Income Tax

[EGCC Rwy 24]

I have just heard that it is possible to offset the cost of doing ones PPL against income tax charges (as an allowable expense).

Apparently, all you have to do is indicate that you are planning a possible career change to flying (rather than learning for recreation only) and that the PPL is the first step.

As someone who plans to start a PPL within the next few months, this is music to my ears.

BUT it sounds far to good to be anywhere even near the truth!!

Anyone know the real score??

[Genghis the Engineer]

You can claim tax back, so I understand, if it is "vocational" training and done entirely within the UK. Get hold of an IR self-assessment form, it's reasonably clear for a government form.

Alternatively, if you are fully or partly self employed in an aviation line I, and several others I know, have successfully put pilot training as a legitimate business expense, which comes to pretty much the same thing. (Having said that, I earn my living in GA and also tend to fly to meetings, etc. so I would have little trouble justifying it to the taxman if he ever started looking more deeply at my affairs, I suspect that this isn't true for everybody).

G

[Whirlybird*]

VTR (Vocational Tax Relief) stopped in August this year. So far as I know there's nothing yet to replace it, although it's rumoured there will be. But please do look into it in case there's something new I haven't heard of yet. If you find it, let me know, as I paid a huge(ish) sum in advance to get VTR, but it'll run out someday soon

[This message has been edited by Whirlybird* (edited 02 October 2000).]

[AC-DC]

I was told by a freind who owns a club that there is a tax relif if you spend some 16h.or so a week flying or doing ground studies.