Program Schedule – 2024 NBAA Tax, Regulatory & Risk Management Conference

7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Conference Registration

8:30 a.m. – 9:05 a.m.

Welcome and Introduction

Ed Bolen, NBAA

9:05 a.m. – 9:55 a.m.

Aircraft Ownership Fundamentals: Important Planning Concerns

Amanda Applegate, Soar Aviation Law, LLC
Joanne Barbera, Barbera & Watkins, LLC

In this opening panel, panelists will crack the code of FAA, DOT, FEC, IRS, DOR, SEC, CBP, FinCEN and other tax and regulatory issues for business aircraft ownership and use. Attendees will become familiar with concepts and basic structures for FAA compliance, learn how to put together a team to prepare for examination or other governmental scrutiny and position their organization for success.

9:55 a.m. – 10:20 a.m.

Morning Break

10:20 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.

Navigating Personal Use: IRS, FAA and SEC Issues

Sue Folkringa, Aviation CPAs
Letisha D. Sailor, GKG Law

The speakers will provide an overview of the implications of personal use of an employer-provided aircraft. The discussion will navigate through various examples of personal use, methods for permissible reimbursement and applicable limitations and reporting requirements under the regulatory framework of the IRS, SEC and FAA. The speakers will also highlight common pitfalls associated with personal use.

11:10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Audit Procedures: Tips and Strategy

Richard Farley, Jr., PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Greg Rosica, Ernst & Young

The presentation on company aircraft audits will start with an overview of the IRS audit initiative, explaining the general audit process and emphasizing the importance of preparation and organization. It will then focus on hot topic audit issues, particularly bonus depreciation positions and the criteria for aircraft qualification. The discussion will cover the “placed in service” date, Section 280F testing schedules and overall substantiation requirements, highlighting the need for detailed records. The presentation will also address spousal travel, commuting and personal non-entertainment use under Section 162, providing guidance on documentation and reporting.

12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.

Lunch

Sponsored by Crowe & Dunlevy

1:15 p.m. – 2:05 p.m.

Bonus Depreciation Phase-Out and Alternative Options

Robert Davis, FORVIS LLP
Chris Younger, HCH Legal, LLC

The attendee of this session will acquire knowledge of the depreciation methodologies available to various types of aircraft usage under FAR Parts 91 and 135. This knowledge will then be leveraged to discuss the special aircraft rules related to the ongoing phaseout of bonus depreciation. A portion of the session will also be devoted to a discussion of the bifurcated sale computations required when corporate aircraft are utilized for entertainment and then ultimately disposed of by an entity or individual.

2:05 p.m. – 2:55 p.m.

Multi-Owner Structures: Partnerships, Joint Ownership and FAR 91.501

John Copley, Garofalo Goerlich Hainbach P.C.
Lori McGee, Jetstream Aviation Law, P.A.

Multi-owner structures come in many types and variations, ranging from co-ownership or joint ownership operated and administered between individual parties, to fractional ownership programs and other ownership vehicles administered by professional managers. Decisions as to the type of co-ownership that makes sense for particular situations and parties requires consideration of which parties wish to take on operational and managerial burdens as well as the tax, regulatory and risk associated with each form of multi-owner structure. This panel will identify and analyze the primary FAA registration and operational challenges that co-owners should address when considering any multi-owner arrangement and will discuss when other structure options should be considered.

2:55 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.

Afternoon Break

3:20 p.m. – 4:10 p.m.

Advanced Structuring: Flight Departments, Managed, Charter, IRC § 280F

Julianne Christensen, Houck & Christensen CPAs, LLC
David M. Hernandez, Vedder Price PC

This panel offers insight into some advanced structuring options that are designed to address the rising complexity of organizational structures and aircraft utilization. Advanced structuring allows operators to efficiently maximize their use of the aircraft. However, if they are not correctly structured and implemented, these non-traditional structures can raise a variety of FAA and tax issues, including enforcement actions, impacts on permissible depreciation methods and other deduction limitations. These issues will be discussed in this panel.

4:10 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

State and Local Tax Issues, and Understanding the Risks

Vicky Boladian, Boladian Aviation Law Group
Mike Grim, Cherry Bekaert Advisory LLC

It’s a whole new world when it comes to maneuvering through state and local tax matters, especially as it relates to audits. This presentation will provide a general overview of sales and use tax, various exemptions available to aircraft operations and a detailed discussion of how to deal with various audits, including the documentation you should be prepared to provide the tax authorities. There will also be a discussion on how to handle certain co-ownership issues.

