Originally Posted by
Mason32
Wrong. Doesn't matter... Tax credit, tax deduction.... however you want to call it. I'll stick with tax deduction since it is what the IRS calls it. Anyway, You total your costs for air travel to/from work and it gets written off (deducted) your taxes at the end of the year... end result; free.
Sorry, you're wrong again...
IRS Publication 463 clearly says on page 5 in the table of deductions that airfare to/from work is deductable... and since the IRS is using the word deductable, again... I'll stick with it, instead of calling it a tax credit.
www.irs.gov and type "pub 463" in the search window. Page 5 in the table.
also allows taxi fare deductions, and parking lot fee's... some restrictions on those last two, so read it first.
I hope you don't get audited, because you are mistaken. You are confusing traveling FOR business and traveling TO your business or work. The latter (which is what airline pilot commuting entails) is NOT deductible.
Below I have posted an example from Pub 463. (your tax home is defined as your principle place of business i.e. your airline domicile)
My source is a good friend , who is a CPA and tax attorney with a masters in tax law, and he does my taxes.
Tax Home Different From Family Home
If you (and your family) do not live at your tax home (defined earlier), you cannot deduct the cost of traveling between your tax home and your family home. You also cannot deduct the cost of meals and lodging while at your tax home. See
Example 1 that follows.
If you are working temporarily in the same city where you and your family live, you may be considered as traveling away from home. See
Example 2, below.
Example 1.
You are a truck driver and you and your family live in Tucson. You are employed by a trucking firm that has its terminal in Phoenix. At the end of your long runs, you return to your home terminal in Phoenix and spend one night there before returning home. You cannot deduct any expenses you have for meals and lodging in Phoenix or the cost of traveling from Phoenix to Tucson. This is because Phoenix is your tax home.