Good News for Bike Commuters: Senate Passes Extenders Bill
// October 2nd, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Cycling
I just saw this on one of my cycling email lists and wanted to share with all the fellow bike commuters out there. While not substantial, $20 a month would offset those tire repairs, and the occasional maintenance or clothing item needed for a regular bike commute. I’m psyched!
The bill would add an employer-paid qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement fringe benefit as a qualified transportation fringe benefit. A qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement fringe benefit would mean any employer reimbursement to an employee for reasonable expenses incurred by the employee during the calendar year for the purchase and repair of a bicycle, bicycle improvements, and bicycle storage, provided that the bicycle is regularly used for travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment.
The maximum amount that could be excluded from an employee’s gross income for a calendar year on account of a bicycle commuting reimbursement fringe benefit would be the applicable annual limitation for the employee for that calendar year. The applicable annual limitation for an employee for a calendar year would be equal to the product of $20 multiplied by the number of the employee’s qualified bicycle commuting months for the year. The $20 amount would not be indexed for inflation.
A qualified bicycle commuting month would mean, with respect to an employee, any month for which the employee does not receive any other qualified transportation fringe benefit and during which the employee regularly uses a bicycle for a substantial portion of travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment. Thus, no amount would be credited towards an employee’s applicable annual limitation for any month in which an employee’s usage of a bicycle is infrequent or constitutes an insubstantial portion of the employee’s commute. A bicycle commuting reimbursement fringe benefit could not be funded by an elective salary contribution on the part of an employee. The provision would be effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2008.
From hr.cch.com
So I haven’t been very strict as of late watching what I eat, but after lady night’s training ride, I was the lightest I’ve been since college.
