What Is 100% Bonus Depreciation?
Bonus depreciation is a tax incentive that allows businesses to immediately deduct the full cost of qualifying capital equipment, like an aircraft, in the year it’s placed in service.
In 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R.1) permanently reinstated 100% bonus depreciation, which means eligible buyers can write off the entire value of a new or used aircraft (if it’s their first use) in year one, rather than spreading it out over multiple years.
The benefit? Significant upfront tax savings that can help offset acquisition costs, preserve capital, or improve cash flow. But the rules are strict, and usage must be primarily business-related.
Are You Protecting the Asset?
As aviation insurance specialists, we’ve seen what happens when financial strategy outpaces protection strategy. Buyers rush to close, file the deduction, and then spend the next six months cleaning up insurance oversights.
The tax benefit may be big. But the risk of post-close exposure? Bigger than most buyers realize.
Here's what no one's saying in the depreciation conversation:
The window for bonus depreciation may feel generous, but your timeline to bind coverage is narrow. Once an aircraft is accepted and placed in service, your insurance needs to be active — and fully aligned with its intended use.
We’re advising clients now on how to integrate insurance into their ownership strategy — not as a checkbox, but as a lever. Because when the stakes are this high, coverage should do more than protect. It should perform.
If you're planning to take advantage of bonus depreciation, now’s the time to bring your insurance team to the table, not after the paperwork is signed.