Aviation write-off questions?

BellyUpFish said:
The airplane is 100% pleasure aircraft. It's not used in any capacity as a business aircraft.

I'm not interested in "getting one over" on the Feds. Not worth the worry or the hassle if/when caught.

I fly a Cheyenne part time.
I own an RV-6.

Cheyenne has a G530/430 combo.
I'd like a 430 in the RV.

Thought I'd see if there was a pain free, legal method to use my commercial pilot status to help write off the G430.

If so, fine.
If not, that's fine too. ;)
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Put the 430 in the RV, if your Cheyenne job does not fly you enough to maintain proficiency (not just legal currency eligibility, but you have to be careful not to over reach what you claim to need beyond the legal minimums. If you figure 6 hrs every 6 months, you're pretty safe. There is an art to staying under the radar with the IRS, and it revolves around not being greedy). Figure fair market rental on a 430w equipped IFR bird is $150hr. You rent the plane to yourself for proficiency and professional training to further yourself, figure another hour and a half a month stays under the radar there, so you basically can charge yourself $4500 in rental per year for professional requirements in a way that won't raise flags at the IRS and deduct that.
 
Henning said:
Put the 430 in the RV, if your Cheyenne job does not fly you enough to maintain proficiency (not just legal currency eligibility, but you have to be careful not to over reach what you claim to need beyond the legal minimums. If you figure 6 hrs every 6 months, you're pretty safe. There is an art to staying under the radar with the IRS, and it revolves around not being greedy). Figure fair market rental on a 430w equipped IFR bird is $150hr. You rent the plane to yourself for proficiency and professional training to further yourself, figure another hour and a half a month stays under the radar there, so you basically can charge yourself $4500 in rental per year for professional requirements in a way that won't raise flags at the IRS and deduct that.
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That's the idea.

The Cheyenne gig is less than 100 hours a year split between two pilots.

Proficiency is a real concern.
 
BellyUpFish said:
You're right, maybe next trip I'll tell the owner he's going to be just a touch late, because I need to stop and buy lunch for someone, so I can make the trip he's paying me to fly deductible. ;)

I'm sure that would solve most of my "aviating for hire" issues on this aircraft for sure.
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NO but there is no excuse for not stopping at an airport when you are empty to put advertisement on the airport board. That is deductible.
 
tlrussell said:
NO but there is no excuse for not stopping at an airport when you are empty to put advertisement on the airport board. That is deductible.
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What would I be advertising? Pilot services?
What would I be deducting? I have no costs on the aircraft I'm operating.

I don't think I could stop with the owners bird and throw another set of starts and fuel burn just to put flyers out. The deduction there would be fruitless as I'm not operating my own aircraft?

Or are you suggesting I use my private aircraft to stop occasionally and throw a flyer on the board advertising pilot services and deduct that trip?
 
BellyUpFish said:
That's the idea.

The Cheyenne gig is less than 100 hours a year split between two pilots.

Proficiency is a real concern.
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The key is that you have 1099s from that employment and have paid/filed taxes on it. It doesn't matter that you don't earn your entire income there, just so long as it is part of your filed income. You are allowed more than one occupation. Like I said, the key to staying under the radar is not to get greedy about it. Just rent to yourself a reasonable amount of time for a reasonable price, and you don't raise flags. Rental is straight forward, easy to comp, and doesn't raise flags like when you start dividing business from personal shares on the same equipment costs and depreciation, not to mention the complications in record keeping it saves.
 
tlrussell said:
NO but there is no excuse for not stopping at an airport when you are empty to put advertisement on the airport board. That is deductible.
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Actually, he could rent himself his own plane to fly around and put up those advertisements.
 
BellyUpFish said:
The airplane is 100% pleasure aircraft. It's not used in any capacity as a business aircraft.

I'm not interested in "getting one over" on the Feds. Not worth the worry or the hassle if/when caught.

I fly a Cheyenne part time.
I own an RV-6.

Cheyenne has a G530/430 combo.
I'd like a 430 in the RV.

Thought I'd see if there was a pain free, legal method to use my commercial pilot status to help write off the G430.

If so, fine.
If not, that's fine too. ;)
Click to expand...

Once you put the 430 in it and start using it for business it is no longer a 100% pleasure airplane.

You could do what you propose. But I suspect it just won't save you much.
 
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