Labor & Employment Law

Transit Benefit Increase

Part of the AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009 deals with the subject of transit benefits.  Previously, employers could offer a benefit to employees to permit them to spend $120 of pre-tax income in an employer-sponsored commuter benefits program and then use this money to pay for mass transit.  ARRA raises the commuter mass transit benefit to $230 per month which is equivalent to over $1000/year.  I know when I was commuting daily to New York City a few years ago, the $120 barely made a dent in my commuting costs.  With the seemingly annual increases in subway and train fares, this is a badly needed increase.

The new amount is intended to be equivalent to the amount previously available for parking and is intended to be indexed in 2010. 

See the following - page 13 - for a brief summary of the subsidy.  THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009 – FEBRUARY 12, 2009 - FULL SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS FROM SENATE FINANCE, HOUSE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEES

Full post as published by Strategic HR Lawyer on March 04, 2009 (boomark / email).