Tax benefits have long provided more incentives for car commuters than transit users. Congress is expected to even the score with a new tax bill.
"A bill that extends provisions of the tax code will permanently set the maximum transit commuter tax benefit at the same level car commuters get for parking expenses," reports Angie Schmitt. The effect of the legislation would be to level the playing field in tax benefit for transit and car commuters—i.e., nothing short of a revolution.
"Currently, the monthly pre-tax expense for transit riders is capped at $130, while the cap for parking is set at $250. The mismatch primarily works against commuter rail and express bus services, which can easily cost more than $130 per month," adds Schmitt.
Tony Nitti originally broke the news for Forbes, writing from much more of a tax policy perspective. Similar to the recently approved transportation reauthorization bill, Congress had been neglecting 52 provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that expired on December 31, 2014.
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
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