civil Aircraft maintained by the President of the Civil Aviation Authority. This is not a formality that can be handled in a weekend. The registration process requires the collection of complete technical documentation, an airworthiness certificate recognized by the CAA and documents proving ownership.

In practice, this means that when buying, for example, a Citation M2 Gen2 from a foreign owner, you must first make sure that the machine has valid safety certificates recognized in Poland. An airworthiness certificate issued by the FAA in the United States must be recognized by the Polish ULC, which requires verification of the aircraft’s technical records and maintenance history. Aircraft fees for initial registration are relatively small – according to current ULC rates, they are PLN 117 for accepting the user agreement and PLN 37 for replacing the registration certificate in case of data changes.

Polish aircraft registration marks begin with the prefix “SP,” followed by three letters for airplanes and helicopters. It is interesting to note that the first letter of the mark often indicates the type of user – SP-F usually designates dispatch and private aircraft, while airlines use other designations. The process of assigning a registration mark is administrative, but it takes time – it is worth planning a minimum of 4-6 weeks from the submission of a complete application to the receipt of the registration certificate.

Legal structures of ownership: Individual, partnership or lease?

Deciding in which legal form you will own a jet is the foundation of the entire tax structure. In Poland, three ownership models are the most popular, each with its own tax and operational implications.

Personal ownership is the simplest form – you buy an aircraft as an individual in your own name. The advantages? Full control and no corporate complications. Disadvantages? Limited tax optimization opportunities and full personal liability. If you use the jet exclusively for private purposes, this option may make sense, although it’s hard to justify a multimillion-dollar investment without any tax benefits.

Corporate ownership through a limited liability company or joint stock company is the most popular choice among Polish entrepreneurs. The aircraft becomes a fixed asset of the company, which opens the door to depreciation and the inclusion of operating expenses as tax-deductible expenses. At Poland’s CIT rate of 19%, the real tax savings can be significant. For an aircraft used intensively for business purposes – meetings with clients, transport of the management team, visits to facilities – this structure is the most tax-efficient.

Operating or financial leasing is a third way that is gaining in popularity. In 2024, leasing companies in Poland have financed air transport vehicles worth almost 700 million zlotys. Leasing offers financial flexibility – the lease installment is entirely a tax expense, which, given the high prices of jets, translates into significant savings. For a Citation CJ3+ worth several million zlotys, monthly leasing installments can range from tens to over a hundred thousand zlotys, but the entire amount reduces the tax base.

VAT on the purchase of a jet in Poland – can it be deducted?

VAT on the purchase of an airplane in Poland is, by default, 23% of the transaction value, which, for a machine worth, say, 15 million zlotys, results in 3.45 million zlotys of tax. The question is: can you deduct this VAT?

The answer depends fundamentally on how the aircraft will be used. If the Citation XLS Gen2 or Citation Longitude will be used exclusively for VAT-taxed business activities – for example, charter flights, business transportation for clients, or medical operations – a full 100% VAT deduction is possible. This is a significant financial relief, which in practice reduces the real cost of the purchase by almost a quarter.

However, this is where the complication begins. For jets used in mixed use – partly business, partly private – the situation gets more complicated. The Polish VAT system requires keeping detailed records of aircraft use. Each flight must be documented: destination, passengers, business justification. Based on these records, the proportion of business to private use is determined, which determines the percentage of VAT deductible.

In practice, many business aircraft operators in Poland deduct 50% of VAT, which requires documentation that at least half of the machine’s use is strictly business. However, the tax office may question this proportion if the documentation is not convincing enough. I have seen cases where a lack of accurate flight records has cost the owner the need to refund hundreds of thousands of zlotys of deducted VAT with interest.

The question of the place of purchase is also important. If you buy an airplane as an intra-Community acquisition of goods (ICT) from another EU country, the VAT mechanism works differently – you pay Polish VAT, but under certain conditions you can deduct it in the same return. Imports from outside the EU require customs clearance and payment of import VAT.

Tax on civil law transactions – when does it apply to aircraft?

The civil law transaction tax (PCC) of 2% of the value of the transaction is a tax that is easy to forget, but one that may surprise you unpleasantly. PCC applies to contracts for the sale of movable property if the transaction is not subject to VAT.

In practice, this means that when you buy a used jet from a private individual or VAT-exempt entity, you have to pay a PCC of 2% of the aircraft’s market value. For a Citation CJ4 Gen2 valued at 12 million zlotys, that’s 240,000 zlotys of tax, which must be paid to the tax office within 14 days of the deal, along with a PCC-3 declaration.

However, there is an exception. If the seller is an active VAT taxpayer and the transaction is subject to VAT (even if the rate is 0% on export or WDT), PCC does not apply. This is another reason why you should carefully structure your purchase transaction – choosing the right seller and legal form of the transaction can save you significant amounts of money.

With international transactions, the situation is more complex. If the airplane is located outside Poland at the time of the agreement, but the buyer is based in Poland and the agreement is concluded on Polish territory, PCC may occur. On the other hand, if both the contract is concluded abroad and the aircraft is located there, Polish PCC will not occur. This is another argument for consulting the structure of the transaction with a tax advisor before finalizing the purchase.

Transportation tax – does it apply to aircraft?

Here I have some good news. The Polish tax on means of transportation, regulated by the Local Taxes and Fees Act, applies only to road vehicles: trucks over 3.5 tons, truck tractors, trailers and semi-trailers, and buses. Aircraft are not listed in the catalog of transportation means subject to this tax.

