wmupilot85

So how can I report for duty with an updated EFB, it I have to be there on unpaid time doing updated before duty in? And I don't have any breaks since I work productive trips, nor do I have any breaks in domicile when I do have the occasional break (like my 2.5 hr sit at an outstation due to flight times), how am I suppose to do them?

I guess you don't like to maximize your tax return though, and hey, to each his own. But I'm going to get every dollar back that I can. It doesn't have to be a business expense as you keep saying, but rather a job expense. These expenses fall into 2 categories. If you use it for personal pleasure as well, you need to determine what amout is used for business and personal. This takes a total of 2-3 minutes of my time, to get maybe $50 back, or the equivalent of $1,000/hr for what I get back vs what I have to put in.

I also deduct the batteries for my expensive headset that I financed, the batteries for my expensive flashlight, and when I did buy the headset, I deducted that from my tax return.

CBreezy

This. I update my tablet at home. I bid on my PC at home. I do recurrent on my phone. I answer emails from the company on my cell phone and PC. I make phone calls to scheduling, chief pilots, dispatch, and maintenance on my cell phone, sometimes out of the US. Just because I COULD use ACARS or the gate phone doesn't mean I have to. I find it more prudent to use my cell and take an international charge to do manual weight and balance. The company doesn't reimburse that so I deduct it.

Like I said earlier, just because I could do my job without ever flying out of domicile doesn't mean I have to do it that way. If I pick up a trip in a different domicile, I can and will deduct everthing, why wouldn't I? You can deduct some laundry supplies, although I don't. I do deduct unreimbursed dry cleaning expenses and annual uniform expenses. All of this is just fine with the IRS. Ask any CPA.

HighFlight

I am ALL ABOUT minimizing my taxes. So much so that my taxes for 2016 were only 9%. However, due to the fact that I only had a mortgage for half the year and am married, I could only claim the standard deduction. Even claiming several hundred dollars worth of deductions was not going to put me over the top. (And yes, I claimed my headset as well, and am depreciating it on my returns as allowed).

But even if I were within $100 of the S.D., and even if I claimed $200 worth of utilities such as you are suggesting, that would only change my return by $9. Like I said... one extra turn per year, and I have put MUCH more money in my pocket than finagling my tax return as you are willing to do. For me, not worth having to prove to the IRS how much usage I had for work as a job expense. (You have to keep receipts, call logs, and demonstrate what percentage is actually used for work. And I'd wager that if you did it correctly, you'd find that it's probably less than 1% of your annual bill). If it's worth it to you, then by all means, do it. I never said what you were doing was wrong, just a slippery slope I'd prefer not to negotiate, unless the reward becomes much greater. Risk vs. reward vs. hassle.

I'm sure you're completely legit, and have all the documentation to prove the validity of your percentages claimed; more power to you. In all likelihood, you'll never even need it. Most Americans never get audited in their life. I happen to be a high audit risk already, so don't feel the need to complicate matters.

As for the how you report, the same way you do now. It takes between 15 seconds to 2 minutes to update your EFB. Less time than it takes to log in to crew trac and read and clear messages as well as update your memos and manual revisions on the company site. Now charging it up? Yeah, that you pretty much have to do at home. Be sure you claim that electric bill for job use!

I think this started out as a talk about claiming van driver tips (which is not allowed) and devolved into legal (if not preferred by all) ways to maximize a tax return. Keep it legal, even if it is a lot of work, and you'll never have an issue, that has been my personal mantra. The SD is designed to work for the majority of tax filers, and it works well for most. If one has a good amount of deductions, then itemizing will always put more money in your pocket, obviously, and I would encourage anyone who can do so to do it.