Potential Cheaper Training Option In Us For Canadian Students

[Twin Helix]

TL11B - No different than college or university tuition. I deducted it for 3 years, even passed an audit.

 

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/tl11b/README.html

[Skidz]

Getting your FAA ticket is only worthwhile if you can work in the US or get work outside the US flying US-registered aircraft. I did the FAA conversion because I had a job lined up in Africa, but the job went away when civil war broke out, so my conversion turned into rather expensive hour-building for me...

 

The emphasis in the US is on procedures and flying in controlled airspace. Not much operational training. You won't do much in the way of confined landings (a football field is considered a confined landing down there) nor off-slope and stuff like that.

 

In Canada, most of the flying we do is in the bush. Not so in the US. Thus training is tailored for the needs of the market.

 

If you go the FAA route, go all-in: CPL(H), instrument, CFI and CFII.

 

Like Twin Helix said, commercial flight training is deductible in Canada. I didn't pay any income tax for three years after doing my CPL(H), and I wasn't particularly rich...

[Twin Helix]

Also not rich, no taxes for 3 years.

[xrkyle]

TL11B - No different than college or university tuition. I deducted it for 3 years, even passed an audit.

 

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/tl11b/README.html

 

 

Also not rich, no taxes for 3 years.

 

You're not understanding that there is a difference between a tax deduction and a tax credit. Unless you went through a business entity of some sort, such as a sole proprietorship or corporation, you didn't deduct your training costs from your income to reduce your taxable income for three years (which is what a tax deduction does, it reduces your taxable income). Instead you used non-refundable tax credits to reduce your taxes owed to 0 for the first two years and used up the remainder of the credits for the third year. There is a big difference.

 

Also, CRA asking for proof of your T11B or T2202A is not an an audit but simply a request for more information. Anyone who has claimed tuition and education amounts often gets asked for proof to support their claim. They mail in their copy of the T11B or T2202A and life goes on. Moving expenses and the newish transit tax credit are also popular items that CRA likes to follow up on.

 

The next two levels of auditing which are at the desk and field level are a lot more intrusive and anyone going through either of those will most likely be working with an accountant.

[Skidz]

 

 

 

You're not understanding that there is a difference between a tax deduction and a tax credit. Unless you went through a business entity of some sort, such as a sole proprietorship or corporation, you didn't deduct your training costs from your income to reduce your taxable income for three years (which is what a tax deduction does, it reduces your taxable income). Instead you used non-refundable tax credits to reduce your taxes owed to 0 for the first two years and used up the remainder of the credits for the third year. There is a big difference.

 

Also, CRA asking for proof of your T11B or T2202A is not an an audit but simply a request for more information. Anyone who has claimed tuition and education amounts often gets asked for proof to support their claim. They mail in their copy of the T11B or T2202A and life goes on. Moving expenses and the newish transit tax credit are also popular items that CRA likes to follow up on.

 

The next two levels of auditing which are at the desk and field level are a lot more intrusive and anyone going through either of those will most likely be working with an accountant.

 

You're arguing semantics here. Bottom line: Commercial flight training in Canada provides trainees with a T11B form which will save you a lot of tax money...

[Twin Helix]

Bit of a semantic argument for most people. Terminology aside, there is a tax advantage to training in Canada vs the US. I'm very aware of what an audit is, I had one, it covered the time frame that I deducted flight training and my tuition was accepted. Save money up front by training stateside or save on the back-end through taxes, end of the day it makes more sense (in my opinion) to train north of the 49th parallel.

[xrkyle]

 

You're arguing semantics here. Bottom line: Commercial flight training in Canada provides trainees with a T11B form which will save you a lot of tax money...

 

Semantics are very important when it comes accounting and taxes particularly when the confusion leads to drastic differences as it does in this case. At the federal level (I'm ignoring the provinces for the sake of simplicity), the most a non-refundable tax credit will provide is 15% (lowest federal rate) plus the pittance CRA allows for text books and full-time/part time study time which for most flight training programs is insignificant because the timelines are so short. On the other hand, a deduction will provide 29% at the top marginal rate. On a 50,000 expense that's 7,500 for the tax credit and 14,500 for the deduction. Treating the training as a business expense allows a person to incur that expense anywhere (like the US) where as there are no non-canadian FTUs that are accredited educational institutions (from CRA's POV), a prerequisite for claiming the tax credit.

 

Like I said earlier there is a big difference.