Tax question???

[KFFA]

What are you guys all doing for taxes.

Taking the standerdized deduction or itemizing?

What are things you are itemizing that are aviation related?

I have herd some take cell phones-because ops needs to get a hold of ya.

Dry cleaning, and even there internet-because they do there bidding online.


???

 

[bobbysamd]

Tax dedux

There are a bunch of things that you can deduct, but to make them work you have to add up your deductions, calculate your taxes with them, and see which way you do better, by itemizing or with the standard deduction. You may find that you do better with the standard deduction.

Some addional things you can deduct:

Type ratings.
Additional training, as long as you are already employed.
Magazine subscriptions.
Contributions to AOPA or CAP.
Travel expenses to/from interviews.
Job hunting expenses.
Moving expenses within set criteria.

I heard of those who deduct cable because they need it for weather.

I would agree with cellphones as a partial deduction.

One thing you cannot deduct is a crash pad. The "primary residence" definition comes into play.

Those are few quick items that come to mind. Others will have more.

 

[jarhead]

I am quite sure that the cost of any uniform items you need to purchase are also deductable, including any shoes you buy that are used for flying. Also, ALPA dues are deductable

 

[regionalcap]

try www.pilot-tax.com

 

[njcapt]

Due to aviation's definition by the feds as a 'quasi-military occupation', you can deduct a number of things that, to other people, are simply hygiene related. Haircuts, shoeshines, FAA medical exams, uniform purchase, cleaning, altering, shoes worn for work and their resoling, etc. Money wasted adding to Kit Darby's fortune can be partially recovered by writing off the dues. Money well spent on tips to van drivers and line service folks (that aren't reimbursed by your company, obviously) are deductible. Watches, sunglasses, headsets, flashlights, suitcases and flight bags, repair for suitcases and flight bags can generally be written off. Due to ATA's total reliance on IVR phone systems and the internet for every interface with their employees, I absolutely write off my cell phone purchase and service (which is a relatively modest $60 a month).

The feds are about ten years behind in recognizing the value and usage of computers, but allow laptops used in the performance of a job to be amortized over five years. I think this is directed mostly to businesses with mainframes or network computers, but it applies to small business users, as well. My tax accountant is going to try to write off a significantly larger portion of my new laptop in 2003, since nobody can get a laptop to last five years, anyway.

Don't forget to calculate your allowed per diem versus the amount you collected. Until you hit the majors, the IRS allowed per diem is way beyond what anybody actually collects. IRS doc 1542 states what amount is allowed by overnight city, and when compared to what you actually were paid, you can deduct the difference. In past years I managed to write off several thousand dollars in uncollected per diem. I'll let somebody else go through the process for figuring the allowable per diem amount, though.

All this is simply masturbation unless you have enough deductions to beat the 2% of gross earnings floor. Having a mortgage pretty much guarantees that you will be able to itemize, but without one you will have to have a serious butload of unreimbursed expenses to make the cut.