@WTF4 wrote:
When I receive mileage reimbursement for driving I've only ever been told that I need to keep a log of the mileage. So I keep a pocket calendar with notes regarding car mileage. My Foreflight service and my flight log act as my proof of length of trip and actual flights taken. Why aren't these both considered the same evidence to substantiate my expense?
As I pointed out above, Tax Code and Regulations require actual expenses for a deduction, unless there is a provision that says otherwise. There is a provision for a Standard Mileage Rate for automobiles. There is not a provision for a standard rate for airplanes.
Section 274 requires substantiation for the expenses, and that requirement is rather strict for "Listed Property". Personal-use airplanes are includes as Listed Property, and required detailed substantiation, including actual expenses.
@WTF4 wrote:
Are these really two different conversations; one for the business - and how to efficiently/consistently reimburse the employee for the mileage (GSA guidelines) and the other for the pilot claiming earnings/listing expenses on his personal return?
Maybe. First, the GSA amounts are for what the government is allowed to reimburse its employees. The GSA isn't directly tax related, those are just government amounts for government employees. Non-government employers are not 'bound' by those reimbursement amounts.
However, for tax purposes, reimbursing employees have different rules than for deductions for your own business. For example, you are allowed to reimburse employees for lodging (hotels, etc.) using the GSA amounts. The business can deduct those amounts because that is the amount they actually paid the employees. But you are not allowed to use those lodging amounts for your own personal business, because that is not the amount you actually paid, and there is no provision in the tax rules to use another amount.
As for reimbursing employees for air miles, offhand I'm not sure what the Regulations say in regards to that and would look to research it if I came across that situation. It is quite possible that is allowed. But if it were allowed, the same rules apply. The business could use that as a deduction because that is what was actually paid to the employee. But that would not be allowed as a deduction for your personal business because that is not what was actually paid.
