Originally Posted by
Globemaster2827
Sigh... Simple math man....
So if you're taxed around 25% then you take the $1250 left over after taxes, union dues and insurance and to get an imputed income amount that equals $1250 you simply divide $1250 by .25 to represent 25%. To prove it work back. If you tax $5000 at 25% what do you get? $1250. So to eliminate $1250 in income you need $5000 in imputed income taxed at 25%.
In ANC over the Summer a last minute gateway from say Jacksonville to Anchorage probably costs over $1000. There are 60 day lines that may have 4 commutes a month. Hotels are probably over $200 a night down there where we stay, so if you're on Reserve that's as much as $3400 for hotels for 17 days... More if you need one Day 0 and Day 18. It can add up depending on how you're used.
In September I had $2500 in imputed income getting from the Southeast to Miami and spending about 7 nights in a MIA hotel. That's MIA with short flights. Gateway is NOT a free benefit. You pay about 25% to Uncle Sam for it AND the company will hold it over our heads as part of our compensation come time for negotiations... When ever that is...
If you work here then you would know that taxable travel incurred in a given month is not imputed until 3 months later and divided into 2 pay periods. So, even if your math formula is correct, the $5000 of imputed income in one pay period that "your buddy" claimed he incurred would mean that in actuality he would have incurred $10,000 in one month of imputed income to make your claim of "zero take home" accurate which I think is total BS. I'm not calling you a liar, I'm calling "your buddy" a liar.
In your case, when you had $2500 of imputed income in one month, it was divided across two pay periods ($1250) three months later so you still have substantial take home pay(relatively speaking).
I was imputed a total of $2700 my first year and $1600 my second year. IN TOTAL.
Imputed income needs to go but it is hit and miss and most certainly not so exaggerated as "your buddy" claims.