Private jets aren’t cheap, and the maintenance costs of owning one — such as storage, fueling, pilots, crew and more — pile up quickly. A new Republican tax bill from the Senate will give people who own or lease private planes a break on the amount they pay for private jet maintenance. 

The bill, which was approved last Thursday in the House and is now headed to the Senate, hopes to help businesses and spur more competition while also preventing them from moving overseas. 

Currently, there are only about 11,000 private jet owners in the United States, with the average age being 63.6 years old with a net worth of over $1.5 billion. 

Maintenance and repair costs depend on the size of the aircraft but can range anywhere from $700,000 to $4 million per year. Leasing or chartering a jet is also an option and frees you from paying for maintenance or repairs, but if you travel frequently the per-hour cost of travel may not be worth it. If you spend anywhere from 150 hours to 400 hours a year flying, then buying a jet is probably a better choice than renting. 

This tax bill takes away some of the expense of owning a private jet and hopes to encourage more domestic business. Americans used to make up the majority of private jet sales, but now that number has dropped from roughly 80 percent to 50 percent and continues to decline, according to The Jet Business owner Steve Varsano. Emerging markets like China, India, Ukraine, Nigeria, Mongolia and Angola are now purchasing private jets. 

“The proposal exempts certain payments related to the management of private aircraft from the excise taxes imposed on taxable transportation by air,” the bill reads. “Exempt payments are those amounts paid by an aircraft owner for management services related to maintenance and support of the owner’s aircraft or flights on the owner’s aircraft.”