CA LLC re-domiciled in CO - do I need to re-register airplane?

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Debbie Ferguson

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FergieAir
Last year I moved to Colorado from California. I also moved my LLC from California to Colorado. So I guess that means the CO LLC is a new entity? (It is not a foreign LLC)

The LLC owns my aircraft.

Because of the LLC change, do I then need to file an ownership change with the FAA aircraft registry?
 
Yes. The owner of the airplane is now different than it was before. A transfer of ownership is required.

Can you "get away" with not changing it since, after all, since the name if the owner is still "John Jones" who's to know that it's not the same "John Jones" who is the record owner? Maybe. But this past summer I had to clean up a title where a former owner failed to change a registration in a situation like yours. Poor guy - the buyer - had been trying to register for over a year when they finally came to me. Took a while even then. Messy.

You want to check into possible tax implications of the transfer.
 
You need to consider the tax and insurance implications. I would make the changes. Keep in mind taxes don’t follow the LLC they follow the aircraft and where it is actually based. If you are moving a aircraft from CA document everything. Have paperwork showing the hangar lease is terminated in CA. Have paper showing a new lease in CO. Charge all your fuel and keep the records. CA will haunt you for years if you don’t drown them in paper proving you moved the aircraft.
 
Unfortunately, you may be on the hook for sales tax. :(

When I stopped renting out my plane, I wanted to shut down the Corp and move it to my name. But the state was going to hit me up (again) for sales tax so I just kept the Corp going until I sold the plane.
 
If I didn't have partners I'd not have my plane in an LLC. All it really does is complicate my taxes.
 
That depends on what you mean? Did you keep the California LLC and just domesticate it into Colorado. In that case, you've not changed anything. Thought it would be silly as California is more hostile in fees to LLCs than Colorado is. If you created a new Colorado LLC, yes, you'll have to transfer your plane into it.

Aircraft Registry is (possibly rightfully) picky about how they want the transfers signed. But they do answer email inquiries, so it behooves to drop them a line and get exactly what they want.
 
steingar said:
If I didn't have partners I'd not have my plane in an LLC. All it really does is complicate my taxes.
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Other than states that have a franchise tax (like California) or mandatory filing requirement, it doesn't do anything to your taxes. A single-member LLC is a disregarded entity.
 
It has no effect on profit or loss as a business however property and or use taxes are paid based on where the aircraft resides.
Many people set up a LLC in a state with low or no property taxes hoping to avoid taxes in their home state. Some even believe it’s legal until they get caught. Most understAnd they are playing a tax avoidance shell game hoping not to get caught.
 
Most of the states I've been in aren't easily fooled. The airports (most of which are government entities) report based aircraft. The Virginia department of Aero (and I don't think they are unique in this), mines the FAA registration information looking for planes that may be located in the state.

If fact, I've got bills from a couple of different entities without ever telling them that I was there (and nothing in the registration information would lend them to believe the plane was based there). Some states even mine the FBO records and ATC information.
 
flyingron said:
Other than states that have a franchise tax (like California) or mandatory filing requirement, it doesn't do anything to your taxes. A single-member LLC is a disregarded entity.
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A multiple member LLC is a tax preparers nightmare. At least this tax preparer.
 
steingar said:
A multiple member LLC is a tax preparers nightmare. At least this tax preparer.
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Yep, but we're assuming this was a single member, your own words: If I didn't have partners I'd not have my plane in an LLC. All it really does is complicate my taxes.
 
flyingron said:
Yep, but we're assuming this was a single member, your own words: If I didn't have partners I'd not have my plane in an LLC. All it really does is complicate my taxes.
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I don't see any benefit at all to having an airplane in a single member LLC. You can't protect yourself from yourself.
 
steingar said:
I don't see any benefit at all to having an airplane in a single member LLC. You can't protect yourself from yourself.
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It can create a layer of anonymity as long as you aren't also the registered agent. There's other reasons as well. LLC's aren't just about liability protection.
 
Remember, the question was about FAA registry NOT state registry. I imagine the FAA would want the owner's current address to communicate.
 
QUOTE="Snowmass, post: 3054942, member: 39659"]Remember, the question was about FAA registry NOT state registry. I imagine the FAA would want the owner's current address to communicate.[/QUOTE]
I've seen people change the address without changing the ownership. That happened in the one I mentioned earlier.
 
Thank you for the really helpful information!

Here is where things ended up. I connected with the AOPA legal assistance department. Their belief was that an LLC transfer did require a Bill of Sale and they connected me with a local Colorado attorney to help with that. The local attorney confirmed a Bill of Sale was necessary but it wouldn't have any tax implications because it effectively was LLC (100% owned by me) -> me -> new LLC (100% owned by me), which in Colorado is not considered a taxable event. AIC handled the FAA paperwork and Bill of Sale and we were all set after a couple of days. The 2 hours of AOPA legal support each year covered the costs.
 
Debbie Ferguson said:
Last year I moved to Colorado from California. I also moved my LLC from California to Colorado. So I guess that means the CO LLC is a new entity? (It is not a foreign LLC)

The LLC owns my aircraft.

Because of the LLC change, do I then need to file an ownership change with the FAA aircraft registry?
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Where'd ya move to in Colorado?
 
Broomfield.

Also, regarding the move - I am fully and completely out of California. I moved to Colorado when I took a new job in Denver.
 
Debbie Ferguson said:
Thank you for the really helpful information!

Here is where things ended up. I connected with the AOPA legal assistance department. Their belief was that an LLC transfer did require a Bill of Sale and they connected me with a local Colorado attorney to help with that. The local attorney confirmed a Bill of Sale was necessary but it wouldn't have any tax implications because it effectively was LLC (100% owned by me) -> me -> new LLC (100% owned by me), which in Colorado is not considered a taxable event. AIC handled the FAA paperwork and Bill of Sale and we were all set after a couple of days. The 2 hours of AOPA legal support each year covered the costs.
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Perfect. I might even know the lawyer.
 
Debbie Ferguson said:
Broomfield.

Also, regarding the move - I am fully and completely out of California. I moved to Colorado when I took a new job in Denver.
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Welcome to Colorado and Broomfield then. You'll need to know that "the airport formerly known as Jeffco" can still be referred to as "Jeff-uh-Metro" so as to not sound like a newbie ... :)
 
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