Tax preparation for pilots & flight attendants
Your schedule doesn't stop at a state line. Your tax return shouldn't either.
Multi-base assignments, per diem, layovers in three time zones this week alone — Esteemed Earnings handles crew tax returns entirely online, so you can file from a hotel room or your own couch.
Built around a crew schedule, not a 9-to-5
The usual tax-office model assumes you're free on weekday afternoons. We built ours around reserve days, layovers, and reroutes instead.
You're never in one place
Upload documents from any device, in any time zone, whenever you have a layover long enough to breathe. Nothing needs to happen in person.
Per diem gets miscounted
Per diem paid under an accountable plan, at or below the federal transportation-industry rate, isn't taxable — but it's easy to over- or under-report if it's not separated correctly from wages.
Domicile changes get missed
A base transfer can shift your state filing obligations for the year. We track it so a mid-year move doesn't turn into a surprise balance due next spring.
The one rule most crew members don't know they have
Your wages are generally taxed by your home state only
Federal law limits how states can tax air carrier employees: your flight wages are generally taxable only by the state where you live, not every state you happen to fly through or land in during the year.
49 U.S.C. § 40116(f) — the same protection that applies to interstate rail and trucking employees.How it works
Book a call, from wherever you are
A short call to confirm your bases this year, any per diem or side income, and what you'll need to send over.
Upload through your portal
W-2s, per diem statements, and any 1099s go into your secure TaxDome portal on your own time — no scanner, no fax.
Review and sign, remotely
We walk you through the return by video or written summary, you e-sign, and it's filed — wherever you're based that week.
Straightforward pricing
One flat starting rate for your personal return — more only if your situation genuinely needs more work.
Individual return
- Form 1040, all states you filed in
- Per diem & multi-base review
- Secure portal, remote e-signature
Business / side-income return
- For crew running a side business or S-corp
- Schedule C or entity return
- Quarterly estimate planning
Questions crew members ask most
Almost always no. Federal law limits state taxation of air carrier employee wages to your state of residence. What still needs attention is side income, rental property, or a spouse's separate work state — those aren't covered by the same protection.