@MissPitts 141824 wrote:
I occasionally bike to work using a Capital BikeShare bike. Are my membership fees eligible for pre-tax reimbursement? My employer won’t actually pay for it but can I set aside pre-tax dollars to reimburse myself with for this service? I keep finding conflicting info online. Thanks for any insight.
In short no. For two reasons.
1. Unlike other commuter benefits you can’t set aside your own money for the Bicycle Commuter Benefit. You can only get this if your boss is willing to pay you extra money. Of course, you could work that out in place of an annual bonus or a gym benefit or something, but you can’t use your own money.
2. In 2013, the IRS ruled that the bicycle commuter benefit can’t be used for bikesharing membership or fees. In 2014, an amendment to the EXPIRE Act was passe that would have changed this, but that bill was killed because it would have also extended tax benefits for wind power.
http://www.thewashcycle.com/2014/04/expanding-the-bike-commuter-benefit-is-not-a-bike-sharing-subsidy.html
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/domestic-taxes/206247-republicans-block-progress-on-tax-breaks#ixzz31stcNnU7
It was then added to the Tax Relief Extension Act of 2015, which has passed out of Senate committee, but is still awaiting a Senate vote. It probably won’t get one, because many of the other provisions -like transit parity – were included in last December’s omnibus
http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/bicycle-tax-benefit-could-cover-bike-sharing-costs
Chuck Shumer is the champion of that amendment, and he’s in line to become Minority or Majority leader next year (as I understand it) so it may get a chance to pass in the future.
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