“Riding a Bike to Business Meeting”
I often hear the comments that you can’t write off an aircraft because you can always fly Southwest for $99 one way.
The tax code, however, does not require a taxpayer to choose the least expensive mode of transportation, or every one should be riding a bike to the next business meeting…There is a smell test – whether a taxpayer can and shall write off a business aircraft. The technical reference is whether a business aircraft is ordinary and necessary. Indeed, this is a very subjective test to determine if a plane is ordinary and necessary.
For a taxpayer whose office is 10 miles from his home (family practice doctor, for example), a business aircraft may be difficult to justify.
But if the doctor opens a satellite office in a rural under-served area 250 miles away from home, now a business aircraft can be easily justified.
You may need some outside the box thinking to help justify a business aircraft.
