Taxes on airline tickets typically add about 18–20% to the price of a U.S. domestic flight, and more on international routes. On a domestic itinerary, you’re paying a 7.5% federal excise tax, a flat segment tax for every takeoff and landing, a TSA security fee, and airport-imposed Passenger Facility Charges. International trips layer on departure and arrival taxes plus customs, immigration, and agricultural inspection fees. Here’s what each charge is, how it’s calculated, and how the numbers actually land on a real ticket.
The 7.5% Federal Excise Tax
The largest single tax on a domestic airline ticket is a 7.5% federal excise tax on the amount you pay for air transportation.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4261 – Tax Imposed A $300 base fare carries $22.50 in excise tax before anything else is added. The rate has sat at 7.5% since 1997 and isn’t indexed for inflation.
The 7.5% applies to the full amount paid for transportation, not just what the airline labels “base fare.” Carrier-imposed fuel or fare surcharges bundled into the price of getting you from A to B are part of the taxable amount. Truly separate purchases like checked baggage or seat upgrades generally are not, which is part of why airlines have unbundled so many services from the ticket itself.
The tax also covers flights between the U.S. and points in Canada or Mexico within 225 miles of the nearest point in the continental United States.2eCFR. 26 CFR 49.4262-1 – Taxable Transportation Those short cross-border hops are taxed like domestic flights. Revenue feeds the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which finances the FAA, air traffic control, and airport infrastructure grants.
Federal Segment Tax
On top of the percentage, the government charges a flat fee for every flight segment, meaning one takeoff and one landing. For 2026, the segment tax is $5.30 per passenger per segment.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 720 – Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return It’s adjusted annually for inflation.4Airlines For America. U.S. Government-Imposed Taxes on Air Transportation
This is where connections cost you. A nonstop round trip has two segments and $10.60 in segment taxes. A round trip with one connection each way has four segments and $21.20. If you’re weighing a cheaper connecting itinerary against a slightly pricier nonstop, remember that the connection itself is adding $10.60 in taxes.
TSA Security Fee
The September 11 Security Fee funds TSA screening. It’s $5.60 per one-way trip originating at a U.S. airport, capped at $11.20 for a round trip no matter how many connections you make.5Transportation Security Administration. Security Fees Layovers don’t add to it. The fee applies to any trip beginning at a U.S. airport, including outbound international flights, and the airline collects and remits it to TSA.
Passenger Facility Charges
Passenger Facility Charges are airport-specific rather than federal. Individual airports apply to the FAA to collect PFCs for eligible projects like terminals, runway work, or noise mitigation. The ceiling is $4.50 per boarding passenger, and not every airport charges the maximum.6Federal Aviation Administration. Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) Program
Federal law caps PFC collection at two per one-way trip and four per round trip, so the most you can pay is $18.00 per passenger round trip.7GovInfo. 49 USC 40117 – Passenger Facility Charges A nonstop round trip between two $4.50 airports costs $9.00 in PFCs; add a connecting hub each way and it can reach $18.00.
What a Domestic Ticket Actually Looks Like
An example from Airlines for America based on a 2026 round trip from Peoria to Raleigh-Durham with a connection at Chicago O’Hare in each direction shows how the pieces fit together:4Airlines For America. U.S. Government-Imposed Taxes on Air Transportation
- Base fare: $325.21
- 7.5% excise tax: $24.39
- Segment taxes (4 segments × $5.30): $21.20
- TSA security fees (2 one-way trips × $5.60): $11.20
- PFCs (4 enplanements × $4.50): $18.00
- Total taxes and fees: $74.79
- Total ticket price: $400.00
Taxes and fees came to 18.7% of the final price. A nonstop round trip on the same base fare would cut about $10.60 in segment taxes and up to $9.00 in PFCs.
International Flight Taxes
Cross-border itineraries add several charges. The U.S. international departure and arrival taxes are each $23.40 per passenger for 2026.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 720 – Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return A round trip beginning and ending in the U.S. triggers both, adding $46.80. Passengers merely transiting the U.S. between two foreign points don’t pay them.4Airlines For America. U.S. Government-Imposed Taxes on Air Transportation
International arrivals into the U.S. also carry three user fees:
- Customs User Fee: $7.39 per arriving passenger, collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to fund inspection operations.8U.S. Customs and Border Protection. User Fee Table
- APHIS User Fee: $3.84 per international air passenger, funding agricultural quarantine and inspection.9Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection (AQI) User Fees Explained
- Immigration User Fee: A per-passenger charge for immigration inspection, set by regulation and adjusted periodically.
Foreign governments add their own value-added taxes, tourism levies, departure taxes, and security fees, which vary widely. U.S. charges alone on an international round trip can easily exceed $100 per passenger, with foreign taxes pushing that figure higher.
Alaska and Hawaii Rules
Flights to and from rural airports in Alaska and Hawaii use a different structure. Instead of the per-segment tax, these routes carry a separate flat-rate tax on departures only. The statutory base is $6 per departure, adjusted annually for inflation.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4261 – Tax Imposed For 2026, the rate is $11.30 per passenger.10National Air Transportation Association. ICYMI: IRS Announces 2026 FET Rates
International flights between the mainland U.S. and Alaska or Hawaii get a reduced departure and arrival tax of $11.70 instead of $23.40.4Airlines For America. U.S. Government-Imposed Taxes on Air Transportation The 7.5% excise tax still applies normally.
Award Tickets and Purchased Miles
A “free” award ticket isn’t tax-free. You still owe the TSA security fee, any applicable PFCs, and international fees, because those are tied to flying rather than to what you paid. What you skip is the 7.5% excise tax, since there’s no cash fare to apply it to.
Buying miles or points directly from an airline works differently. Since 1997, a 7.5% federal excise tax has applied to amounts paid for the right to purchase mileage awards redeemable for domestic air transportation. The taxable event is the purchase, whether or not the miles are ever redeemed. If the purchased miles are later used for non-transportation goods, international flights, or other non-taxable purposes, the buyer can file for a refund of the excise tax paid on those specific miles.
What’s Refundable If You Don’t Fly
Non-refundable doesn’t mean every dollar is gone if you skip the flight. Some government-imposed charges have to come back to you even when the base fare is forfeited.
Refundable on an unused non-refundable ticket: the TSA Security Fee, Customs User Fee, Immigration User Fee, and APHIS User Fee. These are user fees for services you never received.
Not refundable: the 7.5% domestic excise tax, the segment tax, and Passenger Facility Charges. These are excise taxes assessed on the purchase of transportation, which happened whether or not you boarded. On a domestic one-way, the refundable slice is just the $5.60 TSA fee, but on an unused international ticket the refundable fees add up to more.
Reading the Tax Codes on Your Receipt
Airlines break out taxes using two-letter industry codes. Knowing them lets you check the charges against your itinerary:
- US: 7.5% domestic excise tax, or the international departure/arrival tax on international tickets.
- ZP: Federal segment tax.
- AY: TSA Security Fee.
- XF: Passenger Facility Charge, usually followed by the three-letter airport code and dollar amount for each airport.
- XA: APHIS User Fee (international arrivals).
- XY: Immigration User Fee (international arrivals).
- YC: Customs User Fee (international arrivals).
If the fees don’t match what your itinerary should produce, contact the airline before you travel. Overcharges happen occasionally on complex multi-city bookings where the system misapplies an extra PFC or segment tax.