Cost of importing an aircraft into UK from EU/US

[Manfred V R]

I am toying with the idea of buying a secondhand aircraft and with a greater choice abroad am likely to find what I'm after in Europe or the US. If I were to pay the equivalent of say £160k can anybody give me a guide to, and a list of, the costs (excluding ferrying) of importing into the UK. It would be for personal use but if necessary I could justify placing it into my company. Also is it something I could handle myself or should I use an agent? Any other information on obstacles, hurdles or potential problems would be gratefully received. Thanks, M V R

[SkyHawk-N]

The big question is would you keep it on the FAA register?

[Barcli]

whatever you pay in dollars - will be roughly what it will end up costing you in GBP. maybe with the new vat rate - a little more.
you will gain by your available choices of aircraft and probably the dryer climate that they have been operated in.

[IO540]

On a £160k plane it may well be worth a ferry flight from the USA.

You can get a very nice 2002 TB20GT for that :)

If you leave it on the N-reg, you have no paperwork issues (make sure you pay the import VAT and get the paperwork) but will need FAA licenses/ratings and, on current proposals, will need EASA equivalents after 2015.

If you transfer to to G-reg, then you have a bit of a can of worms. And it is hard to do sufficient due diligence for this at a distance. I've sent you some notes.

[John R81]

Would there be a better VAT result if imported first to another EU State? I recall there were some interesting Nordic options but thought they had closed.

[IO540]

The Danish option closed Dec 2009. It was a good option because you get a certificate of free circulation, which is important on a non-EU-reg plane.

There are new options opening up. San Marino (http://www.tango-seven.com/) is one of them (with some eye watering prices, but the Danish lawyer was raking it in big-time too); Guernsey is believed to be next.

The IOM is not going to work because it is in the common VAT purse, AIUI, but it's good for corporate owners.

[Zulu Alpha]

If it will fit in a container with wings removed then this is very cost effective way to get it over here.

As others have said its worth considering leaving it on the N register as you will get it flying much quicker than if you move it to the G register.

Buying in the US is good value( although not as good as it was when there was $2 per £). Barnstormers is a good place to look online.

[IO540]

If you do import from the USA, get any mods (especially avionics) done out there. It will be far cheaper than doing it in Europe. And they have some good engine shops there (almost no good ones in the UK) so get any overhauls etc done there too.

A lot of people warn against container shipping of anything half decent, because it can be difficult to bolt everything back on exactly straight :)

[Katamarino]

If you have owned an aircraft in the US for, say, 5 years, and then move to the EU, do you have to pay VAT on it? If so, how would it be worked out.

Could you claim back the tax you've alredy paid on it in the US (if you did), as it would seem wrong to pay tax on it twice...? (I realise that when it comes to sucking money out of people, governments usually couldn't care less if it seems wrong or not...)

[IO540]

I think you pay VAT on the market value.

Obviously the MV is debatable, to a large degree :)

This is how you obtain a cert of free circulation, for a plane which for some reason hasn't got one, and the documents cannot be found (a big hint for anybody buying a plane - get the paperwork!!). There is a chap who processes the paperwork, but you do have to pay the VAT (on the MV) to get it.

Possibly worth doing on an N-reg flying to France or Germany, though personally I have never been raided (yet).

If the plane is owned (and always has been) by a VAT regd company, then you should be able to obtain a CofFC by doing some version of the old Denmark route, without actually paying the VAT.

[englishal]

I didn't think they issued CofFC any more, and that you just had to keep any relavent VAT info.

What sort of aeroplane are you after? You can pick up a 'nearly new' DA40 (180) with 100 hrs on the clock, G1000 with integrated AP, 3 blade prop, Powerflow and 150 Kt TAS cruise for about $220,000 (V nice aeroplane)...Or you could go for something like a 10 year old Commander 115TC for another $50k....(167,000 GBP) also a v nice aeroplane but older).

I'd fly it home with a ferry pilot, I know someone who did this to Australia (California to Hawaii in one hop DA40) and the actual costs involved were about $10,000 (Hell of a trip though).

[Mark 1]

Katamarino,

AIUI if you have owned the aircraft in the states for more than one year, you then import it as a personal effect to the UK and keep it for a further year, then you are not liable to VAT. That is certainly my plan for the future, I just need to make sure I get the right machine a year before I plan to return.

There is no exemption or reclaim of sales/use tax I believe. If you move from one state to another, you pay the difference in use tax between the two states, but no refund if you go from a high tax state (like CA) to a lower one.

Unlike the EU, sales tax applies to private sales too and is re-applied each time the aircraft is sold, so if an aircraft changes hands 10 times in CA then it will have accumulated 95% sales tax. There's quite a big business in tax avoidance, but only if you do it through a business.

If you buy in the US to import, and do it fairly promptly after buying, then you won't have any sales tax to pay, just VAT at the other end.

[Manfred V R]

Some interesting ideas and information, thanks all.
Englishal, towards the top of my list was a Bonanza F33a. Whilst I have yet to fly one I spent a lot of time last year in an A 36 a friend of mine owns in the States, and you can get used to that sort of thing!

[wwelvaert]

Bonanzas are great airplanes, unfortunately not many of them flying in Europe.

Keep in mind no matter what registration you fly under, you have to comply with the operating rules for the countries you fly in. If you're importing an airplane from the US, you may have some expenses for required upgrades:

1) Mode S transponder: many GA aircraft in the US have mode C only, in most of Europe mode S is required.
2) DME: most newer GA aircraft in the US (late 90s to now) don't have DME if equipped with IFR GPS or glass cockpit. In most of Europe you cannot substitute GPS for DME.
3) ADF: same as above, although only applies in a few European countries.

I've imported several airplanes in the past year, PM me if you'd like to discuss more.