It's an urban myth that air traffic controllers can claim per diem. To be able to do so you must meet two conditions:
- You must be a "DOT Employee". Air traffic controllers meet this criteria.
- You must be away from the area in which you are principally employed, on business, overnight. They don"t usually meet that criteria.
You
can use a special standard meal allowance if you work in the transportation
industry and are away from your “tax” home, on business, overnight. The purpose
of qualifying is to determine deductible travel expenses. From Internal Revenue
Bulletin 2011-42, "This revenue procedure updates Rev. Proc. 2010-39,
2010-42 I.R.B. 459, and provides rules for using a per diem rate to
substantiate, under § 274(d) of the Internal Revenue Code and § 1.274-5 of the
Income Tax Regulations, the amount of ordinary and necessary business expenses
paid or incurred while traveling away from home. " Consequently, even if the position qualifies,
it is meaningless unless the employee is eligible to claim meals and other
subsistence expenses due to being away from their tax home (the area where they
are principally employed). overnight, on business.
You
are in the transportation industry if your work:
- Directly
involves moving people or goods by airplane, barge, bus, ship, train, or
truck, and
- Regularly
requires you to travel away from home and, during any single trip, usually
involves travel to areas eligible for different standfard meal allowance
rates.
From
TurboTax’s explanation at https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2541197
Work
that doesn't directly involve moving people or goods doesn't qualify as a
transportation industry job, even if the company you work for is in the
transportation business. This excludes jobs like:
- Mechanic;
- Air traffic controller;
- Firefighter;
- Office worker (clerical, sales, management, engineering,
etc.);
- Assembly-line or manufacturing;
- Employee (other than a vehicle operator or crew member) of an
airline, railroad, trucking company, shipyard, etc.;
- Working at a bus or train station, gas station, truck stop,
harbor, or airport;
- Cruise ships (their primary purpose is tourism as opposed to
transportation).
In addition, transportation industry work requires that the
employee regularly spends nights away from their tax home, which the IRS
defines as the city or general area where you work, not just your physical
dwelling. This eliminates jobs like:
·
Transit worker;
·
School bus driver;
·
Taxi, limo, or shuttle driver;
·
Chauffeur;
·
Local truck driver (mail, delivery, garbage, mining, etc.)
·
Paramedic or EMT;
·
Helicopter, crop-duster, or bush pilot;
·
Baggage handler or loading dock worker.
