Updated . Educational only — not tax, legal, or lending advice. Confirm figures with your CPA, the state revenue department, and a lender before you close.
Write the Flight Down as If Someone Else Will Read It
If you want business-use tax treatment, the log is the evidence. If the log is thin, the deduction is a story. The deduction rules are on Section 179 and bonus depreciation. This page is what to record.
A usable business entry
- Date, route, and flight time.
- Who was aboard and why each person was aboard.
- The business purpose in a sentence a stranger understands. “Meeting” is not a purpose. “Meet customer X about contract Y” is.
- Whether any leg was personal or entertainment. Mixed trips are not 100% business because a meeting happened on Tuesday.
What the lender is checking
The lender is not your CPA. They are checking that the use in the note matches the insurance application. Personal use on a commercial policy, or instruction on a personal policy, is a default and a coverage problem at the same time. Do not describe the airplane one way to the IRS and another way to the insurer.
Entertainment and personal seats
Taking family, customers you are not actually meeting for business, or empty “business” legs to a vacation airport is how deductions get disallowed and how prior depreciation gets recaptured. When in doubt, mark the leg personal and ask the CPA. Over-claiming is more expensive than a smaller deduction.
Questions buyers actually ask
Is a ForeFlight track enough?
A track shows where you went. It does not show why. Keep the purpose and the passenger names with it.
Does the lender audit my logs?
Not like the IRS. They can ask for them when use is part of a covenant, especially on commercial or leaseback loans.