Computed income is a crap deal, simply don't work for a company that does that.

Lol. Are you encouraging people to move out of base in order to make extra money? About the craziest thing I’ve heard. I completely agree that if commuters were given free positive space in base employees need some compensation.

No, I was simply responding in kind to some rando on the internet telling me to move.

They should get the same deal. Positive space to work. You're already at the base? Awesome deal, here's the release package.

This ^

filler

Do you travel free on your carrier? Yes (well, some regionals do charge fees I guess)
Do you deadhead on company metal, Yes

What difference does it make if they are getting a free ride to work like a DH, but with contractual stipulation that it isn't on duty/paid.

I'm generally extremely conservative regarding tax, however I would say the audit risk related to occasional positive space (such as 9E's second commute in option) is basically nil.

At worst it would be imputed income at something like 10% of a Y class fare. Essentially the IRS would have to be targeting airline pilots LOOKING for this particular issue and they aren't likely to do that because of the effort involved and low taxes due/ penalties likely.

What you will find happens at some point again in the future as has happened in the past is the IRS attempts to tax all non revenue travel. This would fall in line with how similar items are handled by the tax code at other companies. We have managed to hold onto the exemption for pass travel for immediate families however I will be schocked if that is the case 10 years from now. Getting rid of exemptions is a easy way to raise taxes without appearing to do so. ALPA’s budget via the PAC to purchase politicians is very low and AFA is no help at all. They beat it in the past but doubt they will when it comes up again.

Sometimes they go on a with-hunt. The audit part is easy... they get all the records from the airlines.

But if you get caught, you can probably claim ignorance, pay the tax, interest, and penalties, and likely not go to jail.

You have no idea what you are talking about. Positive space records dont show up anywhere on anything you can access. And even if you COULD access when you traveled positive space, there is no fare value assigned to it. As would be required in order to claim it on taxes. As far as I know, that fare is $0.

Being that we get positive space to training even in domicile and sometimes to work without any imputed tax withholdings, I highly doubt a corporation as large as mine, one that withholds taxes for vacation positive space passes would just not remember to do the same for work. You're out of your league, Donny. Jail time. Lol. Give me a break.

You're all wrong, mostly. Insults aren't going to make you any less wrong.

Company paid travel ON COMPANY BUSINESS, from anywhere to anywhere, is not taxable (duh).

Company paid travel from your HOME to your USUAL place of work generally is taxable. That is not a business expense, you cannot deduct your drive to work (or your crashpad). This is well established in all industries.

For example, this includes company cars provided to some employees. The salesman who leaves home and goes on sales calls does NOT pay tax on his car. The VP who drives a company ride to/from the office DOES get taxed on that ride as compensation.

Airline nonrev is a grey area, which IRS has tried to tax in the past (and I'm sure will again). As of right now, space available for personal use is not taxed. Personal use is recreational travel AND going to/from work. Positive space IS taxed, that crosses some threshold with the IRS. Again, per the IRS travel to/from work is NOT a deductible expense. If the company provides it, it IS taxable (exceptions for certain things like the job site changes every week, ie home basing).

Again positive space is just like having a company car... depends on where you're driving. If it's to/from the usual workplace, it can be taxed.

The IRS in the past has obtained nonrev records from airlines, to facilitate witch hunts. I don't understand any of the legalities associated with that, or the mechanism by which it happens. Perhaps there is some magical electronic box in a basement somewhere which stores information in a compact electronic manner, which can somehow be re-constitued at a later time? I don't know.

And I did say you wouldn't go to jail. I said "probably" because I don't want anyone blaming me if I'm wrong and they do go to jail.

Some of you are way too worried about it. I'm not reporting one red cent of any of it. Let them dig it up if they want to find it! What are they going to do? Audit by mail is all...then you can settle it for a fraction. Ask me how I know...

There aren't even cents to report. If they'd like, they can take my unicorns and rainbows because for all I know, that's what it's worth.

