When are pilot training costs deductible?
The costs of pilot training are only fully deductible as anticipated income-related expenses if a "proper" initial training has been completed beforehand. According to the legal situation from 2015, initial training is only considered "proper" if it lasts at least twelve months full-time and ends with an examination. Only after such initial training can the costs for further training be claimed in full as income-related expenses (§ 9 para. 6 EStG 2015).
Shorter training courses are considered "vocational preparation measures" or "training phases" and not as initial training. However, the costs of such training phases are deductible as special expenses up to 6,000 Euro (§ 10 para. 1 no. 7 EStG).
The Federal Fiscal Court recently ruled that the costs of pilot training without prior initial training are not deductible as income-related expenses, even if the taxpayer had previously worked in another profession for many years. Long-term employment does not replace "proper" initial training, and the costs of pilot training can only be partially deducted as special expenses (BFH ruling of 15.2.2023, VI R 22/21).
Example: A pilot obtained the instrument rating for aircraft in 2016 and the type rating for the Airbus A320 in 2017, but had not previously completed proper initial training. The tax office recognised the costs of pilot training only as special expenses.
According to the judges, the 20-month internship did not meet the requirements for initial training, as there was no structured training and no final examination. The several years of commercial activity before the pilot training were also not considered initial training.
The classification of the costs of professional pilot training as retraining costs, which would be deductible under § 9 para. 1 sentence 1 EStG, was also rejected. This would contradict the aim of limiting the deduction of income-related expenses.
There is no objective reason why longer employment as a taxi driver or ski instructor should exclude the deduction of income-related expenses, while several years of employment as a DJ/musician should not prevent this (see BT-Drucksache 18/3017, p. 43).
