Pilots N Paws tax question

[WaynePierce]

I've just signed up with this group and look forward to my contribution and exercising of my J. The question I have, on their tax documentation, it asks for the hourly cost to operate my plane. The plane is paid for, so the only things I can come up with are hourly fuel burn and oil use. I've never had to figure out exactly how much per hour it costs us to fly on the trips we are making. Which, I believe, is probably ok in my mind... What numbers do you all use when you do your missions?

I searched for cost to operate and many mention it on different posting but I've not found a "number".  Thank you for your help.

[Hank]

Whenever "operating costs" are discussed here, people tend to include hangar rent, GPS updates, engine OH, annual inspection with repairs & upgrades, tires, pitot static checks and app subscriptions like Foreflight.

When I try to separate "ownership cost" versus "operating costs," I don't make much headway. So I'll be watching the discussion here.

[Bolter]

If in doubt, you can apply this value for your taxes: 1.74/mile per the GSA travel site (as of 1-Jan-2023).  Good enough for government employees, good enough for me.  Note that the car mileage rate matches the standard IRS rate.

https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/transportation-airfare-pov-etc/privately-owned-vehicle-pov-mileage-reimbursement-rates

-dan

[Scott Ashton]

They use it for their IRS Form 990, to value the non-cash contributions that pilots make to the organization.  For Skyhope, I use the fully reserved DOCs with no fixed costs, which I would incur with or without my volunteer flying.

[takair]

Great org.  I think Bolters suggestion is a good one.  I think I was using $100-$120 per hour a few years ago, when fuel prices were “lower”.  Bolters suggestion would yield better and be easy to justify.  That said, I think my donations never came close to causing any reason to audit me.  

One thing to be aware of.  Each state has different rules for transport of various animals.  Be aware of those.  In my area, Massachusetts has an enforced quarantine requirement.  As a pilot of the animal, we can be held accountable if the law is not followed.  I became aware of a couple of situations where folks were turned in, I can’t imagine why, but people can be funny.  Not intended to discourage, just be aware.  I used to wonder why all of the MA trips up here were easier to sign up for than the other states in the region.  There are usually also vet paperwork requirements, this seems to be less of an issue.

[midlifeflyer]

Keep in mind that the reason they are asking is just as much about the FAA as the IRS. Deducting costs in excess of what's permitted by the IRS puts you in "illegal charter" territory.

[RoundTwo]

26 minutes ago, midlifeflyer said:

Keep in mind that the reason they are asking is just as much about the FAA as the IRS. Deducting costs in excess of what's permitted by the IRS puts you in "illegal charter" territory.

This comes up anytime charity flights are concerned. Since the “cost” is used to value a charitable contribution and not fee collection, wouldn’t this be more of a flag to IRS for itemizing deductions rather than FAA? Or is the FAA that stringent about illegal charters, anything more than simple pro-rata division gets their panties in a wad?

[midlifeflyer]

27 minutes ago, RoundTwo said:

This comes up anytime charity flights are concerned. Since the “cost” is used to value a charitable contribution and not fee collection, wouldn’t this be more of a flag to IRS for itemizing deductions rather than FAA? Or is the FAA that stringent about illegal charters, anything more than simple pro-rata division gets their panties in a wad?

The IRS May flag and the FAA probably won't even know absent an investigation into something else. But the FAA has always been stringent about pilots receiving compensation (far broader than a fee) without a specific FAR exception. When the FAA Chief Counsel was originally asked about deducting Angel Flight, the answer was that the deduction was compensation and a Part 135 certificate required. It took involvement of a US Senator to convince them to allow it as a public policy exception, so long as that's all you get. Even such "extras" as fuel reimbursements require a written waiver with training, time, and currency requirements that many refer to as "Part 135 Lite."

[Pinecone]

There are several threads on Pilots-n-Paws forum.  But there here is a link (from that forum) from a law firm about deducting expenses as a charitable donation.

https://www.pilotsnpaws.org/forum/download/file.php?id=3833

According to them, you CANNOT deduct fixed costs (annual, hangar rent, insurance).  Only fuel and oil, pilot fees (landing/ramp/parking), rental costs, additional costs for insurance for this activity.

"No Charitable Deduction for Fixed Costs of Flights for Charitable Purposes

While the FAA now appears to permit aircraft operators to perform some charitable flights and take the associated tax deduction, the IRS only allows a charitable deduction for variable costs of transportation for charitable purposes.8 “Only those expenditures incurred for operation, maintenance, and repair, which are directly attributable to the use of such aircraft” on a charitable flight can qualify as charitable deductions. Examples of costs that could be “directly attributable” to a charitable flight include (a) the cost of fuel and oil for the flight, (b) pilot fees incurred solely for the flight, (c) rental charges for an aircraft used only for the flight, and (d) extra liability insurance incurred only for the flight."