Living Car Free - New Tax credit in bailout bill for bike commuters!

(a) In General- Paragraph (1) of section 132(f) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(D) Any qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement.’.

(b) Limitation on Exclusion- Paragraph (2) of section 132(f) is amended by striking `and’ at the end of subparagraph (A), by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B) and inserting `, and’, and by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

`(C) the applicable annual limitation in the case of any qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement.’.

(c) Definitions- Paragraph (5) of section 132(f) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(F) DEFINITIONS RELATED TO BICYCLE COMMUTING REIMBURSEMENT-
`(i) QUALIFIED BICYCLE COMMUTING REIMBURSEMENT- The term `qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement’ means, with respect to any calendar year, any employer reimbursement during the 15-month period beginning with the first day of such calendar year for reasonable expenses incurred by the employee during such calendar year for the purchase of a bicycle and bicycle improvements, repair, and storage, if such bicycle is regularly used for travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment.


`(ii) APPLICABLE ANNUAL LIMITATION- The term `applicable annual limitation’ means, with respect to any employee for any calendar year, the product of $20 multiplied by the number of qualified bicycle commuting months during such year.

`(iii) QUALIFIED BICYCLE COMMUTING MONTH- The term `qualified bicycle commuting month’ means, with respect to any employee, any month during which such employee–
`(I) regularly uses the bicycle for a substantial portion of the travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment, and


`(II) does not receive any benefit described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1).’.

(d) Constructive Receipt of Benefit- Paragraph (4) of section 132(f) is amended by inserting `(other than a qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement)’ after `qualified transportation fringe’.

(e) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2008.”

So as far as I understand this, it's $20/month.

Where is a good clean reference that we can post on the bulletin board in the break room? The Living Car Free subforum of bike forums.net won't be convincing to the people who cut the reimbursement checks in some work places. $20 /month? Hey, that is about $1.00 per workday. Is that a fair ceiling? I think not, since I free up a parking spot that goes for around $150/month. Or is that annual limitation a floor?

Where is a good clean reference that we can post on the bulletin board in the break room? The Living Car Free subforum of bike forums.net won't be convincing to the people who cut the reimbursement checks in some work places. $20 /month? Hey, that is about $1.00 per workday. Is that a fair ceiling? I think not, since I free up a parking spot that goes for around $150/month. Or is that annual limitation a floor?

Obviously, $20/month is almost nothing monetarily, but in reality it's a HUGE step forward. Now there's an actual precedence for a tax reimbursement law for bike commuting. That means future attempts to get other gov't and financial benefits for bike commuting are much more likely to be successful. (They're not guaranteed, but more likely) Before this, everyone was saying/feeling that it was unlikely to happen in the next 5 years.

Here's the full text of the bill: banking.senate.gov/public/_files/latestversionAYO08C32_xml.pdf

The bicycling stuff is section 211 under the transportation part of the bill.

Where is a good clean reference that we can post on the bulletin board in the break room? The Living Car Free subforum of bike forums.net won't be convincing to the people who cut the reimbursement checks in some work places. $20 /month? Hey, that is about $1.00 per workday. Is that a fair ceiling? I think not, since I free up a parking spot that goes for around $150/month. Or is that annual limitation a floor?

There's a new sticky thread on this $20 reimbursement to bicycle commuters on the Commuting subforum.

Wow, I'm surprised so few here have anything to comment on this. Even if you don't see the benefit of $20/month for commuting, surely it bodes well for car-free lifestyles that a pro-bike tax law is now on the books. The precedent has been set!

Wow, I'm surprised so few here have anything to comment on this. Even if you don't see the benefit of $20/month for commuting, surely it bodes well for car-free lifestyles that a pro-bike tax law is now on the books. The precedent has been set!

Well, I'm a little excited, but not a lot. As I understand it, the tax credit is for employers, not for the actual bike commuters. They can use the money to provide facilities or amenities for cyclists. I plan to ask my employer about it, but I'm not real optimistic that it's something they'll be interested in.

Obviously, $20/month is almost nothing monetarily, but in reality it's a HUGE step forward. Now there's an actual precedence for a tax reimbursement law for bike commuting. That means future attempts to get other gov't and financial benefits for bike commuting are much more likely to be successful. (They're not guaranteed, but more likely) Before this, everyone was saying/feeling that it was unlikely to happen in the next 5 years.

Here's the full text of the bill: banking.senate.gov/public/_files/latestversionAYO08C32_xml.pdf

The bicycling stuff is section 211 under the transportation part of the bill.

thanks, I'll pass this along at work.

another step forward...