Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Friendliest aviation Ccmmunity on the web
  • Modern site for PC's, Phones, Tablets - no 3rd party apps required
  • Ask questions, help others, promote aviation
  • Share the passion for aviation
  • Invite everyone to Flightinfo.com and let's have fun

Help Wanted: MD11 Pilots

Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Modern secure site, no 3rd party apps required
  • Invite your friends
  • Share the passion of aviation
  • Friendliest aviation community on the web

tjsatter

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 15, 2002
Posts
174
Ethiopian Airlines needs additional MD11-Typed pilots, FOs. they are all fixed for captains. If you have an MD11 type, PC current within 3 months OR are willing to get recurrent at your own expense (yeah, this sux, but...). It's a 1-2 year deal out of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. And it pays out approx $100k per year to an offshore account exempt from US taxes.

Any of you (soon-to-be-furloughed) FDX, UPS, World pilots need a short term high pay gig to ride out the depression in this could be it..

Any interest, I have the forms and email address you need to contact. This is no joke for real.

tj
 
.....

And it pays out approx $100k per year to an offshore account exempt from US taxes.
tj

Is the total tax exemption on this deal due to the fact that you are being paid in non-US currency and by an operator out of the US?....

I only ask because I am only familiar with the tax exemption deals where you have to meet certain req's, i.e residency or a certain amount of time outside the US per year, etc.......

And I am also under the impression that no matter what the currency, location, etc, that you still have to report all earnings to the IRS no matter what....

Just curious on my side, as I am currently working overseas, and also have friends doing the same.

And it seems that no matter who you talk to about overseas tax situations, no one person really has a total legit hold on what the deal is. Sort of like asking different FSDO's about a gray area in a regulation.

I have heard some crazy tax stories from some overseas contractors, where they end of making some sort of phantom company in their name, which that pays them, and it just gets gray and shady from there on out.....Even my own local tax guy can't figure out all the rules to give me a straight answer, so I just pay my taxes like anyone else would and save myself the jail time.

Hows life in Addis for an expat?...Never been to Ethiopia myself.....
 
Not sure where the confusion is with taxes.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans live overseas and file accordingly.

Just go to the IRS website and download Form 2555.

Have not read the exclusions for this this year, last year your first $87,500 was tax free thereafter you pay. There are also housing exclusions...its all there in plain english.

If your accountant cannot interpretate this from you may want to think about getting another one.

Every American citizen must file and judging from anecdotal hearsay that I come across having lived overseas for a while...you do not not want to mess with this.

fv
 
.....

Not sure where the confusion is with taxes.

..its all there in plain english.



fv

Sheesh, and all this time ive been trying to interpret the Spanish 2555 PDF....No one told me there was one in english!!...:nuts:
 
Generally speaking, if you live and work outside of the United States, then you can exclude all or part of your foreign wages from US taxation.

To qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion, you must :
If you qualify, you will be eligible to exclude up to $91,400 annually in foreign wages. The amount of the foreign earned income exclusion changes each year, and here's the maximum allowable exclusions for various tax years.
You may also be able to exclude an additional amount for housing using the foreign housing exclusion or deduction. Self-employed taxpayers have additional tax considerations. The foreign earned income exclusion will reduce your regular tax liability, but not your self employment tax. Also, you'll have to take the foreign housing deduction instead of the housing exclusion. There's more details at Self-Employment & Foreign Exclusions. One final tax planning tip. Starting with the year 2006, taxpayers claiming the foreign earned income exclusion will pay tax at the tax rates that would have applied had they not claimed the exclusion. That means, instead of having their income taxed starting at the 10% rate, most expatriates will be taxed starting at the 25% tax bracket.
 
Bona Fide Residence Test

One Full Year of Residence
You are considered a "bona fide resident" of the foreign country if you reside in that country for "an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year." A tax year is January 1 through December 31. The qualifying period for the bona fide residence test must include one full calendar year.


Trips outside the Foreign Country
Brief trips or vacations outside the foreign country will not jeopardize your status as a bona fide resident, as long as the trips are brief and you clearly intended to return to the foreign country. You can even make brief trips to the United States.
Statement to Foreign Authorities
You will not be considered a bona fide resident of a foreign country if you have submitted a statement to the foreign country that you are not a resident of that country, and the foreign government has determined that you are not subject to their tax laws as a resident.


Tax Treaty
Special treatment of income under an income tax treaty will not prevent you from meeting the bona fide residence test.
Physical Presence Test

You are considered physically present in a foreign country (or countries) if you reside in that country (or countries) for at least 330 full days in a 12-month period. You can live and work in any number of foreign countries, but you must be physically present in those countries for at least 330 full days.

Full Day
A "full day" is 24 hours. So, the day you arrive and the day you leave the country are generally not counted towards the physical presence test.
12-Month Period
The qualifying period can be any consecutive 12-month period of time. You do not have to begin your qualifying period with your first day in a foreign country. You can choose a 12-month period that provides the greatest income exclusion. You can count both vacation and business days spent in the foreign country towards meeting the 330 day minimum.
Travel Outside the Foreign Country
Travel outside of the foreign country generally won't jeopardize your 330 full days. The IRS explains it this way, "You can move about from one place to another in a foreign country or to another foreign country without losing full days. If any part of your travel is not within any foreign country and takes less than 24 hours, you are considered to be in a foreign country during that part of travel." (Source: Publication 54, section on the physical presence test.)
Exceptions to the time requirements
The minimum time requirements for both the bona fide and physical presence tests can be waived. The only valid reason for a waiver is that you are forced to leave the foreign country because of "war, civil unrest, or similar adverse conditions." You should be able to prove that you would have met the time requirements if adverse conditions had not prevented your stay. Prohibition on Travel to Cuba
Time spent residing or working in Cuba will not qualify for the bona fide residence or physical presence tests.
 
BOTTOM LINE

Don't let these foreign employers seduce you about NOT paying taxes to get you to take the job. Are there loop holes (that are illegal) to get away with it. Maybe?
But the penalty for not paying taxes is 100% interest or jail time. - I think?

Expat pilots need to make significantly more to do the same job in the US and the work can be much more difficult living in a 3rd world country. Think of all the risk you will incur.

These people love to advertise free tax and a dollar amount, but look at the fine print and you will have to pay taxes, no 401K, no family medical, no sickdays, and no legal protection.

Just my two cents. Been there done that!
 
Base pay is $5750/month, The rest is perdiem and housing, $60/day and $1250/month respectively. Perdiem and housing are exempt from the IRS calculations. The agency I'm working with says nothing about taxes; that is your own responsibility. The above post is correct from IRS sources. So long as your gone 330 days, should be ok though. Also they do not ask for a SSN, Pay is direct to an offshore account, and No W2 is issued. Reporting to appropriate government agencies is your total responsibility.

It's a job flying a freighter around the world, Africa, Europe, Asia mostly out of an Addis Ababa base. Ethiopia is a relatively civilized part of Africa, clean, safe but 3rd world. It ain't for everyone but there are NO jobs here so off I go.

tj
 
Somewhat true. The US has been working with many foreign governments about the sharing of information.

Do a search United States/(insert country) sharing of information agreement.

The countries include Switzerland, Cayman Islands and the Isle of Man to name a few.
 

Latest resources

Back
Top