Government Executive
Clock Expires for Mass Transit Benefit Fix
By Eric Katz
December 13, 2013
Federal employees will see a dramatic decrease in their mass transit
benefits beginning Jan. 1, bringing the subsidy down to pre-2009 levels.
With the House now on recess until 2014, time has run out for legislative
action to restore parity between the public transportation and parking benefits.
Because the mass transit benefit for 2013 included a one-year extension as part
of the American Taxpayer Relief Act -- also known as the fiscal cliff deal --
the subsidy will decrease from this yearfs maximum of $245 per month to
$130.
The parking benefit, however, was lifted permanently and receives annual
cost-of-living adjustments, meaning it will actually increase by $5 to $250 in
2014. A similar gap between mass transit and parking benefits also existed in
2012, though the disparity was eliminated retroactively by the fiscal cliff
deal.
In March 2009, as part of what is colloquially known as the economic
stimulus package, feds received a significant transit boost, from $115 to $230
per month. Not all employees have been eligible for the heightened benefit; each
agency is free to set its own maximum up to the federal limit. Individual
employees can only receive -- and write off for tax purposes -- a subsidy in the
amount they spend on transportation each month.
The change will affect all commuters whose employers offer transit benefits,
not just federal employees.
Bills in both the Senate and House attempted to remedy the parking and
public transportation gap, though neither bill has made it out of
committee.
By Eric Katz
December 13, 2013
http://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2013/12/clock-expires-mass-transit-benefit-fix/75504/