According to the IRS, income earned while flying over international waters is not considered eligible for the foreign earned income exclusion. As a Pilot flying for an international airlines, what are the rules for international flight crew taxes? Any ideas?
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Tax Professional Answers
Devon McCarthy FCCA, EA
To qualify for the Foreign Earned Income exclusion you must have foreign earned income, meaning the income must be earned for services you performed in a foreign country while your tax home was in a foreign country.
The tax home for flight crew members is generally the base station. However, if you have an ‘abode’ in the U.S. you cannot use a foreign base station as your tax home.
You must also meet either the bona fide residence test or physical presence test. If you are a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien you must be a ‘bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year’ or be ‘physically present in a foreign country or countries for at least 330 full days during any period of 12 consecutive months.’
If you meet the requirements for the Foreign Earned Income exclusion you will need to allocate your income between foreign and other. International flight crew members will therefore need to keep accurate records.
Please feel free to contact me through Tax Connections if you need assistance with your particular circumstances.
Reference
www.irs.gov/
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516 weeks ago
The tax home for flight crew members is generally the base station. However, if you have an ‘abode’ in the U.S. you cannot use a foreign base station as your tax home.
You must also meet either the bona fide residence test or physical presence test. If you are a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien you must be a ‘bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year’ or be ‘physically present in a foreign country or countries for at least 330 full days during any period of 12 consecutive months.’
If you meet the requirements for the Foreign Earned Income exclusion you will need to allocate your income between foreign and other. International flight crew members will therefore need to keep accurate records.
Please feel free to contact me through Tax Connections if you need assistance with your particular circumstances.
Reference
www.irs.gov/