Thread: Tax relief on training??

Just a thought. Maybe this is common knowledge or maybe it's not possible but I just thought I'd put it out there. A couple of years ago an accountant mentioned to me that a lot of her clients are Ryanair pilots and it has got me thinking. Are most pilots self employed and if so this presumably means that loan repayments for training are tax deductable and if VAT registered aswell it's going to knock a huge chunk off what you are effectively paying back?? Like I say, just thought I'd put it out there, because if it is possible, for anyone reading this considering a huge loan for training it would make it a lot less daunting

Hi Paul

I've looked into this myself being on a type of 'contract pilot' scheme. I've found out that for UK Airline pilots who work for themselves may have their tax threshold increased by £850 each year. This is a code for "job expenses".

Furthermore because you are a self employed pilot there are specific claims you can make regarding the costs associated with flying, such as pilot uniform required for the job.

Going one step further and claiming cash back for training expenses I get a little bit confused myself. I wrote a letter and expense claim to the tax office regarding my uniform, flight case, type rating costs necessary to fly for an airline, overnight expenses, petrol to and from work, a computer to view all of the company e-documents and just about everything I could think of, not to mention license issue and medical examinations each year. So far I have only heard back from them regarding my £850 threshold extension and I am yet to hear back from them regarding my expense claims on training. That said I did get a phonecall from the tax office questioning what exactly a 'type rating' was- as this was my biggest claim.

If I hear anything back or find out more I will be sure to drop a line on here. Meanwhile here are some links to the HMRC website regarding this stuff

Airline pilots: industry wide FRE for 2006/07 onwards: details £850 FRE
Airline pilots: payment of training costs: Milsom & Hinsley v HMRC (SpC569)
Airline pilots: payment of training costs: Milsom & Hinsley v HMRC (SpC569)
Airline pilots: industry wide FRE for 2006/07 onwards: purchase of luggage
Airline pilots: subscriptions to BALPA
Airline pilots: industry wide FRE for 2006/07 onwards: provision of noise-cancelling headsets

I wish you all the best with claiming anything back!

To see what's taken each month in tax on my pay slip is a crying shame - and to think its spent so un-wisely. I'd rather give you a new flight case per year and the things you need to do your job rather than some penny pinching MP whose expenses tally into the thousands for their 5 homes and 7 house staff they need to do their business!!