> The career path is:
> ATPL ("frozen" probably)
> Hours, hours, hours

> 737 (or similar) conversion at *Your own expense*:

>> Were self funded endorsements always able to be claimed as an
>> income tax deduction?

> Yes.

> Kind of, but not really. Your initial "yes" response in isolation is
> probably not correct without qualifying the statement. An Airbus or Boeing
> endorsement has to be obtained for *current employment*, and since the
> letter of offer doesn't come until the pilot is checked to line, you may
> be challenged to prove its legitimacy as a claim. A large number of pilots
> in Oz have been audited and had their claim ruled against them for
> precisely this reason. The cost of the endorsement usually raises the red
> flag in the ATO.
>
> Even a pilot in general aviation who wants to fly an additional type
> should have the immediate need for it. Getting something as simple as a
> Chieftain endorsement while employed as an instructor at Bankstown (when
> it's not on your AOC) so that you might chase flying in Darwin is not
> \generally\ a legitimate claim. It's less likely to raise ATO suspicion,
> less likely to be challenged, and widely accepted in the industry as
> something that's done legitimately - but that doesn't make it legal.
>
> I rent a room in my house to a girl who works compliance in the ATO (who I
> worked in the cops with as a prosecutor) and I've had her chase up rulings ...

> Hours are no longer the issue that they were five or so years ago.
>
>

>> 737 (or similar) conversion at *Your own expense*:

>
>
> Both Virgin and Jetstar have alternatives to self-funded endorsements now,
> such as salary sacraficing. Other airlines generally require a bond.

> Were self funded endorsements always able to be claimed as an
> income tax deduction? The salary sacrifice thing is good, saves
> a whole bunch of paperwork and messing around waiting for something
> you'd claim later anyway.

> straight forward I think, but it was quite clear to me that
> there isn't much scope for playing silly buggers. The employer

> I bought one via salary sacrifice. That got me (if I interpret
> the thing correctly) the machine at $price less income tax,
> less GST. As it happens Apple offers an education discount
> of circa 10%%, and the instutition that I work for has
> negotiated an additional discount (5-10%% I think) from them.

> employee at the time you were studying. If your self-education was to help
> you get a new job or commence a new income-earning activity, you cannot
> claim your expenses.

> Most *endorsements* are obtained by people who are already pilots.

> GB wrote...
>

>> Were self funded endorsements always able to be claimed as an
>> income tax deduction? The salary sacrifice thing is good, saves
>> a whole bunch of paperwork and messing around waiting for something
>> you'd claim later anyway.

>
> What? double dip???
>
> Some guys where I work do this with laptops. They buy them, then sal sac
> them,
> then claim them at the end of the year, basically getting a $2,000 laptop
> for
> around $500 out of pocket.
>
> Of course, if the ATO ever catches up with them....

> Marts yahoo.com.au> said:
>

>>GB wrote...
>>

>>> straight forward I think, but it was quite clear to me that
>>> there isn't much scope for playing silly buggers. The employer

>>
>>Yep, not only does the ATO get to ream you, but your employer is well
>>within its
>>rights to give you the flick. It's just not worth it, not for a few
>>hundred bux.

>
> It's none of an employer's business what mischief an employee gets
> up to in his own time ...tax or anything related. Unless it reflects
> publicly on the employer.