Tax Time

[elcap]

Is that loverly time of year again when you hoepfully get back some of that cash you have lost throughout the year. So what can we and cant we claim as a GA pilot?

At the moment I am looking at claiming:

- Maps/Ersa etc from Airservices (or Jepps)
- Basic equipment (eg Handheld GPS, New headset)
- Endorsements (if you had to pay )
- Medical
- IR renewal
- DG course, First aid course, Engine management course

Some stuff I am not too sure about is:

- Driving between office and hangar for work (takes about 10 min)
- I heard around the traps that there is an allowance if your routinely away form home a couple of nights a week? Anyone know much about this?
- Remote area living allowance. I know this exists. How much is it?


And finally is there any other big ones i may have missed?


El

[apache]

driving between office and hangar IS allowable.
Stationery including pens, calculators etc
mobile phone / home phone if you are "on call"... or similar
ALL casa doc's/jepps
sunglasses
moisturiser
all CASA charges (ie for licence updates, medicals etc)
uniform / laundry allowance... read the rules on this.
overnight allowances ... read the rules on this.
any equipment incl. nav bags, headsets (and batteries if ANR), GPS, charts, special non sparking shoes as determioned by the regs, logbook etc
cost of an accountant
cost of DRIVING to accountant.
industry publications incl magazines etc.


good luck!

[Bendo]

Apache

You forgot the standard disclaimer:

This advice is general in nature and does not take your personal circumstances into account. This advice may not reflect what is best for you. Please read the PDS before acting on any financial advice from Apache Financial Services Pty Ltd

There is a guide for airline employeeson the ATO website.

Be careful when preparing your own tax: there are a lot of allowances that you consider "work related" but the ATO does not.

For example, training for a qualification for your current job is deductible - DG renewal, CIR renewal etc - but training for a qual that wins a new job - eg: endorsements - might not be (I think a Pornstar or Virgin pilot won a case about his endo?)

There is a standard maximum amount you can claim for your technical journals without receipts

There is a maximum mileage you can claim for work-related travel expenses without keeping a vehicle logbook

There is a remote area tax rebate (Zone allowance) which the tax office works out based on your postcode, I think, unless you tell them otherwise

Essentially it is all so complex and convoluted that you need to get an accountant just to be sure you're legal!

...and if your accountant is anything like mine, he will sling it to the junior guy who doesn't know jack about work, let alone YOUR work, cos he's only been out of school 5 minutes and has never even done a tax return for himself, and THEN his boss will charge you $180 even though you had to go through it with a fine tooth comb and ring the kid back and take half an hour... TWICE... to explain what is, and isn't, self-education and what is, and what isn't, a work-related expense for a pilot.

[compressor stall]

Australian Taxation Office Homepage has a handbook for employees in the aviation industry. Use it

BTW - Apache (g'Day!) you might want to recheck / clarify the phone advice....

[Bendo]

Can anyone else spot three lonely old thirty-somethings who still long for PPRuNe Chat... just like the old days... even though they're now married and (supposedly) have better things to do?

... in fact I am fairly certain that all 3 of us only met our spouses after PPRuNe Chat was shut down and we were forced to mix with the outside world

[rep]

got a better link compressor stall? i cant find anything

[VH-XXX]

THIS IS IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ

I work in a professional non-aviation job.

I had to spend a while away from home, on and off for 6 months, but only about 120 kms from home.

The boss paid me $70 a day extra to cover my driving there (wouldn't cover it now!) this appeared on my group certificate at LAFH allowance.

So technically I didn't get my expenses paid for, however I got an allowance.

Went to the accountant. He found a ruling that said along the lines of if you are forced for work to work away from home and don't receive expenses (eg. hotel / meals), you can claim approximately $175 PER DAY WITHOUT RECEIPTS! (can't remember the exact figure but it was very large)

Yes, it's true. Needless to say I was wrapped and picked up $7k on my return.

If this even remotely applies to you, PLEASE check with your accountant, it may be worth it.

[apache]

re the phone, stallie, I believe that if your employer does not supply you with a phone, and you are contactable 24/7 - as most GA pilot s HAVE to be to ensure that they can get the work hence earn a living, as well as be contactable whilst ON a job, as well as phone home when away on an overnight, then claiming for the cost of all WORK related phone calls, as well as a connection fee, and home once a night when away is acceptable.

Bendo... I have a theory that WIVEs got the chat shut down! WE enjoyed it, so it had to go. It is all going in my book.

[ules]

I dont currently work in the aviation industry, but am doing a CPL diploma course i have spent alot of money on educational equipments, jepss, cao cars, etc bags casa fees exam fees , medical , etc can i claim all this, especially travel to and from the aerodrome (Car) ??

[Horatio Leafblower]

Ules,

I am pretty sure that unless you are in a position that you require a CPL for, then all expenses relating to your CPL are your problem and the ATO aint interested, buddy!

HOWEVER
Once you have a CPL (and you have earnt a taxable income as a pilot, and you have a Group Certificate to prove it) you will also have:

*a technical library - which you can depreciate
*technical equipment (headset, nav 'puters, etc etc) - which you can depreciate
* any travel from your FIRST JOB directly to your SECOND JOB... but don't stop at the shop for any personal reason 'cos it won't count
*A medical certificate, the balance of which you can claim

In 2007 I earnt $12,000 as an instructor and a lot more in another field. I claimed $6,000 in deductions (validly), and every single dollar of those deductions was from my Aviation job.

Your expenses don't have to be proportional to your respective incomes.

