How long can you reserve an N-number?

On Fri, 16 Nov 2007 15:59:08 -0500, IO540
wrote:

On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 18:17:52 -0800 (PST), quietguy
wrote:

I know a guy who reserved a number for twelve years before his
airplane flew; just keep paying the fee. Your state may contact you
if they register/tax aircraft, but every such state I know of exempts
homebuilts under construction; they'll require you to contact the
state office within a certain period after the FAA issues the
airworthiness certificate. (Save all parts/materials receipts to
establish the tax basis or registration fee. Some states also factor
in your labor hours -- at some pitifully small rate -- so you may have
to show building-time records, too.)


Wasn't that fee to hold an "N" number one of the ones they are going
to raise up quite a bit with the new registration fees? I'm holding
one, but if they raise the fee up from $10 to $50 a year, I may just
go ahead and register my unfinished homebuilt and then deal with the

Cars and airplanes in Michigan are not considered taxable as personal
property, but we do have to pay sales tax on the value/investment.
That often brings up the argument as to what the plane is really worth
compared to what you have invested in it.

I'd gladly register mine at $1.00 per hundred weight, or about $25 a
year versus 6% of the value at registration time. In a well equipped
Glasair III that could easily vary from a few thousand to over ten
thousand dollars. Figuring what I have in it at present: Kit price
(used but still in the crate), engine K1A5 IO-540, Prop (Hartzel 3
Blade like new with very little time on it) not counting labor would
save me one whale of a lot of money.

Thing is, this state's finances have been really screwed up by the
current and past parties in power. So it they argue your well crafted
bug smasher is worth $100,000 and you have $50,000 in it you may have
a very difficult time getting them to budge and they don't care how
many appraisals you have as they'll do their own.

I think it was this past year one of the locals flew down south to
purchase a plane at a really good deal (to top it off the plane was in
very good shape too). The state refused to accept the bill of sale as
the actual value as it was not typical of that make and model for that
year. So he ended up paying close tax on close to double what he
really paid for the plane.

state, who will most certianly come after me for personal property
tax. Homebuilts, especially ones that are unique, the state has a hard
time establishing a value for, so they came to me and asked what is
was worth for the one I have that's finished and flying.

It doesn't help when they can go to Trade-a-plane and find asking
prices up in the stratosphere for similar planes and with my luck
they'd find one that was a prize winner at Oshkosh worth twice mine.

Roger (K8RI)

It doesn't help when they can go to Trade-a-plane and find asking
prices up in the stratosphere for similar planes and with my luck
they'd find one that was a prize winner at Oshkosh worth twice mine.

Roger (K8RI)

I'm building a Glasair 3 myself, and tactic I've seen used by a lot of
homebuilders is to not name the aircraft what the kit maker calls it.
Being the builder, and building 51% or more of it, you are free to
name it anything you want to call it. Calling it a Glasair just helps
the state out in figuring out what it's worth. I guess I'm lucky in
that in my state, they don't actually go out and inspect a homebuilt
at the airport, Mich. sounds a lot more agressive in that area. But we
pay a yearly personal property tax on cars and planes, boats, ect..
And I've heard is the 3rd highest in the country for PPT. (SC).
Homebuilts aren't so easy to set a value on, and states that go after
them for tax money are especially greedy. Some builders never plan to
sell them for fear of liability, so in those cases, the resale is hard
to put a value on.
RAM

On Sat, 17 Nov 2007 09:09:08 -0800, Richard Riley wrote:



An owner who goes that way should also list the engine as
experimental. A Cozy builder locally listed his airplane as a Jones
Runabout or some such, but listed the Lycoming 360 engine. The
assessor said the last plane they'd billed with that kind of engine
was a new Cessna 172, therefor the homebuilt was worth as much as the
Cessna - $250k.

That's a good tip. I would have never thought of the engine being a tax target.

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