Commuter Benefits can help businesses and employees in the West Piedmont region, resulting in:
- Reduced absenteeism
- Increased employee satisfaction
- Improved employee recruitment and retention
- Tax savings
Commuter Benefits, or Transportation Fringe Benefits, refers to the tax treatment that is provided to employers and employees in relation to certain commuting costs. Under Federal law (26 U.S. Code § 132), an employer may provide (or withhold) up to $340/month in 2026 for qualified transit and vanpool expenses. Commuters may also double the value of the benefit when parking at transit facilities.
Employers Save
Employers can reduce payroll taxes and reduce parking needs.
Employees Save
Employees save on their cost to commute to work and income taxes. These savings are in addition to the hundreds of dollars a year saved from auto-related expenses like fuel, maintenance, and insurance.
Pre-Tax Commuter Benefits
This option allows employees to set aside money for their transit or vanpool expense each month from their paycheck (like a pre-tax flexible spending arrangement for healthcare expenses).
Direct Commuter Benefit
Employers may provide a commute benefit directly to employees in their paycheck for monthly transit or vanpool expenses. This type of benefit is not taxable income for the employee, and the employer does not pay payroll taxes on the benefit amount, up to the maximum allowed by the IRS.
IRS Information
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)’s Publication 15-b offers information on the tax treatment of fringe benefits provided by employers to their employees. It describes the many kinds of fringe benefits and makes it clear which ones are and are not taxed to the employee, including information on the Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit.
ConnectingVA – Commuter Assistance by WPPDC can help start carpool and/or vanpools for employees as well as generate transit routes to commute to work. Our program can help you decide which benefits will be best for you and your employees!
We can host on-site lunch and learn events to help provide commute options for your employees and share information at employee benefits/resource fairs.
Contact –Joe Bonanno, Commuter Assistance Program Manager at 276-638-3987 or jbonanno@wppdc.org