Question.. Private or Commercial

AKBill

AKBill

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AKBill
Question.... My wife Tami wants to go to Sitka, AK in the morning. She has customers there and feels she can expense the fuel for the trip on her business account.

Can I accept cash from her for fuel for this flight as a pivot pilot or is this considered a commercial flight?

Comments please.

Thanks
Bill B
 
She's your wife, don't overthink it.
 
Technically or realistically? Technically there are potential issues, realistically, no worries.
 
AKBill said:
Question.... My wife Tami wants to go to Sitka, AK in the morning. She has customers there and feels she can expense the fuel for the trip on her business account.

Can I accept cash from her for fuel for this flight as a pivot pilot or is this considered a commercial flight?

Comments please.

Thanks
Bill B
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What is a pivot pilot and can you do it with someone other than your wife? :D

If you do not have a common purpose and accept cash from her, I believe that it would be a violation. I propose that the common purpose is marital bliss. So you should be ok. :lol:

Now as to her expensing it, that is between her and her employer. You do not have a need to know about that.
 
SkyDog58 said:
What is a pivot pilot and can you do it with someone other than your wife? :D

If you do not have a common purpose and accept cash from her, I believe that it would be a violation. I propose that the common purpose is marital bliss. So you should be ok. :lol:

Now as to her expensing it, that is between her and her employer. You do not have a need to know about that.
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Just finished an annual and am going to Sitka to burn gas and run the plane hard. Tami is just a passenger paying for the fuel....:yes:

Thanks for the fuel Tami....:lol:
 
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AKBill said:
Understood, but she is head strong and does not see the grey area......:mad2:
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Technically, you can't take the money from her, but there is nothing to prevent her taking the money from them. Simple enough?;)
 
Actually, if you the pilot furnish the aircraft, your choice is Private or Charter? Most of us don't have 135 Certificates back in the hangar . . .
 
AKBill said:
Question.... My wife Tami wants to go to Sitka, AK in the morning. She has customers there and feels she can expense the fuel for the trip on her business account.

Can I accept cash from her for fuel for this flight as a pivot pilot or is this considered a commercial flight?

Comments please.

Thanks
Bill B
Click to expand...

You should be able to accept 50% (pro rata) share of the cost of the flight. Her expensing the fuel is probably not legal, because you are not a commercial operator.
 
Two different questions. One refers to the FAA and the other refers to the IRS. They don't overlap. She can expense, to the IRS, any legitimate business expense.
 
Mopauly said:
You should be able to accept 50% (pro rata) share of the cost of the flight. Her expensing the fuel is probably not legal, because you are not a commercial operator.
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Expensing fuel is a completely private matter as arraigned by the rules dictated by the employer and nothing else. If they are fine with her expensing it, nothing else matters.
 
write-stuff said:
Two different questions. One refers to the FAA and the other refers to the IRS. They don't overlap. She can expense, to the IRS, any legitimate business expense.
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Expensing between employee and employer doesn't even involve the IRS. How the expensing is handled on the tax form is when the IRS comes in.
 
Henning said:
Expensing between employee and employer doesn't even involve the IRS. How the expensing is handled on the tax form is when the IRS comes in.
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True except that the employee reimbursement from the company does eventually hit the corporate tax forms as an increase in expenses though it would not be a line item but buried deep in the company's ledger. So a non issue. But as stated by others, we are way overthinking things. Which of course is normal order of business on here.
 
SkyDog58 said:
True except that the employee reimbursement from the company does eventually hit the corporate tax forms as an increase in expenses though it would not be a line item but buried deep in the company's ledger. So a non issue. But as stated by others, we are way overthinking things. Which of course is normal order of business on here.
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Even so, it's completely legal, no need to bury or hide it. The IRS does not care about the FAA's rules. From the business view point was it a legitimate employee transportation expense? The answer is yes.
 
AKBill said:
Understood, but she is head strong and does not see the grey area......:mad2:
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What does she see?

Henning pretty much hit it in the head. Technically, there are potential issues with no clear-cut answer. Realistically, the FAA most likely doesn't care - it's your wife.

I've often thought about flying my wife somewhere for a business trip, having her pay for everything, and calling up the local FSDO to tell them what we did. I'd bet the answer would be, "Who gives a f...?"*

[*NOT legal advice :nono:]
 
Hehe... They might even say to shut up and keep it to yourself.
 
You are completing a "Honey Do" List
No one in the Fed (except the Secretary of the Air Force) will quibble with your response.
The War Department has spoken and you are merely complying
 
Henning said:
Even so, it's completely legal, no need to bury or hide it. The IRS does not care about the FAA's rules. From the business view point was it a legitimate employee transportation expense? The answer is yes.
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My point was not that they would try to hide it or intentionally bury it where it was hard to find but that such a minor expense becomes one of many thousands that ultimately get compiled into a single line on a tax form. Unless there is a real deep dive audit, no one in the IRS or other government agency will ever see it. Nor do they care to.

More to the point is that when it comes to finances, a married couple is a single entity in most people's mind and normally have joint checking and savings accounts and very frequently joint credit cards. No one in the FAA cares if the non pilot spouse pulls out her credit card to pay the fuel bill at the FBO. The money is coming from the same money pool. The only one who cares in the slightest is the employer and they probably only care to the extent that the employee's name is on the receipt and not the spouse's.

But that is just my non attorney, non CPA opinion. I realize that there are those among us who know better than I on such matters. Though as a former business owner and as an employee who has done numerous expense reports for travel, I do have a pretty decent idea of how it all works.
 
Htaylor said:
This.

Weather looks great and Juneau to Sitka is a beautiful flight. Have a great day. :) :yesnod:
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Well the weather was great but the turbulence was no fun, moderate to severe thru 4000ft. Flew over to Sitka at 8500 ft. Told Tami collect your travel expense and put it in your account.

Plane ran great after annual. Great fun flying in Alaska today.
 
AKBill said:
Well the weather was great but the turbulence was no fun, moderate to severe thru 4000ft. Flew over to Sitka at 8500 ft. Told Tami collect your travel expense and put it in your account.

Plane ran great after annual. Great fun flying in Alaska today.
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This is why nobody is concerned with this scenario. I would suspect that if you called the FSDO enquiring about it you would hear silence, then the rhythmic thumping of a forehead on a desk.

Oh hell, you're in AK, you guys have a whole extra set of allowances up there.
 
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Henning said:
This is why nobody is concerned with this scenario. I would suspect that if you called the FSDO enquiring about it you would hear silence, then the rhythmic thumping of a forehead on a desk.

Oh hell, you're in AK, you guys have a whole extra set of allowances up there.
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Extra set of allowances, maybe. Shoot we don't have any roads in or out of town. Only way to get here is boat or plane.

Heck in the past if someone stole your car they would leave you a six pack for your inconvenience.

airdale said:
Actually, this is pretty much guaranteed on POA.

I'm with the "Don't overthink it." crowd.
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Tami pays the bills, I figure she can pay the fuel bill and manage her business as she pleases.

I'm done thinking...........:yes:
 
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