Tax Bites - Domestic Airfare

55.00%

Though you might fly to Fiji thinking you can get away from the hustle and bustle of the real world, there’s one thing you can never take a vacation from: taxes. In fact, up to 55 percent of the price of a plane ticket goes to U.S. government coffers. Out of the average domestic airfare of $231, as much as $127.05 of the airfare is consumed by taxes and fees.

It all starts when you buy your ticket. All airline tickets are subject to a federal excise tax of 7.5 percent, over $17 bucks for an average domestic flight. Of course, once you take off, the government continues to tag along; you can expect to pay a $3.40 segment tax for every takeoff and landing (or double if you have a connecting flight). The passenger facility charge will cost you as much as $18.00, while the security fee at each airport can be as much as $5.00. Looking for a particularly hot or cool vacation? Watch out: flights in and out of Alaska or Hawaii require an additional $15.00 fee.

Prepare to fork even more over to Uncle Sam if you plan on flying internationally. The international departure tax and the international arrival tax are $15.10, so you’ll pay both on a round trip ticket. The customs user fee will cost you $5.50, and immigration user fee can be as much as $17.00. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will cost you another $5.00, even if you aren’t flying with animals or plants. Of course Uncle Sam isn’t the only one receiving a cut out of your vacation budget: international taxes amount to about $250 per trip.

But that's only the start. When factoring in all taxes imposed on airlines and airports, the percentage of domestic airfare that is paid to the government soars to over 55 percent.

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