Jump Pilot
So we’re clear Climb150, the award for Single Engine 1360kg - 3359kg was last $690 a week full time in 2011. It is currently $899 a week.
Accepting that $690 might have been the full time award, as a casual employee you would have been entitled to $56.23 per flight hour (1/800th of the annual award plus 25% in lieu of annual leave and job security). Still at your 20 hours on average a week this comes out to $1124.50 plus super, or $1231.33.
Even if you were full time, cashing out annual leave accrued adds 11.5% (6/52 of the annual salary) and then 9.5% super. $834.90 per week. Add allowances and you’re on par with your $900, but with a guaranteed income each and every week, job security, sick leave, protection against being dismissed on a whim, renewals, medical, loss of licence and ASIC paid for, no grey area over legal responsibility as a contractor, no time spent doing invoices, no quarterly activity statements to the ATO.
Said company is not employing pilots as contractors because of some altruistic notion that it’s better for the pilots. They are employing pilots as contractors because it saves the company money. If employing them as employees and paying award was cheaper, they would be.
Accepting that $690 might have been the full time award, as a casual employee you would have been entitled to $56.23 per flight hour (1/800th of the annual award plus 25% in lieu of annual leave and job security). Still at your 20 hours on average a week this comes out to $1124.50 plus super, or $1231.33.
Even if you were full time, cashing out annual leave accrued adds 11.5% (6/52 of the annual salary) and then 9.5% super. $834.90 per week. Add allowances and you’re on par with your $900, but with a guaranteed income each and every week, job security, sick leave, protection against being dismissed on a whim, renewals, medical, loss of licence and ASIC paid for, no grey area over legal responsibility as a contractor, no time spent doing invoices, no quarterly activity statements to the ATO.
Said company is not employing pilots as contractors because of some altruistic notion that it’s better for the pilots. They are employing pilots as contractors because it saves the company money. If employing them as employees and paying award was cheaper, they would be.
Forgot to answer the original question! The big blue pays contractors $23/load for turbines and $18/load for pistons, 3 load minimum. Well at least they did two years ago, but can’t see them getting a pay rise while the share price continues to tank.
I’ll defo be shot down here but fark... So many got a start dropping meat bombs in a quid pro quo type of deal. Yeah how many of us wouldn’t have jumped if we directly paid for a course (yes ok we did pay directly by not getting paid but you know what I mean)? Yes we got a skin full of piss at the end of the day, flew some ****e heaps, the odd scare but heck I look back at the very short short term I did and what I learnt.
Yes it’s different now with the big businesses and it being a more professional set up, pilot costs certainly part of doing business. It’s not like they don’t earn enough. Even way back yonder they made enough to pay but well didn’t cause suckers like us let them get away with it.
Contracting... please who gives a fook if it suits you the individual doing the work? Especially if it’s a stepping stone, the small amount you’ll earn in super means what? Ok if your going to make a career out of dropping meat bombs different story.
Yes it’s different now with the big businesses and it being a more professional set up, pilot costs certainly part of doing business. It’s not like they don’t earn enough. Even way back yonder they made enough to pay but well didn’t cause suckers like us let them get away with it.
Contracting... please who gives a fook if it suits you the individual doing the work? Especially if it’s a stepping stone, the small amount you’ll earn in super means what? Ok if your going to make a career out of dropping meat bombs different story.
So it works a bit differently if you have a company. I do. Let's call it AB Pty Ltd.
Aussie Bob, as a representative and director of AB Pty Ltd offers the services of a pilot to Joe Jumpalot skydivers for $90.00 per flying hour. Joe agrees.
Joe gets invoiced by AB Pty Ltd for 10 hours piloting in the first weekend, $900.00
Joe pays the invoice to AB Pty Ltd
Aussie Bob decides to work for next to nothing and takes out of AB Pty Ltd as a wage, $200 per week. This is below the tax threshold and no super contributions are required.
