Commuters can continue to get a full $230 benefit each month to take transit come Jan. 1, thanks to the tax bill approved by Congress this week.
The measure, tucked into the large bill in the late stages, gives transit riders and van pool users the same benefits as those who park to get to their jobs: $230 a month. Originally the transit amount was set to fall back to $120 per month in 2011 as the stimulus bill that funded it expired.
In the past few weeks, transit advocates, commuters and the agencies that benefit from the indirect subsidy had campaigned for the benefits to remain at the higher level to treat transit the same as auto commuting. The American Public Transportation Association alone helped gather more than 15,000 signatures.
“It’s a huge victory for the middle class, for commuters, in general,” said APTA spokesman Mantill Williams.
Now rail and bus riders get another year at the higher rate. For some workers, it’s a tax credit, with the amount taken out of their paychecks before taxes are levied, thus lowering their taxable wages. For others, including thousands of federal workers in the Washington area, it’s an outright benefit.
But the last-minute change may mean some hiccups for some commuters. Some large companies had started changing over employee paperwork back in October when it appeared the full benefit would expire, Williams said. “There might be some transitional issues for those bigger employers,” he added.
And the additional money is only offered for one year. “We’re hoping we won’t have to do this again,” Williams said.
