Audit: Michigan's aircraft registration fees have not been increased in 80 years

LANSING — Airplane registration fees in Michigan haven't increased since 1945, according to a new audit.

That means it costs more each year to register a car in Michigan than it does an airplane.

The average airplane registration fee in 2022 was about $67, state records show. The average passenger car registration was nearly twice that much, at $129, according to an annual report from the Michigan Secretary of State's Office.

If it had kept pace with inflation since 1945, the average annual Michigan aircraft registration fee would today be about $1,144, based on an inflation calculator on the website of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Michigan last hiked registration fees for passenger cars by 20%, back in 2015.

Michigan Auditor General Doug Ringler highlighted the stagnant aircraft fees in a report released Thursday. The performance audit of Michigan's Office of Aeronautics did not recommend for or against an increase in the fees, but merely pointed out as an "observation" that they have not gone up in nearly 80 years.

Pilots with political pull

Phil Lombard, a Ferndale resident who has worked as a navigator for military aircraft at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County and who also is interested in how Michigan pays for road repairs, said the aircraft registration fee makes no sense.

"It ought to go up, right away," Lombard, who is now retired, told the Free Press.

Though not all aircraft owners are wealthy, "in general the people who own these kinds of planes have got some money and political pull," he said, and that's likely why the fees have not been increased in decades.

Ringler said Michigan's average aircraft registration fees are low, relative to other states in the Midwest.

Michigan charges based on the weight of the aircraft, at 1 cent per pound. If the same method was used for passenger vehicle registrations, most Michigan car owners would pay about $40, based on an average car weight of 4,000 pounds.

Fees vary widely between states

In the Midwest, Illinois and South Dakota have lower aircraft registration fees of about $20 and $43 respectively, according to the auditor's report. Illinois charges a flat fee. South Dakota charges between $12.50 and $300, depending on the weight and age of the aircraft.

But Ohio, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Minnesota all charge higher fees than Michigan, the report says.

Ohio charges $15 per seat.

Minnesota charges based on the manufacturer's suggested retail price, with airplanes costing less than $500,000 charged $100 and airplanes costing more than $40 million charged up to $75,000.

Michigan collected just under $320,000 for the 4,745 airplanes registered in the state in 2022.

That's far less than the $3.4 million Minnesota collected, despite having fewer aircraft registered, at 4,243.

Lombard said that when the state adjusts the fees, it should look at distinguishing by types of aircraft and not just basing the fee on the weight of the plane. For example, jets could be charged a higher fee than planes with twin propellers, he said.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sometimes recommends fee changes in her annual budget presentation. The next one is scheduled for early February.

Aircraft owners do face charges that passenger car owners do not. Annual aircraft inspections, required by the government, can cost from close to $1,000 up to $10,000, depending on the aircraft.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @paulegan4.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Audit: Michigan aircraft registration fees haven't gone up in 80 years