AB Pty Ltd now has a bit of money in the kitty and can buy some assets. Perhaps a car, or a plane or whatever.
AB Pty Ltd has only one employee who happens to be the director.
On it goes, totally legally. Come tax time Aussie Bob has not earned a taxable income and owes no super. He doesn't give a fig that there is no insurance or super anyway, all is good in his world. He has had fun and put food on the table.
A simplistic way of putting it, but its totally legal and the way of many. What we hope as company directors is that by the time retirement comes around, the company has enough assets or is saleable to fund said retirement.
If the company earns enough then company tax is payable. In some instances it is less costly to pay a dividend to the the director to lessen the company tax bill and this dividend goes on the directors income so is taxable.
After all that I am lost and need an accountant and an accountant to do the company return is a legal requirement for a Pty Ltd company as far as I am aware. I use one.
Aussie Bob, as a representative and director of AB Pty Ltd offers the services of a pilot to Joe Jumpalot skydivers for $90.00 per flying hour. Joe agrees.
Joe gets invoiced by AB Pty Ltd for 10 hours piloting in the first weekend, $900.00
Joe pays the invoice to AB Pty Ltd
Aussie Bob decides to work for next to nothing and takes out of AB Pty Ltd as a wage, $200 per week. This is below the tax threshold and no super contributions are required.
AB Pty Ltd now has a bit of money in the kitty and can buy some assets. Perhaps a car, or a plane or whatever.
AB Pty Ltd has only one employee who happens to be the director.
On it goes, totally legally. Come tax time Aussie Bob has not earned a taxable income and owes no super. He doesn't give a fig that there is no insurance or super anyway, all is good in his world. He has had fun and put food on the table.
A simplistic way of putting it, but its totally legal and the way of many. What we hope as company directors is that by the time retirement comes around, the company has enough assets or is saleable to fund said retirement.
If the company earns enough then company tax is payable. In some instances it is less costly to pay a dividend to the the director to lessen the company tax bill and this dividend goes on the directors income so is taxable.
After all that I am lost and need an accountant and an accountant to do the company return is a legal requirement for a Pty Ltd company as far as I am aware. I use one.
So it works a bit differently if you have a company. I do. Let's call it AB Pty Ltd.
Aussie Bob, as a representative and director of AB Pty Ltd offers the services of a pilot to Joe Jumpalot skydivers for $90.00 per flying hour. Joe agrees.
Joe gets invoiced by AB Pty Ltd for 10 hours piloting in the first weekend, $900.00
Joe pays the invoice to AB Pty Ltd
Aussie Bob decides to work for next to nothing and takes out of AB Pty Ltd as a wage, $200 per week. This is below the tax threshold and no super contributions are required.
AB Pty Ltd now has a bit of money in the kitty and can buy some assets. Perhaps a car, or a plane or whatever.
AB Pty Ltd has only one employee who happens to be the director.
On it goes, totally legally. Come tax time Aussie Bob has not earned a taxable income and owes no super. He doesn't give a fig that there is no insurance or super anyway, all is good in his world. He has had fun and put food on the table.
A simplistic way of putting it, but its totally legal and the way of many. What we hope as company directors is that by the time retirement comes around, the company has enough assets or is saleable to fund said retirement.
If the company earns enough then company tax is payable. In some instances it is less costly to pay a dividend to the the director to lessen the company tax bill and this dividend goes on the directors income so is taxable.
After all that I am lost and need an accountant and an accountant to do the company return is a legal requirement for a Pty Ltd company as far as I am aware. I use one.
Aussie Bob, as a representative and director of AB Pty Ltd offers the services of a pilot to Joe Jumpalot skydivers for $90.00 per flying hour. Joe agrees.
Joe gets invoiced by AB Pty Ltd for 10 hours piloting in the first weekend, $900.00
Joe pays the invoice to AB Pty Ltd
Aussie Bob decides to work for next to nothing and takes out of AB Pty Ltd as a wage, $200 per week. This is below the tax threshold and no super contributions are required.