5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Evening Reception

8:30 a.m. – 8:35 a.m.

Welcome and Introduction

8:35 a.m. – 9:05 a.m.

Innovation Update: Sustainable Aviation Fuel and Advanced Air Mobility

Chris Rocheleau, NBAA
David Thompson Norton, Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP

The development of sustainable aviation fuel and the advent of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) – with one of its major components being the electrification of aircraft – are two of the most significant technological advancements facing business aviation. This session will provide a brief description and industry status update with respect to both efforts, including an overview of the various regulatory issues that these efforts currently face.

9:05 a.m. – 9:55 a.m.

Personal Use/SIFL, Entertainment Disallowance (IRC § 274) and Commuting

Ryan DeMoor, MySky
David Shannon, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP

Building off the conceptual personal use sessions, this session will cover the advanced calculations involved in personal use. The panelists will cover SIFL calculations including mixed use and 7-day international calculations, aircraft disallowance methods and calculations under section 274, and will cover the effect of commuting on those calculations.

9:55 a.m. – 10:20 a.m.

Morning Break

10:20 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.

Importance of Documentation and Audit Preparation

Angel Houck, Houck & Christensen CPAs, LLC
Joe Park, BIZJETCPA

Be prepared in the event of an IRS audit. The required documentation to substantiate the business use of an aircraft can be extensive and requires a lot of detail. We will discuss what the IRS is likely to request in an audit, provide some practical best practices to maintain the contemporaneous records and share some real world examples.

11:10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Federal Excise Tax Issues and Why It Matters

Mark Dennen, Solairus Aviation
Nel Stubbs, Stubbs Aviation Advisors

With business aircraft often being used for both FAR Part 91 and Part 135 flights, it is important to understand when federal excise tax (FET) is due and who is responsible for paying it. Discussion topics for this panel will include FET regulatory and legislative rules, including application to management companies and Part 135 flights for the aircraft owner, activity that is considered commercial by the IRS and responsibility for collecting and remitting FET on charter flights when a broker is involved.

12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.

Lunch

1:15 p.m. – 2:05 p.m.

Insurance Update and Risk Mitigation

Jeff Agur, The VanAllen Group
Todd Guelich, AssuredPartners Aerospace

Flight operations introduce a unique cross-section of risks that need to be identified and mitigated. In this session, attendees will gain insights to the broader aviation insurance market trends and how to engage the market effectively. Additionally, as a high percentage of turbine aircraft are managed for FAR Part 91 and 135 uses by third party operators, the equity holders (owner/ lessor/lienholder) have uninsured risks, including FBO and MRO waivers signed by the authorized aircraft manager’s employees/crew. The panel will also address consequential losses, including diminution of value, loss of use and lost income and how to minimize those direct expenses.

2:05 p.m. – 2:55 p.m.

Aircraft Use Policy and SEC Concerns

Sean Fitzgibbons, Walmart, Inc.
Stewart H. Lapayowker, Lapayowker Jet Counsel, P.A.

This session will review the ingredients for an effective aircraft utilization policy and will examine disclosures that should be made by SEC reporting companies in their reports filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including how non-business use of aircraft should be described. The presenters will also discuss the Greenbrier SEC order and how that impacts disclosure of use by the company of an executive’s aircraft.

2:55 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.

Afternoon Break

3:20 p.m. – 4:10 p.m.

Cross Border Transactions, Sanctions and Corporate Transparency Act

Katie DeLuca, Harper Meyer
Jeffrey Towers, TVPX

The U.S. is the hottest market worldwide for aircraft sales and has the largest inventory. Consequently cross-border transactions are a common occurrence. The presentation will discuss the enhanced preparation that is essential to successful transactions with international parties, with particular focus on due diligence, sanctions risks, customs and registration requirements and the Corporate Transparency Act.

4:10 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Leasing Strategies to Maximize Efficiency and Productivity

Mary Comazzi, Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Michael Cosby, Husch Blackwell LLP

Leasing strategies can have great utility in gaining operational efficiencies and achieving operational goals, but one must be aware of the risks and pitfalls associated with common leasing structures. FAA operational control, truth-in-leasing, privacy issues, passive and hobby loss issues, income tax, state sales and use tax and insurance coverage considerations can all come into play when deploying compliant leasing structures. This presentation is intended to look at common leasing structures and help you optimize operational goals and tax objectives while avoiding non-compliance and unintended tax consequences.