Question about taxes

[SixPapaCharlie]

So I got my 1099 tax form or whichever form from youtube.

I gave it to my CPA and he said "Don't you have expenses like cameras, fuel, and other things that go along with this that you'd deduct from these earnings?"

I am under the impression that I cannot do that. Maybe I am wrong but If I deduct fuel costs am I not in a sense making money of flying? Feels like a bad idea but I don't know what the rule really is.

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

I suspect this is a hard question that would require some serious research to figure out precisely.

Easiest would be if there is some type of opinion letter on the subject from the FAA.

But the answer here from the FAA’s perspective may not depend on whether you deduct or not. You have made the income in either case. I suspect that deducting matters not at all to the FAA.

And certainly your expenses are related to the production of the income which makes them deductible per the IRS.

If you consider the YouTube videos a business, then is the flying merely incidental to the business? Since the purpose of the videos is aviation humor, they may think the flying is commercial. Sort of like if you were flying a stunt plane in a movie.

I suspect a consult with an aviation attorney and obtaining a letter of opinion may be the best course here. This may cost in the range of $1-2k.