AB Pty Ltd now has a bit of money in the kitty and can buy some assets. Perhaps a car, or a plane or whatever.
AB Pty Ltd has only one employee who happens to be the director.
On it goes, totally legally. Come tax time Aussie Bob has not earned a taxable income and owes no super. He doesn't give a fig that there is no insurance or super anyway, all is good in his world. He has had fun and put food on the table.
A simplistic way of putting it, but its totally legal and the way of many. What we hope as company directors is that by the time retirement comes around, the company has enough assets or is saleable to fund said retirement.
If the company earns enough then company tax is payable. In some instances it is less costly to pay a dividend to the the director to lessen the company tax bill and this dividend goes on the directors income so is taxable.
After all that I am lost and need an accountant and an accountant to do the company return is a legal requirement for a Pty Ltd company as far as I am aware. I use one.
Ducky,
I chose to be on an ABN because it suited me better. The company were happy to put me on fulltime. I did it because I didnt see myself being there for more than a year and this gave them and me flexibility.
The company isnt always out to screw you. I have found most employers in my lifetime to be reasonable when you approach them with a serious proposition about employment arrangements. Admittedly in aviation and especially for your first job some people will do anything. So employers screw them accordingly.
My stance of not working for free or below award probably is to blame for it taking over 2 years to score my first flying job.
I chose to be on an ABN because it suited me better. The company were happy to put me on fulltime. I did it because I didnt see myself being there for more than a year and this gave them and me flexibility.
The company isnt always out to screw you. I have found most employers in my lifetime to be reasonable when you approach them with a serious proposition about employment arrangements. Admittedly in aviation and especially for your first job some people will do anything. So employers screw them accordingly.
My stance of not working for free or below award probably is to blame for it taking over 2 years to score my first flying job.
So as a PPL working towards 200 hours and CPL, looking at this as a job that seems, from a flying perspective, to be fun, with no intention of going onwards to airlines or the like - recommended or not?
I'd heard the per load figures; I wasn't even aware that there were full-time positions.
I've pondered the JPA, JPA/Turbine through the AJPA but does it make sense to do those cold and then see who might have work or find the operator first and then do the required?
I'd heard the per load figures; I wasn't even aware that there were full-time positions.
I've pondered the JPA, JPA/Turbine through the AJPA but does it make sense to do those cold and then see who might have work or find the operator first and then do the required?
My stance of not working for free or below award probably is to blame for it taking over 2 years to score my first flying job.
So as a PPL working towards 200 hours and CPL, looking at this as a job that seems, from a flying perspective, to be fun, with no intention of going onwards to airlines or the like - recommended or not?
I'd heard the per load figures; I wasn't even aware that there were full-time positions.
I've pondered the JPA, JPA/Turbine through the AJPA but does it make sense to do those cold and then see who might have work or find the operator first and then do the required?
I'd heard the per load figures; I wasn't even aware that there were full-time positions.
I've pondered the JPA, JPA/Turbine through the AJPA but does it make sense to do those cold and then see who might have work or find the operator first and then do the required?
It's interesting how times change. Back in my day, early '60's, jumping was very much a club thing, close knit. Originally we started off with using a C180 from a charter company (Silver City Air Taxis) with the aviating done by the charter company's pilot (Brian Stokel), getting paid whatever his wage happened to be. If he were away on another job it meant no jumping that weekend, as it was the only aircraft in town. Subsequently we had C172 that was available, but no pilot, so I received approval from DCA, as it was then, to do the flying on a PPL. The very best of days.
So it works a bit differently if you have a company. I do. Let's call it AB Pty Ltd.
Aussie Bob, as a representative and director of AB Pty Ltd offers the services of a pilot to Joe Jumpalot skydivers for $90.00 per flying hour. Joe agrees.
