Personal Aircraft-Taxes, Writeoffs?

[atpcliff]

Hi!

I have a freind who wants to know about buying an aircraft and the tax writeoffs.

Can you deduct the full expenses while travelling for business the same as you would a car?

I know there are specific ways you can depreciate an aircraft.

If anyone out there can give him some info or point him in the right direction, he would appreciate it.

Thanks!

Cliff
GRB

 

[midlifeflyer]

>point him in the right direction

Accountant. Aviation/tax lawyer.

The short, general answer is yes, you can deduct the costs attributable to business use of a personal airplane.

In general, you can deduct the hourly cost for a business flight. Obvious when we're talking rental; less obvious when talking owners. If the airplane is used more than 50% for business purposes, then the possibility of deducting the business proportion of annual/monthly/fixed costs (inspections, hangar fees, etc) kicks in.

How much you can legitimately deduct and what you need to back it up requires professional advice.

But if your friend is in business, she already =has= an accountant, no?

 

[tarp]

IRS publication 946.

 

[abev107]

I am no accountant, but I did scratch the surface of plane buying research. One thing that grabbed me was that you could write off ~40% of the purchase price in the first year. Pretty substantial savings.