This means that the owner of a Citation Latitude or MD 902 Explorer does not pay annual tax on the transport vehicle in Poland, which for heavy road vehicles can reach several thousand zlotys a year. This is one of the few simplifications in the Polish tax system for aircraft owners – you don’t have to file a DT-1 declaration or worry about annual payments to the municipality.

However, it is worth remembering that in some countries an aircraft tax exists, which may be important if you are considering registering your machine outside Poland as part of optimizing your ownership structure.

Financing options for buying a jet – what does the Polish market offer?

As a distributor for GB Aircraft, I regularly assist clients in dealing with financial institutions specializing in aviation financing. The Polish market offers several ways to finance the purchase of an aircraft, each with its own characteristics.

Operating leasing is currently the most popular form of financing for air vehicles in Poland. In 2024, the value of financed transactions increased by 157% year-on-year, reaching PLN 690 million. Operating leasing allows an aircraft to be used without committing the full amount of the purchase upfront. The typical own contribution is between 10% and 20% of the value, although some leasing companies offer financing even with zero contribution for customers with the highest creditworthiness.

The main advantage of operating leasing is the full inclusion of lease installments in tax costs. For a company taxed at 19% CIT, a monthly installment of 100K realistically costs 81K after taking into account the tax savings. Leasing periods for aircraft are long – typically 7-10 years for new machines, due to the high value of the assets and their long economic useful life.

Financial leasing is an alternative in which the user builds up capital value in the aircraft. It differs from an operating lease in that the machine goes into the fixed asset records of the lessee, who pays depreciation. In this model, the tax expense is the interest on the financing plus depreciation, which often results in a lower initial tax benefit than with an operating lease, but a higher residual value at the end of the contract.

A bank loan is a third option, although less common for aircraft than leasing. Banks typically require 20-30% equity and offer financing for 5-7 years. Interest rates depend on creditworthiness, but for aircraft – due to the high collateral value and stable residual value of these assets – they can be competitive. The main difference from leasing is the issue of ownership – you own from day one, while the bank only has a mortgage on the aircraft.

Sale-leaseback is an increasingly popular form, especially for companies that already own an aircraft. The company sells the machine to a leasing company and then leases it back. This structure allows the company to free up cash frozen in the aircraft while continuing to use it. PKO Leasing, a leader in aircraft financing in Poland with a portfolio of 300 million zlotys a year, regularly executes this type of transaction.

Operating expenses and their tax treatment

Buying the aircraft is just the beginning of the expenses. Annual operating costs for the Citation CJ4 Gen2 can range from 800,000 to 1.2 million, depending on the intensity of use. These costs include:

• Fuel – with the price of Jet-A1 aviation fuel in Poland at about 4-5 zlotys per liter and the consumption of Citation CJ4 at about 600 liters per hour of flight, an hour costs 2400-3000 zlotys of fuel alone

• Maintenance and inspections – annual maintenance including replacement parts is 150-250 thousand zloty

• Insurance – comprehensive hull and liability insurance for a business jet is an expense of 100-200 thousand a year

• Hangar rentals – hangar rentals at Polish airports are 5-15 thousand zlotys per month

• Crew – if you don’t have your own licenses, hiring two pilots costs 300-500 thousand a year

The good news is that when using an aircraft for business purposes, all of these costs are fully deductible. At a CIT rate of 19%, the effective cost is lower by this amount. VAT on aircraft maintenance services (hangars, maintenance) can be deducted in proportion to business use.

Practical tips for structuring a jet purchase in Poland

Based on experience with dozens of transactions, here are my key recommendations:

First, engage a tax advisor specializing in aviation even before the purchase is finalized. The optimal legal and tax structure should be determined before the contract is signed, not after the fact.

Second, keep meticulous records of aircraft use from the first flight. A flight logging system with destination, passengers and business justification is the foundation for defending deducted VAT in a possible tax audit.

Third, consider the ownership structure that best fits your needs. If the aircraft will be used intensively for business, corporate ownership with a full cost deduction makes sense. If use will be mixed, a lease structure may offer more flexibility.

Fourth, don’t underestimate operating costs. Before you buy, prepare a detailed annual budget that includes all items from fuel to insurance. Aircraft owners are often surprised by the actual operating costs, which can amount to 10-15% of the aircraft’s value annually.

Fifth, build a relationship with an experienced leasing company or bank while still in the planning stages of a purchase. The due diligence process on the financing side can take several weeks, and the availability of financing often affects the structure and timing of the deal.

Summary

Buying a jet in Poland in 2026 is a complex undertaking requiring an understanding of many legal and tax aspects. VAT of 23% is largely deductible for business use, PCC of 2% applies to transactions not covered by VAT, and tax on transportation equipment happily does not cover aircraft.

Financing through operating leases offers the greatest tax advantages in the short term, while corporate ownership with depreciation may be more advantageous for long-term operators. Poland’s aviation financing market is growing rapidly – growth of 157% in 2024 shows that banks and leasing companies see business aviation as an attractive asset class.

At GB Aircraft, we not only offer the best aircraft in their classes – from the Citation M2 Gen2 to the Citation Longitude – but also, thanks to our contacts in the industry, we can direct customers to the right specialists for financing, tax advice and operational support. Our long-standing presence in the Polish market allows us to assist in the entire process, from selecting the right machine to its registration and entry into service.

Remember, financing and structuring a jet purchase is not an area where you should rely on guesswork or half-measures. A properly planned transaction can result in significant tax and operational savings, while mistakes can cost hundreds of thousands in additional taxes or lost benefits. An investment in professional pre-purchase advice always pays off.