dera

There are tax prep companies that specialize in doing FEIE for airline crewmembers who live abroad. Wouldn't say "Nope" so categorically.

Clue32

I live in Germany and commute to PDX as a 2 year FO on the 767. I asked on the forums how commuting Internationally would work at Atlas, Kalitta, and 121 Pax airlines. Atlas became the best option in my opinion. Commuting isn't easy, and I am a one hour train ride from FRA. Others live in the Canary Islands, Sweden, Croatia... and it is much more complicated.

First question, how are you going to legally reside overseas? My wife is German; we moved back to her home as it made more sense with me being away 60% of the time. I was able to get EU Residency through her. Every country will have visa and/or Residency complications. Not sure if it is still available, but Portugal was granting EU Residency if you purchased a home there.

Next, health insurance. Atlas has several plans through Cigna, but not Cigna Envoy. You will be covered world wide by the company while on duty, but that coverage ends when you hit X Days. That means you will need to purchase a supplemental plan for you and your spouse, and it isn't cheap.

What will your spouse be doing overseas for the 17 to 20 days every month you are on the road working or commuting? Working and earning money, traveling and spending your lower FO Pay, making new friendships, or getting homesick and lonely.

Commuting? Atlas JS is great if it is available. You may have to leave home two or three days early though. You may have to purchase a hotel in the States for a night or two, or visit family for a free place to crash, waiting on gateway. Free jumpseat US to Europe on DL, UA, AA. I have used DL and UA successfully. Europe to the US, requires payment of PAX taxes. LH ID90 S1 confirmed tickets are about €450 Westbound. Used them once, LH is often booked. Last minute UA Miles ticket on 26 December nearly dropped me to about 16k miles. I am up around 150K again, good for 3 or 4 "emergency"tickets.

PM me if you have other questions.

dera

Curious, wouldn't JFK be a better base for intl commuting?

SealingStemBolt

Every time this Foreign Residency Tax Dodge scheme comes up it's always "I'm sure there are guys..." or "I just flew with someone who's doing it.." but never, ever any concrete info on it. That's because it's total bunk. At best as a foreigner you can arbitrage your local taxes with US ones and make out...a little. But a US citizen getting a W2 from a US based airline with your domicile base in the US? There's no way.

Heck there's a long history of airline pilots who think they're smarter than every one else (imagine that) getting caught red handed playing that game with US state residency.

You're not smarter than the IRS so pay your fair share.

dera

I'll trust the professionals on this one. They will do their Duty Time Apportionment and calculate what part was earned abroad, and not intl waters and so on.

Just for reference, I am talking about people who actually live abroad with no ties to the US. Not the tax dodgers who think their PO box in Timbuktu qualifies them. If you have any family, property, or any ways to link you as having an abode in the US, you are likely SOL. If you are a foreign national who lives abroad, things are different. Many of them do either the Foreign Tax Credit which you mention, or the FEIE, depending which is more beneficial to them.

Elevation

Nothing starts or ends in PDX. If all he can hold is a secondary line at JFK he has to be prepared to be in CVG within 2 days (I haven't looked at his seniority, so I could be way off.). As a PDX lineholder, his schedule is predictable. Predictable=commutable. My guess, though. Pardon me if I've put words in your mouth, Clue.

Also, have you tried out any of the gliding clubs in Germany?

Clue32

My intention was to bid into JFK at 50% and get occasional trips that begin or end with a European DH.

However, I definitely prefer Primary Lines in PDX. I have been crediting 75 Hours +/- (80 next month) since April. I know my schedule and get to fly regularly. I get at worst my second choice, but have have been awarded my first choice the last three bids.

Secondary Lines in JFK? Between minimum guarantee and not being super comfortable sitting at home for the 1700 UTC schedule check, no thank you. Outbasing was nice for the bank account, and I spent a good amount of time home the first two weeks, but then wound up in the Pacific for 10 days. Outbasing 3 to 4 months a year is all I think I can handle I think... If I can hold that.

Lionhaart

Hey man,
lt is more than doable (some places more than others.). For example, commuting from Hong Kong or Latin America (with our 74 scheduled aircraft) is easier to get to base than others for right now. There is talk on giving us a foreign commuting allowance (not concrete but mgmt recognize the issue.)

what would the significant other like? There are also plenty of places in the US you can live on year one pay in the US and live well.

i did so on the old contract with two kids and a wife. Granted we didn’t t do the Michelin star Mondays and Winchester Wednesdays. :P

SgtV

If you have a physical presence in the US over that specified in the FEIE criteria you do not qualify. If your place of business (your base) is in the US or one of its territories, then the criteria for bona-fide resident is not met either. The old “tax home” argument has been rejected over and over by the IRS. As a former DoD contractor that utilized the 2555 for years I can say ‘nope’ categorically rather easily on this one. Making the assumption that some tax professional knows all of the ins and outs about the FEIE is naive. Plenty of tax pros have been cited/jailed for things like this. Use at your own risk.

peterfenwick

Lots of reports of travel denying alternate travel from abroad even if cheaper than US gateway. Not sure how concerned management really are.