Joe gets invoiced by AB Pty Ltd for 10 hours piloting in the first weekend, $900.00
Joe pays the invoice to AB Pty Ltd
Aussie Bob decides to work for next to nothing and takes out of AB Pty Ltd as a wage, $200 per week. This is below the tax threshold and no super contributions are required.
AB Pty Ltd now has a bit of money in the kitty and can buy some assets. Perhaps a car, or a plane or whatever.
AB Pty Ltd has only one employee who happens to be the director.
On it goes, totally legally. Come tax time Aussie Bob has not earned a taxable income and owes no super. He doesn't give a fig that there is no insurance or super anyway, all is good in his world. He has had fun and put food on the table.
A simplistic way of putting it, but its totally legal and the way of many. What we hope as company directors is that by the time retirement comes around, the company has enough assets or is saleable to fund said retirement.
If the company earns enough then company tax is payable. In some instances it is less costly to pay a dividend to the the director to lessen the company tax bill and this dividend goes on the directors income so is taxable.
After all that I am lost and need an accountant and an accountant to do the company return is a legal requirement for a Pty Ltd company as far as I am aware. I use one.
Aussie Bob, as a representative and director of AB Pty Ltd offers the services of a pilot to Joe Jumpalot skydivers for $90.00 per flying hour. Joe agrees.
Joe gets invoiced by AB Pty Ltd for 10 hours piloting in the first weekend, $900.00
Joe pays the invoice to AB Pty Ltd
Aussie Bob decides to work for next to nothing and takes out of AB Pty Ltd as a wage, $200 per week. This is below the tax threshold and no super contributions are required.
AB Pty Ltd now has a bit of money in the kitty and can buy some assets. Perhaps a car, or a plane or whatever.
AB Pty Ltd has only one employee who happens to be the director.
On it goes, totally legally. Come tax time Aussie Bob has not earned a taxable income and owes no super. He doesn't give a fig that there is no insurance or super anyway, all is good in his world. He has had fun and put food on the table.
A simplistic way of putting it, but its totally legal and the way of many. What we hope as company directors is that by the time retirement comes around, the company has enough assets or is saleable to fund said retirement.
If the company earns enough then company tax is payable. In some instances it is less costly to pay a dividend to the the director to lessen the company tax bill and this dividend goes on the directors income so is taxable.
After all that I am lost and need an accountant and an accountant to do the company return is a legal requirement for a Pty Ltd company as far as I am aware. I use one.
The company must pay 27.5% tax on any and every $ of profit.
Buying a car or a plane with company money requires it to be used for company businesses (not personal or pleasure) - The percentage of personal use is a fringe benefit and taxed at 47% (2% higher than the highest personal tax bracket)
Paying a dividend is from money that has already been taxed at 27.5%, when you get this dividend it gets taxed again at your personal tax rate lets say 19% - so each $ of your dividend has actually had 46.5% tax applied.
$900 gross company income.
$200 wages.
$50 operating costs. (accountant, bank, phone ...)
Company Profit $650.
Tax on profit $178.75
Kitty $471.25
Kitty over 1 year $24,505
$20,000 dividend.
Tax on dividend $3,800
Director gets in pocket $16,200 dividend + 52 x $200 $10,400
Or $26,600 from $46,800 (52 x $900)
Excluding any Fringe Benefits taxes due.
Tax on an employee for $46,800 is $6,757
or $40,043 in the pocket from the same $46,800.
Or better off by $13,443 than a Pty Ltd trying to play a game.
Owning a Pty Ltd than can genuinely accrue assets for more than two years can get profitable and be very legal due to current tax laws, but essentially labouring per hour will not bring big benefits.
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: oz
Age: 65
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
God, tax implications of being a meat bomber! Timing's a bit ironic in this discussion about money, Dave Duncan was a well known jump pilot back in the day, his murder was all over a few pieces of silver in a garnishee order.
edit: no urls for moi. "body in barrel killer to be deported" might bring up some hits.
edit: no urls for moi. "body in barrel killer to be deported" might bring up some hits.
