In January of this year, bicycles were added to the list of qualified modes of transportation to receive tax free benefits, previously just forms of mass transit qualified for the tax break.
If biking to work is your standard commute, you could receive up to $20 month, tax free, too, from your employer. You can use that annual $240 to buy a bike, get some replacement tubes (urban biking leads to many flats!), or to invest in a new helmet. To qualify for the reimbursement you must regularly use your bike for a substantial portion of travel between home and work. However, "substantial portion" is defined rather vaguely defined.
Unfortunately, this program is voluntary so your employer isn't required to ante up even if you peddle yourself to your place of employ. I had hoped that commuting via bike would become a line-item tax credit on the federal income tax form — a cyclist can dream. Have any of you cyclists been able to take advantage of this new tax code? Tell me in the comments section below.
Kew Clothing
Dessous
CAFe'NOIR
Not me, but I know someone who gets it!
1i know that disney has offered this for their employees for a while
2this would be great but not with the type of weather in my city
3sounds good to me. my boyfriend takes public transprotation to work four days a week and his job pays him back the cost of his bus fare. we live five mins outside of DC and they have a new system where you can rent a bike and get around the city..you can use it to commute in to work or take a bike tour of the city.
4I would love to bike to work, and it would be a great way to get in about 30 mi a couple times a week ... but I can't avoid the highway/ beltway so it isn't feasible
5That's such a great idea!
6i think that it's a good program to participate in if you have that luxury. my company doesn't offer any compensation like that.
7I'm going to ask my bosses about this! So cool! I usually bike about 7 months out of the year, so even though I wouldn't get the full credit I could still get some of it.
8I wish I could do this, but there's no way I'd ride my bike on Hwy 45 at 5:00 in the morning when people can't really see you. Plus, since the weather for biking is only decent for about 3 months a year, I'd only be able to do it for part of the year. My husband could probably do this though...he only has to commute across town on the city streets, so he could totally do the bike-to-work thing. He'd probably like it...saving on gas and getting in some exercise that he actually enjoys.
9Unfortunately, if you work at a state university, they can't give it to you based on their tax status with the gov.
10My company offers a program like this, but this was in place before the new tax benefit. Employees are eligible more than $20 a month.
I've never taken advantage, but it seems to be pretty popular with those who utilize it.
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