Per diem

[Freight Dog]

How much difference does per-diem make on your paycheck, especially at regionals?

Does it matter at your airline if you do one-day trip vs. 4-day trip?

Would appreciate the info...

 

[CL600Pilot]

Per diem can make a huge(relatively speaking) difference in your pay check. When I was at the regional I usually bid 4 day trips that probably averaged 80 hours away from base so at $1.60 an hour that works out to be $128 per trip and I usually did 4 of those 4 day trips a month which is an additional $512 a month just in per diem!!!! That';s on a 14 day off schedule - add another 3 or 4 day trip in there and you can see that you can easily make $600+ in per diem every month. Of course you have to pay for food, etc., while on these trips but I always came out way ahead.

At both airlines I worked for the per diem rate was the same regardless of wether it's an overnight or an out and back but when you overnight the per diem is NOT considered taxable income where as out and back day trip per diem IS considered taxable income - who the he** knows why.


CL

 

[Andy Neill]

At SKyWest, I'm looking at a range of $144 (taxable) to $598 (non-taxable). The low range is local trips with you home every night. The high end is 4-day trips.

 

[Freight Dog]

So you get per-diem regardless whether it's a one-day trip or a 4-day trip?

Also, what do you mean by taxable at low-end? I thought per-diem is not taxable.

 

[Andy Neill]

Just as CL600 said, overnight trips are non-taxable while per diem for trips where we begin and end the day at the domicile are taxable. It used to be all be treated as non-taxable but that didn't make the IRS happy.

 

[tarp]

$38 per day

Let's see:

$1.00 for the maid
$8.00 for hotel breakfast (with discount)
$1.00 for van driver going out
$3.00 for a Starbucks coffee because everything else stinks
$7.00 for a Burger King lunch grabbed at the terminal
$1.00 for a candy bar energy boost (terminal price)
$1.00 for van driver going to next hotel
$10.00 for a hotel dinner unless....the captain says let's go out for a steak tonight, in which case I just went to $18.00.
(And although it is common practice...I basically steal O.J.s and water to keep hydrated during the legs.)

So for a recap, I get $38 in per diem and then pay between $32 and $40 to stay alive on the road. I'm really going to burn up all those excess tax free dollars that way. The idea behind business expenses or per diem is that in the course of business you should never have to dip into your own wages to support your employer's business activity.

Oh and I forgot to add that our company recinded any reimbursement for cell phones - so in addition to the list above, I also donate about 60 minutes of cell time to my benevolent employer each month. As they remind us --- well you get per diem!! I'm thinking of running out at the end of the year and buying my wife a candy bar for Christmas with all my excess funds!

 

[guitarflyer]

$8 for breakfast...BK for lunch...big hotel dinner...
Wow! That's a lot of chow.

I bring packs of cocoa mix to put in the hotel room free coffee. It helps quite a bit...not Starbucks mind you, but tolerable.
I also bring instant oatmeal packs for breakfast if I need it, and Ramen Noodles; crush the noodles up in the coffee pot, run some water through, add the powder...works like a charm.

I carry a bag of trail mix in my flight bag, along with baby peeled carrots or whatever fruit I can grab.

This way I can spend the rest of my per diem on ALCOHOL!!
(within 8 hrs, of course )

 

[SSDD]

I've never understood the notion of counting per diem as additional income. On 3 or 4 day trips I easily spend my per diem, especially if the layovers are long enough to enjoy "adult beverages."