Community Developments

For most of us, commuting is a fact of life. Whether you’re stuck in the old 9 to 5, working the graveyard shift, or part-timing it, the daily grind of getting back and forth to work is unavoidable.

Believe it or not, even the IRS recognizes this, which is why they offer a handful of commuter fringe benefits for you to take advantage of. These benefits are only available through your employer, though, so talk to your human resources department about getting access to them.  Fortunately, not only will they not cost your company anything, they can save both you and your employer money on commute expenses and payroll taxes!

So, what are the commuter fringe benefits? There are three that most folks have access to: parking, transit, and bicycle.

The parking fringe benefit helps defray the expense of parking by having appropriate fees removed pre-tax from an employee’s paycheck, with a cap of $250.  Your employer can subsidize this amount fully or in part; regardless, neither you nor your employer pay taxes on the parking fees.
   

The transit fringe benefit is similar to the parking benefit, allowing you to cover the cost of transit or vanpooling by having those fees removed pre-tax from your paycheck.  One of the benefits of the transit benefit is that it could cover the cost of a monthly pass, which could then be used for either commuting or regular daily travel.  Like the parking benefit, the transit benefit is capped at $250 a month.
   

The bicycle fringe benefit allows you to be reimbursed for bicycle-related expenses as long as you make a significant number of your commute trips by bicycle each month.  Your employer can determine what “significant” means in the context of your individual schedule.  The reimbursement amount is capped at $20 a month and can be accrued for up to 13 months to pay for more significant expenses, such as panniers, riding gear, even a new bicycle.  Like the other fringe benefits, this amount is taken out pre-tax, so both you and your employer save money.

All of these can be implemented by your employer easily, either on their own or through a benefits management system.  Of course, RIDE Solutions can also help – not only with these, but a host of other programs to help your employer become more commuter friendly.

To learn more, visit RIDE Solutions online at www.ridesolutions.org, or call 1-866-424-3334