There is a retrospective claim for your education expenses, somewhere.... I'll get back to you on that tomorrow

[compressor stall]

Type "airline employee" into the search field on the ato website; item two gives you this doc.

http://www.ato.gov.au/content/downloads/NAT2331_07.pdf

The 07-08 one is not on line yet. I'd tip that it would be pretty close to the same.

For remote areas rebates (Zone Tax Offsets) read here: What is the zone tax offset?

[Angle of Attack]

Just a few other items if you did buy them of course!

-Shoes Non slip black shoes claimable
-Medical certificates for sick days off (only if you didnt bulk bill and on how much you paid
-Internet - if you use the internet to check aviation related resources (work, rosters,publications etc)
-The issue of travel to and from work with bulky items is a contentious one, (of course the tax office says baggage is excluded but hey what else would they say?) Whether baggage is bulky or not remains to be seen but there have been cases where baggage has been ruled indeed a bulky item as deemed by law. So as such my accountant classes all travel to work if I have bulky luggage as deductible.
Having said that regardless if you go through an accountant or not at the end of the day you are signing the document and yourself is liable, but it is such a dogs breakfast I wouldnt worry too much anyway.

[The Voice]

just to chip in my 2 cents worth - any expense incurred by you in earning your income is claimable on the production of receipts. You may claim up to $300 total without receipts.

Anything that contains the word 'moisturising' or 'rehydrating' is claimable for all you chaps into personal grooming.

The biggy for most GA operators is if you fly for example from DRW to GOV or some other remote community you can claim 1 day at the special Zone A rate, irrespective of whether you have overnighted there or not. There is a table accessible on the 'net that you can check the locations as to whether they are allowable.

As with anything legal - it's all about interpretation. Even though when you read the ruling on the special zone allowance it may be read and understood as one thing, there is another perfectly acceptable understanding which allows the claim. Some accountants may argue in the negative - if so, time to change - it is a perfectly legal and claimable deduction.

Telephones - any call made in the course of your employment is claimable, and in some cases the costs incurred in maintaining the phone if you are required to be on call are claimable.

Driving - it's not the time spent, but the total mileage: calculated at x cents/distance depending upon the motor cc of the vehicle. Mileage is claimable on the production of a diary or a vehicle log book.

It may be worth the cost (which does vary depending upon the complexity of preparation of your return) to visit a tax agent/accountant.

[Stationair8]

ASIC card fee and any associated mileage involved in getting photos, person to sign photos and postage etc.

Loss of licence insurance or the balance between what your company pays and you pay.

Technical publications, magazine subsrciptions etc.

Best to spend a few dollars and go to a good tax accountant.

[Teal]

home phone if you are "on call"

If you want to claim some line rental costs, you'll need to keep a diary for a representative period to demonstrate the work-related portion of all your incoming/outgoing calls.

The boss paid me $70 a day extra to cover my driving there (wouldn't cover it now!) this appeared on my group certificate at LAFH allowance.

Genuine LAFHA payments should not appear on group certs because they are covered by FBT legislation - not an income tax issue at all. So either your boss didn't know what he was doing, or he was paying you a travelling allowance or kms (car) allowance. And even travelling allowances should not appear on group certs if below the 'reasonable amounts' set by the ATO.

if you are forced for work to work away from home and don't receive expenses (eg. hotel / meals), you can claim approximately $175 PER DAY WITHOUT RECEIPTS!

That would be the amounts set out in TD2007/21. The rates vary according to the city visited and your salary level. Neither the allowance nor the expenses have to be included in your tax return if the allowance does not exceed the reasonable amounts and has been fully expended on deductible expenses. If an amount less than the allowance has been expended, then your tax return must include the allowance and the expenses claimed. If a deduction is claimed, then the allowance must be included in the tax return.

Medical certificates for sick days off

Medical expenses for sick days not deductible but may be accumulated to claim a tax offset (rebate) if the net out-of-pocket amount of all eligible medical expenses exceeds $1500

Shoes Non slip black shoes claimable

If they are conventional shoes, then technically not deductible. Check with employer to see if shoes are part of a uniform officially registered with AusIndustry.

my accountant classes all travel to work if I have bulky luggage as deductible

Not without some risk and will depend on the specific circumstances of each pilot/engineer etc. If equipment is both sufficiently voluminous and heavy then chances are improved.

Best to spend a few dollars and go to a good tax accountant

Alternative is to spend of lot of hours doing a lot of reading... TR 95/19 (Income tax: airline industry employees - allowances, reimbursements and work-related deductions) is a good start (41 pages). A cure for insomnia.
Suggest that you pay the (deductible) money to an expert, but shop around for quotes. Don't get ripped off.

T

[richie-rich]

anyone know of a good lawyer to go to? last year was a disaster! i lost more than I gained anything, really.

Richie

[The Voice]

ahh Richie .. you sure you are after a lawyer?

Not many lawyers are tax agents/Accountants.

[carbon]

Thanks Teal, great thread guys.

[Horatio Leafblower]

Rep

Did your employment at the time you incurred the expense require ATPLs?

If not - not claimable.

[Teal]

im not working in ga at the moment, but will be in the next few weeks, and ive already done all my atpl's.

The ATO tends to take the view that such expenses were "incurred at a point in time too early" to be deductible (particularly if the expense was incurred in a financial year prior to the year the resulting income was received. As Horatio indicated, unless you have some/any income related to your ATPLs in some way - even indirecly - then unfortunately you would be unable to make a claim that would stand up to ATO scrutiny.