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bailout bill includes bike benefits
The version of the bank bailout bill passed by the senate adds a provision that allows employers to provide up to $20/month in pre-tax money for bike commuting expenses. I believe that you can't get the public transportation benefits at the same time, but I'm not sure.
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How does that work? Do you mean like you can use it as a deduction in your taxes or that you can just tell your employer "hey I commute by bike, how about tossing me 20 bux a month"
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1 SEC. 211. TRANSPORTATION FRINGE BENEFIT TO BICYCLE
2 COMMUTERS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 132(f) 4 is amended by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(D) Any qualified bicycle commuting re6 imbursement.’’. 7 (b) LIMITATION ON EXCLUSION.—Paragraph (2) of 8 section 132(f) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end 9 of subparagraph (A), by striking the period at the end 10 of subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding 11 at the end the following new subparagraph: 12 ‘‘(C) the applicable annual limitation in 13 the case of any qualified bicycle commuting re14 imbursement.’’. 15 (c) DEFINITIONS.—Paragraph (5) of section 132(f) 16 is amended by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘(F) DEFINITIONS RELATED TO BICYCLE 18 COMMUTING REIMBURSEMENT.— 19 ‘‘(i) QUALIFIED BICYCLE COMMUTING 20 REIMBURSEMENT.—The term ‘qualified bi21 cycle commuting reimbursement’ means, 22 with respect to any calendar year, any em23 ployer reimbursement during the 15-month 24 period beginning with the first day of such 25 calendar year for reasonable expenses in26 curred by the employee during such cal206 O:\AYO\AYO08C32.xml S.L.C. 1 endar year for the purchase of a bicycle 2 and bicycle improvements, repair, and stor3 age, if such bicycle is regularly used for 4 travel between the employee’s residence 5 and place of employment. 6 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABLE ANNUAL LIMITA7 TION.—The term ‘applicable annual limita8 tion’ means, with respect to any employee 9 for any calendar year, the product of $20 10 multiplied by the number of qualified bicy11 cle commuting months during such year. 12 ‘‘(iii) QUALIFIED BICYCLE COM13 MUTING MONTH.—The term ‘qualified bi14 cycle commuting month’ means, with re15 spect to any employee, any month during 16 which such employee— 17 ‘‘(I) regularly uses the bicycle for 18 a substantial portion of the travel be19 tween the employee’s residence and 20 place of employment, and 21 ‘‘(II) does not receive any benefit 22 described in subparagraph (A), (B), 23 or (C) of paragraph (1).’’. 24 (d) CONSTRUCTIVE RECEIPT OF BENEFIT.—Para25 graph (4) of section 132(f) is amended by inserting 207 O:\AYO\AYO08C32.xml S.L.C. 1 ‘‘(other than a qualified bicycle commuting reimburse2 ment)’’ after ‘‘qualified transportation fringe’’. 3 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 4 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 5 December 31, 2008. |
So I read that as I can claim 240 bux a year in deductions but not on my next tax return since the provision kicks in on December 31, 2008.
Can I write off the price of a bike or two also since I use them to commute?;) |
Would love to see an actual link to the text of the bill showing this.
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Originally Posted by HardyWeinberg
(Post 7590497)
Would love to see an actual link to the text of the bill showing this.
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I'm still confused. The link I used above (which is only temporary; this is apparently the good one) refers to section 132(f) which I also can't find.
Whatever, it'll either be there or it won't. |
This is the same thing that came up for a vote before. The benefit can only be claimed through your employer. This means that your employer has to do a bunch of paperwork and has to administer the benefit.
There's hardly a chance in hell most of us will get this benefit even if it passes. I'm pissed that they can't pass even emergency legislation without dumping a truckload of stuff onto it to get Senator Smith From Pawtucket to vote for it. They see a "must pass" thing like this coming through, and every senator with a pet project tapes it onto the thing as it passes by. |
Originally Posted by deez
(Post 7590342)
So I read that as I can claim 240 bux a year in deductions but not on my next tax return since the provision kicks in on December 31, 2008.
Can I write off the price of a bike or two also since I use them to commute?;)
Originally Posted by HardyWeinberg
(Post 7590637)
I'm still confused. The link I used above (which is only temporary; this is apparently the good one) refers to section 132(f) which I also can't find.
Whatever, it'll either be there or it won't.
Originally Posted by ItsJustMe
(Post 7590770)
This is the same thing that came up for a vote before. The benefit can only be claimed through your employer. This means that your employer has to do a bunch of paperwork and has to administer the benefit.
