May 27, 2025
The NBAA Tax Committee has introduced its new Glossary of Aviation Tax, Accounting and Regulatory Terms, which is designed to provide targeted, easy-to-understand information for flight department and aviation managers who are not proficient in legal, accounting and aviation regulatory terms.
“There’s a lack of a detailed understanding on the operational side of what some of these tax, accounting and legal concepts are,” said Ryan DeMoor, head of aviation tax at MySky and chair of the NBAA Tax Committee. “The genesis in my mind of this product was to create a five to six-page document that can offer basic explanations to people who aren’t lawyers or accountants and give them a reference to find more information.”
While the glossary is intended to provide general definitions of and introduction to the use of these terms, it should not be considered as legal or tax advice or opinion on any specific facts or circumstances, its focus is to help members better understand what can seem like complex terms and concepts.
The goal is to provide a resource to members that is a quick hit and does some level setting,” said Ellen Urell, director of operations at The Aviation Office, who chairs the committee’s Tools and Resources Working Group.
“In this first iteration, we highlighted terms that are thrown around a lot in the tax and regulatory world where we immediately saw this need, subdividing them into areas of specialization such as federal income tax, types of legal entities, types of transactions, etc,,” she said. “But we do see this as a living document to be continually updated as regulations shift, and also to become more comprehensive. For example, right now, we are working on adding a section of terms relating to international transactions.
“So, this glossary now, the way you look at it, will be the base of the Glossary going forward,” Urell added.
Members are invited to review the glossary and make suggestions for improvements and additions to the information. Members also will learn more about the glossary at the 2025 NBAA Tax, Regulatory & Risk Management Conference, which runs Oct. 11-13 prior to the start of the 2025 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Las Vegas.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.