Transit Benefit Increase
Part of the AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009 deals with the subject of transit benefits. Previously, employers could offer a benefit to employees to permit them to spend $120 of pre-tax income in an employer-sponsored commuter benefits program and then use this money to pay for mass transit. ARRA raises the commuter mass transit benefit to $230 per month which is equivalent to over $1000/year. I know when I was commuting daily to New York City a few years ago, the $120 barely made a dent in my commuting costs. With the seemingly annual increases in subway and train fares, this is a badly needed increase.
The new amount is intended to be equivalent to the amount previously available for parking and is intended to be indexed in 2010.
See the following - page 13 - for a brief summary of the subsidy. THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009 – FEBRUARY 12, 2009 - FULL SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS FROM SENATE FINANCE, HOUSE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEES