Paul Tomblin wrote:
In a previous article, George Patterson said:

Jon Kraus wrote:

Does anyone know if there would be tax consequences for the lucky winner
of the AOPA Commander 112. Thanks!!

The winner will pay Federal income taxes. Most States also have an income tax,
and the winner will pay that if he or she lives in one. Many States will also
charge a sales or usage tax.


So do they valuate the aircraft at the fair market value (ie. what a
normal Commander 112 of that age would fetch), or do they add all the
ridiculously expensive add-ons (none of which AOPA actually pays for,
since it's free advertising for the supplier) to that price and value it
at an amount that you'd never be able to sell the plane for in a million
years?

A normal Commander of that age wouldn't have all of the upgrades so you
can't use that as fair market value. I would hope they would have the
airplane appraised by someone who does that for a living to get a
reasonable value. Yes, you can't just add up the cost of the upgrades,
but you certainly can't take the market price of a standard Commander
either. I wish AOPA would include a cash prize that would at least
cover part of the taxes. I saw a lame excuse as to why they couldn't do
this, but the folks at Kiplinger Personal Finance do this and they
should know the tax laws at least as well AOPA.


Matt