On September 15, 2026, Ottawa introduced the Productivity Mega Deduction. It lets qualifying aircraft, new or pre-owned and purchased at arm’s length, be written off in full in the tax year they enter service. That permanently replaces the multi-year capital cost allowance schedule aircraft previously fell under, and it brings Canada in line with the United States, where 100% bonus depreciation for qualifying aircraft was made permanent in 2025. For a market that is already busiest in the final quarter, it gives buyers a new and immediate reason to close and get an aircraft into service before their own taxation year ends. It also arrives on the heels of another recent change: the luxury tax has not applied to aircraft since November 5, 2025.

 

Canada operates within a highly interconnected North American business-aircraft market, and the new deduction arrives as pre-owned aviation enters its busiest stretch of the year. Data from AMSTAT, a leading provider of business-aircraft market data, show that December has led worldwide resale activity in every year reviewed since 2016. Because the deduction depends on when buyers place an aircraft in service rather than when they sign a deal, completing due diligence, financing, importation and registration before year-end now carries real tax weight alongside its usual operational value. That deadline is each buyer’s own taxation year end, not necessarily December 31. Many Canadian corporations run on a different fiscal year, so it is worth confirming the real cutoff early rather than assuming it falls on the calendar year end.

Source: Department of Finance Canada, September 15, 2026.

 

 

A decade of transaction activity

To measure this year-end effect, we reviewed monthly AMSTAT resale retail transaction data from January 2016 through December 2025. The chart presents worldwide transaction totals compared to the U.S. involved subset, with December observations highlighted in gold.

 

 

 

December was the highest-volume month in both series in all 10 years reviewed.

Source: AMSTAT Premier+, Resale Retail Transactions for jets and turboprops, excluding piston aircraft; January 2016 to December 2025. Includes retail-to-retail and dealer-to-retail transactions. The U.S. involved series includes a transaction when either the buyer or seller was recorded in the United States; each transaction was counted once. Analysis by Levaero Aviation.

 

 

AMSTAT data shows a clear and consistent year-end closing pattern. From 2016 through 2025, December led all other months in resale volume every year, both worldwide and in transactions involving the United States. Worldwide, December accounted for an average of 15.0% of annual transactions, roughly 80% above what even distribution would predict. The pattern is even more pronounced in U.S.-involved transactions, where December activity ran approximately 99% above the typical month and accounted for roughly 76% of worldwide volume.

 

Transactions involving neither a U.S. buyer nor seller generated only about 10% of their annual activity in December. This indicates that U.S. buyers and sellers have long driven the global spike. That is not a coincidence. Since 2002, the United States has offered full or near-full bonus depreciation for business aircraft in most years. In 2025, it permanently restored the rate to 100%. Consequently, U.S. buyers have long had a strong tax incentive to close before year-end. Canada’s own deduction marks a significant step toward that same position. For the first time, Canadian buyers have a comparable year-end tax incentive to close. As the incentive takes hold, Canada’s December transaction pattern may increasingly resemble the U.S. pattern. Meanwhile, buyers in both countries will continue competing for the same cross-border inventory.

 

 

• Working backward from their taxation year-end to the date the aircraft must be “available for use,” not the closing date. In practice, buyers must take delivery, register the aircraft in Canada and obtain certification to operate it. For a foreign-registered aircraft, de-registration, import and Canadian certification come after closing and can add weeks.
• Confirming eligibility and ownership structure with a tax advisor before signing a letter of intent. Under the draft rules, buyers must acquire the aircraft on or after September 15, 2026. A pre-owned aircraft qualifies only if neither the buyer nor a non-arm’s-length party has owned it before.
• In the event of a calendar Q4 acquisition, secure a pre-purchase inspection slot immediately upon identifying a target aircraft. Shop slots are the scarcest resource in the fourth quarter. Hold one as soon as a target aircraft is identified, and do not narrow the inspection scope to meet a date.
• Running financing, insurance and operational planning in parallel with the search. Lender approvals and security registrations take weeks. First-time owners also need crew, hangar space, a management arrangement and the right Transport Canada operating approval.

• Coming to market now, at a realistic price, if a 2026 closing is the goal. Most deals need six to ten weeks from accepted offer to closing, and longer for export. U.S. buyers have had full expensing since 2025, so the Canadian deduction does not justify a premium.
• Knowing both likely buyers.
  • U.S. buyers. Our own data shows U.S.-involved deals are about three-quarters of December volume. Those buyers need the aircraft exported, FAA-registered and in service by December 31. That points to a contract by early November.
  • Canadian buyers. A Canadian buyer racing a year-end will value an aircraft already on the Canadian register, because it needs no import or conformity work.
• Clearing title before listing. Canada has no single aircraft title registry. Creditors record liens in provincial personal property registries and on the International Registry. Order searches now and discharge stale registrations from past financings.
• Asking a tax advisor about recapture and replacement timing. Selling a depreciated aircraft can bring past depreciation back into income. Acquiring a replacement and making it available for use in the same taxation year can offset that. The offset is now far larger than it used to be.

 

Q4 2026 Outlook

Ten years of transaction data show that the year-end closing pattern is consistent and substantial, particularly in the United States. Canada’s new Productivity Mega Deduction now gives Canadian buyers a comparable tax reason to get an aircraft into service before their own taxation year ends, not necessarily December 31. With inventory below its historical average and transactions already moving at a strong pace, buyers who prepare now can preserve their options, while sellers can strengthen their position ahead of a more competitive year-end market.