Heaven forbid that a pilot would base his tax reporting on the truth, instead of on what the IRS will be able to prove. Is it OK if your doctor or mechanic hides a phony charge in his bill, someplace where you’ll never catch it? :rolleyes:

Sounds like some of you are jealous that some people get positive space to work

This is likely the case.

But don't go there if you're mil of course, they'll pull your clearance first and ask questions later.

I know people in the military who have been audited with a TS clearance. Still have a TS clearance. Still continued to do their job successfully.

Audits are where they review your tax return, and your supporting docs for accuracy/authenticity. Audits can happen to anyone at random, or can be triggered by certain circumstances. An audit in and of itself will not affect your clearance.

But being caught lying about taxes, or getting behind on payments, will get your clearance pulled. If you settle back taxes for less than face value, that's still going to look like a default.

Not claiming positive space to work is not lying about taxes. This isn't a hard concept.

Exactly. It’s company provided transportation. Plenty of companies in 121 and 135 deadhead crew members on other airlines with purchased tickets. This is nothing more than a company DH from your home to your flight.... same as from one flight to another.

There's a difference between deadhead/home-basing travel (company moving you for THEIR convenience and business purposes to varied locations) vs. positive space to/from home and your USUAL place of work.

The later is not generally tax exempt, since regular 9-5 workers cannot tax deduct their daily drive to work (or flight to work, for those few who might commute by air). Employees who get a company car as a perk get taxed on that (no tax if they need the car to do business, ie outside sales).

There's a special carve-out for airline employee space available nonrev travel, but you can get taxed for your buddy travel and if it's positive space you're just like any other poor schlep going to work.

There's plenty of confusion because of the nonrev carve-out, and if you went to court you might even be able to establish a precedent that positive space nonrev is the same as space available nonrev. Withholding is applied inconsistently, but if the IRS notices a bunch of folks getting free full-fare tickets to work they might come looking for back-taxes. I agree there's enough confusion that jail would be highly unlikely.

But just because you guys don't like it, and the rules are complex, doesn't mean it's not so...

It’s amazing how pilots, who have to navigate incredibly complex federal regulations on a daily basis, choose to remain willfully ignorant of tax law because it’s inconvenient.

Has anyone even considered that airlines regularly change bases and one does not get to pick where they work. Imagine going to your local Walmart for a job and then on the first day learn that you will have to work in another state. Then once you pick up and move there they opened a new Walmart somewhere else and since you are junior you are forced to move again. Working for an airline you don’t get to pick where you work, it’s not like I can say I only want to work in Chicago so I can work at “a b or c” I could go to A then in class they announce that no one is going to Chicago and all new hires get Houston.

I have said I will never commute. I have also said I refuse to live in California or NY. This still leaves where I actually end up working in limbo. I have the ability to move to whereever I’m based but realize that where I’m based can change at the whim of the airline or if I upgrade I will most likely have to change bases. I don’t see what the issue is if someone doesn’t want constantly move at the whim of an airline which is why positive space should be given to those that commute. Unless an airline guarantees you a base at hire, pays based on experience not seniority, and offers a moving package for base changes, positive space should be given to those that don’t wish to chase base moves around the country.

Home basing is a thing. If the airlines ever get desperate enough they could offer it.

I'm willfully and blissfully ignorant. I don't care. I've received PS from the company more than 30 times this year and the same or more last year...mostly to help cover their asses and make some extra cash. I'm already paying higher taxes on the extra money I have pulled in, so let the IRS pound sand I say. They get my half-arsed Turbotax version of events every year, so let them dig it up if they want to...😉

That’s fine. Take your chances. We all do in one way or another. I’m talking about the people advising others on what’s legal and what’s not.

If you take any pilots opinion irl or any random opinion off the internet as solid legal advice, then you deserve whatever you get. It cracks me up that pilots will spend so much time arguing and debating opinions and facts about things not related to our profession.