Flight Instruction Write Offs

[huskerfan]

Do any of yo know if you can deduct flight training costs if you're pursuing an aviaiton career? If so, where and how do you do it?
Thanks

 

[sqwkvfr]

When I was building XC time for my instrument requirement, I would always take a client from my former business...I had more than enough people willing to go.

I deducted it as an entertainment expense.

 

[bobbysamd]

No.

Do any of yo know if you can deduct flight training costs if you're pursuing an aviaiton career? If so, where and how do you do it?
Thanks

Tuition and costs associated with training for a new career are not tax-deductable. In other words, if you have never flown a day in your life and you want to become a professional pilot, the $70K+ you spend at FSI or DCA is not tax-deductable.

Some would argue that CFI add-ons are deductable as as business expense. That is a gray area and depends on your circumstances. If you are a new CFI-A and try to deduct your CFI-I and MEI, your ass may be hauled in for an audit; the rationale being that these add-ons are needed to become established. On the other hand, an experienced and established professional pilot who has never instructed but needs to or wants to can deduct his/her CFI as a business expense.

Further, if you've been flying for a while and you buy a type rating, the cost of it is fully tax-deductable as a business expense.

Finally, some people try to rationalize new-pilot training as described above, including CFI training, as something that qualifies for the so-called lifetime education deduction. I don't buy it for a minute.