Government taxes and fees on airline tickets typically add $30 to $80 to a domestic round trip and considerably more to an international one. On a U.S. domestic itinerary, you pay a 7.5 percent federal excise tax on the base fare, a flat segment tax of $5.30 for each takeoff-and-landing in 2026, a $5.60 TSA security fee per one-way trip, and up to $4.50 in Passenger Facility Charges at each airport where you board, capped at two airports per direction. International routes swap the segment tax for a bigger stack of fixed charges covering customs, immigration, and agricultural inspection. None of this money goes to the airline. Carriers collect it and remit it to the relevant federal agency.
What You Pay on a Domestic Ticket
The 7.5 Percent Federal Excise Tax
The largest tax on a domestic ticket is a 7.5 percent excise on the base fare, authorized under 26 U.S.C. ยง 4261.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4261 – Imposition of Tax A $300 fare generates $22.50 in tax. It applies to the fare only, not to baggage fees, seat upgrades, or other add-ons sold separately. The money flows into the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which pays for FAA operations like air traffic control and airport improvement grants.2Federal Aviation Administration. Airport and Airway Trust Fund Fact Sheet
The tax covers any flight that begins and ends within the continental United States. Flights between the mainland and Alaska or Hawaii are apportioned: the 7.5 percent applies only to the portion of the fare attributable to flight over the United States or its territorial waters.3Internal Revenue Service. Air Transportation Excise Tax – Alaska and Hawaii Flights entirely within Alaska or entirely within Hawaii are taxed on the full fare.
The Domestic Segment Tax
On top of the percentage tax, there’s a flat federal fee for every flight segment in your itinerary. For 2026 it’s $5.30 per passenger per segment, and the IRS adjusts the figure annually for inflation.4Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 – Passenger Air Transportation Excise Tax A segment is one gate-to-gate flight. A nonstop trip incurs the tax once; a one-stop connection incurs it twice. Fly New York to Los Angeles with a connection in Dallas and you’ll pay $10.60 in segment taxes before anything else.
The September 11th Security Fee
The TSA collects $5.60 for each one-way trip that originates at a U.S. airport, capped at $11.20 for a round trip.5Transportation Security Administration. Security Fees Unlike the segment tax, this is charged per trip rather than per flight. A one-stop connection counts as one one-way trip.
Stopovers are the exception. A break of more than four hours on a continental domestic trip, or more than twelve hours on an international or non-continental route, resets the fee so the next leg triggers it again.6Transportation Security Administration. Passenger Fees FAQ If you have an overnight layover inside a single direction of travel, expect to pay $5.60 twice.
Passenger Facility Charges
Passenger Facility Charges fund airport-specific projects like new terminals, longer runways, and noise barriers. Each airport authority decides whether to impose a PFC and sets it at $1, $2, $3, $4, or $4.50 per boarding passenger. The $4.50 ceiling is set by federal law.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 40117 – Passenger Facility Charges
You can be charged PFCs at no more than two airports per direction of travel, so the maximum on a round trip is $18.00 if every connecting airport charges the top rate.8eCFR. 14 CFR Part 158 – Passenger Facility Charges
What Changes on International Flights
Crossing a U.S. border replaces the domestic segment tax with a larger set of fixed federal charges, and the destination country usually adds its own.
International Arrival and Departure Tax
The biggest international charge is $23.40 per passenger for 2026, applied separately to the outbound and return legs. A U.S.-to-Europe round trip generates $46.80 in arrival and departure taxes by itself. A reduced $11.70 rate applies to flights between the mainland and Alaska or Hawaii, charged only on departure.4Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 – Passenger Air Transportation Excise Tax Passengers transiting through a U.S. airport between two foreign cities are exempt.
Customs, Immigration, and Agricultural Inspection
U.S. Customs and Border Protection charges $7.39 per arriving passenger for border processing.9U.S. Customs and Border Protection. User Fee Table Passengers arriving from U.S. territories and possessions are exempt. A separate $7.00 Immigration User Fee funds immigration inspection and applies regardless of citizenship.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service collects an agricultural inspection fee on international arrivals: $3.84 per passenger through September 30, 2026, rising to $3.98 on October 1, 2026.10eCFR. 7 CFR 354.3 – User Fees for Certain International Services
Foreign Government Taxes
Destination countries add their own departure taxes, arrival fees, and tourism levies, and they’re folded into the ticket price. The United Kingdom’s Air Passenger Duty and Germany’s aviation tax are common examples. Amounts vary widely and are set entirely by foreign governments.
Award Tickets Booked With Miles
Redeeming miles does not wipe out government taxes and fees. On a domestic award booking you still owe the segment tax, the TSA fee, and any PFCs. The one tax you skip is the 7.5 percent excise, because it’s calculated on the amount paid for the fare, and a pure miles redemption involves no cash fare.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4261 – Imposition of Tax
International award tickets carry the full slate of arrival and departure taxes, customs, immigration, and APHIS fees. Airlines also commonly add carrier-imposed surcharges, often labeled YQ or YR on the fare breakdown, that can run into the hundreds of dollars on long-haul routes. Those surcharges are set by the airline, not the government, but they’re why an award ticket can still come with a large cash charge at checkout.
Can You Get the Taxes Back if You Cancel?
When the airline cancels your flight and you decline rebooking, the carrier must refund the full fare including every government tax and fee as well as any mandatory carrier surcharges. A 2024 Department of Transportation final rule codified this at 14 CFR Part 260 and made the refund automatic and prompt.11Federal Register. Refunds and Other Consumer Protections
If you voluntarily cancel a non-refundable ticket, you generally are not entitled to a refund of the fare or the taxes and fees. Some airlines return the government tax portion as a courtesy or under their own fare rules, but federal law does not require it when the cancellation is your choice and the flight operates as scheduled.12US Department of Transportation. Refunds
Why There’s No State Sales Tax on Your Ticket
No state sales tax appears on an airline ticket, and that’s by design. Federal law bars states and local governments from taxing passengers in air commerce, the sale of air transportation, or gross receipts from air transportation.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 40116 – State Taxation The one local-level charge that gets through is the Passenger Facility Charge, which Congress specifically carved out. Flying from a high-sales-tax state costs the same in taxes as flying from a state with none.
How to Read the Breakdown on Your Receipt
Airlines must display the total price, including all taxes and mandatory surcharges, more prominently than any itemized breakdown.14U.S. Department of Transportation. Buying a Ticket When you see the breakdown, the “Taxes and Fees” line covers every government charge described above: the 7.5 percent excise, the segment tax, the TSA fee, PFCs, and any international arrival, departure, customs, immigration, or APHIS charges.
A separate line for “Carrier-Imposed Fees” or “Surcharges” covers amounts the airline sets on its own, such as fuel surcharges or booking fees. These are not government taxes and are not regulated the same way. The distinction matters most when comparing fares: the government portion is identical across airlines on the same route, so any price difference comes from the base fare and the carrier’s own surcharges.