Employers
There are numerous ways in which employers and businesses can reap the financial benefits of trip reduction programs. Reduced parking alone can save a business thousands (or even millions) of dollars. If that isn't enough, how about a tax break?
The “qualified transportation fringe benefit” (QTFB) is a provision of the Internal Revenue Service that allows employers to provide an employee with up to $105/month of subsidies on work transit and vanpool programs pre-tax. Simply put, a Tallahassee employer can purchase a StarMetro pass for an employee and provide that pass as a tax-free fringe benefit. The employee saves, and you save on the amount you pay in federal payroll taxes.
Vanpool subsidies work the same way. If an employer choose to subsidize the operation of a vanpool from, for example, Perry, that employer can treat the amount they give as tax-free and excludible from the gross income of the employee.
The specific legislation for the QTFB is can be found under Section 132(f) of the IRS Code. To help you estimate the potential cost savings to your operation, experiment with the BWC Calculator at right.