There's hardly a chance in hell most of us will get this benefit even if it passes. |
Originally Posted by xbmxer
http://www.bicycleretailer.com/news/newsDetail/1878.html
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Since the link keeps on begin rest
SEC. 211. TRANSPORTATION FRINGE BENEFIT TO BICYCLE 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. Definitely designed by warm weather proponent. I agree it's unlikely we'll see any benefit. The business accounting alone is more than the benefit. A simple, $1.00 a day commuting as tax credit to individuals would solve the problem much cheaper. All they need to do is require riders keep a log of trips, like salesman have to: date, mileage, etc. |
Originally Posted by ItsJustMe
(Post 7590770)
I'm pissed that they can't pass even emergency legislation without dumping a truckload of stuff onto it to get Senator Smith From Pawtucket to vote for it. They see a "must pass" thing like this coming through, and every senator with a pet project tapes it onto the thing as it passes by.
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They ought to just let us do it as a standard deduction like they do with teachers who spend personal money on classroom items. If you get audited, you have to show proof, but forget making employers set up programs like this. For a $240 deduction, it ain't worth it.
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My employer offers $30 per month for transit passes. I expect they'd be willing to do $20 per month for bicycling if the government was going to give it back to them.
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$240 might be enough to pay for a replacement tube a year from now. Whoop-de-doo!! way to buy a vote. These people disgust me.
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There going to give us all a new Rivendales? Crap...they can put my $20 towards the national debt instead of pissing it away.
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Right now, Earl Blumenauer, whose vote this particular piece of pork is supposed to garner, says he still isn't going to vote for it.
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Is $20 a month really going to make a difference towards getting people to cycle commute?
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Originally Posted by CB HI
(Post 7593770)
Is $20 a month really going to make a difference towards getting people to cycle commute?
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Originally Posted by Andy_K
(Post 7591694)
My employer offers $30 per month for transit passes. I expect they'd be willing to do $20 per month for bicycling if the government was going to give it back to them.
The employer tax break is laid out in Sec. 211, “Transportation fringe benefit to bicycle commuters,” which is under the Transportation and Domestic Fuel Security Provision section in H.R. 1424. The $20 a month tax relief per bicycle commuting employee is to cover the cost of any employer reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred by the employee “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.” |
If you don't play you can't win. I don't currently commute by bicycle but I emailed my HR department asking them if we could instate a commuter reimbursement program based on this new legislation. It is not real exact about how frequently I'd have to ride in to qualify, but if I could get my employer and ultimately Uncle Sam to pay for tubes, chain lube, and the occasional tire I'd be willing to ride in at least a few days a month.
I'm working on a "form letter" that others could fill out and send to their HR departments if they are interested in implementing this new legislation at their company. |
Originally Posted by HandsomeRyan
(Post 7598187)
If you don't play you can't win. I don't currently commute by bicycle but I emailed my HR department asking them if we could instate a commuter reimbursement program based on this new legislation. It is not real exact about how frequently I'd have to ride in to qualify, but if I could get my employer and ultimately Uncle Sam to pay for tubes, chain lube, and the occasional tire I'd be willing to ride in at least a few days a month.
I'm working on a "form letter" that others could fill out and send to their HR departments if they are interested in implementing this new legislation at their company. In the meantime, Champe and I are trying to verify and add all the information we can, for our announcement: http://www.vabike.org/bike-commuter-tax-benefit-passes-both-house-senate/ Hopefully we'll get it all together before Feedburner sends it out as email in a couple of hours. |
too little ... 20 bux don't even cover inner tubes or tires.
moar!! |
Originally Posted by mattotoole
(Post 7598773)
Thanks! Please share it when you're done!
Feel free to edit this as needed to better suit your employer. ____________________________________________________ Human Resources Department, As I'm sure you are aware, the Congress just passed H.R. 1424 "The Bail-Out Bill" on Capitol Hill. Although this legislation deals primarily with the housing market, there were several other unrelated provisions added to the bill. Among these was a tax incentive for employers who promote the use of bicycles for commuting. The specifics of this tax break are laid out in Sec. 211, "Transportation fringe benefit to bicycle commuters" under the Transportation and Domestic Fuel Security Provision section but the change is pretty basic. The bill offers a $20 a month tax relief per bicycle commuting employee to cover the cost of any employer reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred by the employee "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." I am interested in finding a way that [Company Name] could implement a program that would allow employees who cyclo-commute to expense less than $20 a month in bike related expenses. The benefits of an expense reimbursement program for cyclo-commuters include: • Lower fuel costs on company owned vehicles • Less required maintenance on company owned vehicles • Ability of [Company Name] to claim a full $20 per month per eligible employee when actual expenses are likely to be far less • Improved employee health which in turn increases employee productivity • Creates a progressive and environmentally conscious image for the company Please let me know if you have any questions or would like additional information about this recent tax code change. Thank you, HandsomeRyan District Distribution Manager Knoxville, TN |
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