Depends on the arrangement. The IRS tried to tax nonrev SA, but Congress always blocked it. Positive space from home to your USUAL place of work can be taxed. Positive space to another location is not taxed (your wife and most other business travelers). Also not taxed if you have no usual place of work.

People who get positive space due to the nature of the job (job location not desirable, hard to attract workers) typically do pay taxes, but the employer simply includes that in their pay. I believe there's an exemption for travel to a job site which is not suitable for habitation (ie oil rig, North slope).

 

I get positive space, I am also paid DH pay, and I collect the frequent flyer miles. I just flew on Delta and was upgraded to first class because of my status with them. Pax flying isn't the only game in town.
OH yeh, I never have to pay for hotels either.

 

Via Air, a small regional two years old in 121 does home basing for pilots with positive space to/from work. Pilot keeps the air award program miles/points. Same with most hotels, pilot keeps the points.
No crashpads ever, if you don’t live in base they provide a hotel.

It’s getting common in the ACMI world to be home based.

 

So how are you supposed to calculate your supposed tax on a PS ticket? Look up how much a last minute ticket costs on the flight you’re on? Yeah, no.

 

Your wife is traveling to work FROM a home base, not being paid travel expenses to travel to her normal workplace.

 

I used to get positive space to work at a previous job. You are not taxed on it. It is no different than living in base and your first leg starting out as a DH.

 

This thread got me thinking about Atlas. This is what it says on APC

Are they the only airline that does this then? Are they helping the pilots out with their tax calculations? Or are they charging pilots for something other airlines foot the tax bill for??

 

Let’s hope you don’t get audited.

 

It’s very different, because in a DH, you are being repositioned from your base for the purposes of work. PS travel to work would be a taxable benefit (as imputed income) just the same way a paid transit pass would be, because it is enables you to get to your normal place of work. Your company may not have been compliant, or they might have paid the tax, but it isn’t the same as a DH first leg.

 

It depends where you are actually based. If you are home based, then everything is company travel to your duty assignment. If you are based someplace and provided positive space travel on your own airline it would be imputed income. If your company is buying you a real ticket on any airline to go to work and you are Home Based there is no imputed income.
If your airline is giving you positive space and showing a DH on your schedule for FTDT purposes, then you are not getting imputed income and it is part of your duty day.
If you are not home based, and your company provides positive space travel to your domicile on your own carrier (or affiliate) it is imputed income. If they are buying you a ticket from home to your domicile on another carrier, it could also be imputed income. At that point it would depend how they record the travel; if they show it as part of your duty day, no imputed income.... if not, pay up.
Clear as mud?