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?

 

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...