PPl thinking of Commercial

[Kejidog]

Happy New Year

Having completed my PPL in Dec 2016 I have acquired a night rating and amassed over 220 hours total. I am seriously considering completing my Commercial License more to improve my skills and learn anew and more depth of instruction. I am wondering if the flight hours, in my own plane, fuel and instruction is deductible on my taxes. I plan on getting a few paid hours at our local club perhaps for charters and fire watch afterwards. Is this something that people here do? I plan on doing it at my local club. I took their groundschool but would like to do an online commercial specific if it is out there. I am up towards the hours needed to qualify for the flight test. can anyone recommend a good online course to look into and recommend a few manuals.

a licence to learn is the truth.

Thanks

[LifeAt90Kts]

Hi Kejidog! For the ground school check out https://www.pilottraining.ca/?dispatch= ... uct_id=249

As for commercial training it’s not all about the hours, but the types of hours you need.

35 hours of dual instruction
10 hours of advanced dual instruction including at least 5 hours of X-Country
20 hours of instrument time.
5 hours dual night
30 hours of solo flight time
25 hours of general practice, including airwork, and radio communication
5 hours solo night
Straight line cross country of at least 300 nautical miles with landings at 3 airports other than the departure airport
A minimum of 40 hours ground school. Including instruction on Air Law, Meteorology, Navigation, and General Knowledge.
A Transport Canada Written and Flight test is required

I’m not sure if fuel and maintenance in your own aircraft would be tax deductible, but the instructor and ground school would be (if you go through an FTU as opposed to a freelance instructor you pay in cash)

[photofly]

PER the CRA Income Tax Folio S1-F2-C2, Tuition Tax Credit:

2.38 Subject to the comments in ¶2.7, fees paid by or on behalf of students enrolled at flying training schools or clubs certified by the Minister of ESD (see ¶2.3 and 2.6) are eligible tuition fees under paragraph 118.5(1)(a), only if the student is taking flying lessons in order to become a commercial pilot or a professional instructor. Fees are eligible only to the extent that they may be regarded as having been paid for tuition. Therefore, a student must be under instruction and direct supervision before the cost of flying time is eligible for the tuition tax credit. As a result, the cost of solo flying does not, generally, qualify as tuition. However, the Transport Canada flight training requirements for certain licences or ratings include, in part, a specified number of hours of flying time under instruction, including both dual and solo flights. There is also a total flight experience requirement of a certain number of hours. The CRA accepts that the student is under instruction and direct supervision while completing the required minimum hours of dual and solo flight training time. However, as the additional flying time required to meet the total hour requirement need not be under instruction and direct supervision, these costs would not qualify as eligible tuition. Accordingly, the cost of dual and solo flying hours required to obtain certain licences or ratings, to become a commercial pilot or a professional instructor, to the minimum flight training requirements of Transport Canada, is considered to be part of the student’s tuition.

2.39 Fees for ground school and flight simulators are also eligible for the tuition tax credit but costs incurred by a student in flying a personal aircraft while taking a course at a flying training school or club are not eligible.

So no, you can't deduct your costs: costs incurred in flying a personal aircraft are not eligible.

[455tt]

So no, you can't deduct your costs: costs incurred in flying a personal aircraft are not eligible.

Yes you can! You can establish an independent business that will be providing aviation services and then, under Canadian tax law, you can deduct all legitimate business expenses which would include your training costs. Consult with an accountant and/or lawyer about your planned business to get further professional advice about how this could be set up so as to obtain the write off.

[Kejidog]

Thanks for the link lifeat90. I am doing well on the numbers already. I have quite a few dual from my ppl. I have the solo night hours. The dual night. 10 of instrument. Lots of XC of long duration. Quebec to Montreal and ontario to Rockcliffe this summer alone to cover my 300nm Lots of PIC and solo too. I checked my log and i would basically need ten more instrument hours. Everything else is about done. I would take more dual to do prep work for flight test. I made 88% on my ppl written so the exam does not really scare me. I am mostly looking for a more advanced in depth ground school. The one I took for my ppl was pretty basic and all that is on offer around here. I am currently looking at getting the flying beyond manual.




Screwed by the government again!

Lol. I just may do the sole proprietor company thing. I am close to retierment from my carrier in a few years.

[Kejidog]

No edit feature for my above post. I meant NS to Montreal and NS to Rockcliffe.

[photofly]

It’s good that you enjoy groundschool because to get a CPL you need another 80 hours of it, not 40 as posted above.