Commuter Choice is a nationwide
partnership designed to help employers
create customized solutions to their
employees' commuting challenges.
Commuter Choice can also include
communities working with residents,
schools working with students, and even
developers working with future tenants
to provide and promote choices for
travelers.
Tax-Free Transit Benefit
The
Internal Revenue Code allows employers to offer
their employees tax free commuter benefits up to
specified limits. Transit and vanpool benefits
were tax-free up to $100 per month in 2002.
These programs are financial incentives to
employees, usually encouraging them to switch
from driving alone to transit or vanpool.
Tax-Free Transit Benefit
There are several ways that employers can
provide this employee benefit:
Employer-paid—The
employer directly subsidizes the cost of
transit, typically by providing a transit pass
or voucher to employees; the amount of the
benefit is free of payroll taxes for the
employer and employee, and the employee pays no
federal income taxes on the benefit.
Employee-paid—Also
called a pre-tax deduction, the employer allows
the employee to reserve income on a pre-tax
basis for transit costs. The employer saves
payroll taxes on the reserved income and the
employee saves payroll and federal income taxes.
Combination of the two—The
employer covers part of the cost of transit, and
allows the employee to pay for the remainder
with pre-tax income.
Do you know...
how much you currently pay to commute to work?
Considering the cost of gasoline, insurance,
wear & tear, and parking. The typical commuter
pays over $200 per month. That's over $2,400 per
year, or put differently, the same as a $3,500
raise in your salary!
Calculate your own cost of
commuting,
a service of CommuterPage.com.
Lost & Found
When
traveling, it's easy to leave books, umbrellas
and packages behind.
For help with "lost and found" articles,
please call SPARTA:
562-4BUS
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Reserved.
