Summary: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released an information letter earlier this year in response to an employee’s request for a refund of her qualified transportation benefit program funds that went unused due to commuting changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter provides helpful guidance regarding refunds and other rules with respect to unused qualified transportation benefit program funds.
Read on for more information.
Qualified Transportation Benefit Background
Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 132(f) permits employers to offer a qualified transportation benefit program to their employees on a tax-free basis through a compensation reduction agreement. Under a compensation reduction agreement, employees may choose to have money withheld from their taxable compensation to pay for certain work-related commuting expenses on a pre-tax basis. Pre-tax compensation reduction plans are generally the most common type of qualified transportation benefit plans offered by employers.
Qualified transportation benefit programs apply to:
- A ride in a commuter highway vehicle[1] between the employee's home and place of employment (also known as “vanpooling”)
- A transit pass
- Qualified parking
Note that employees may elect to use compensation reduction amounts for qualified parking benefits without impacting the combined monthly limitation for transit passes and commuter highway vehicle transportation.
Example: For 2024, an employee can elect to contribute up to $315 for a qualified transit pass and an additional $315 for qualified parking expenses under their employer’s qualified transportation benefit program.
Most qualified transportation benefit plans allow employees to change their elections on a monthly basis. This is due to the Code Section 132 rules requiring a qualified transportation benefit compensation reduction agreement to be elected prior to the compensation becoming available, which is similar to Code Section 125 cafeteria plan rules. Once elected, it cannot be revoked after the beginning of the period for which the benefit is provided. However, unlike cafeteria plan elections, the coverage period may be for a very short period of time – typically a month.[2]
2024 Qualified Transportation Benefit Monthly Limit
For 2024, the maximum pre-tax monthly amount for qualified transportation expenses is $315 for qualified transit/vanpooling (combined) and parking expenses[3].
Both employee pre-tax salary deferrals and employer-paid benefits (if any) count toward the maximum amount. If funds elected under a qualified transportation benefit program exceed the maximum exclusion limit, the benefit amount exceeding the exclusion limit must be included in the employee’s wages for income and employment tax purposes, provided no other tax exclusion applies.
Example: For 2024, an employer provides an employee with a monthly transit pass valued at $325. Since the monthly transit pass exceeds the 2024 tax exclusion limit by $10 each month, $120 ($10 per month x 12 months) must be included in the employee’s wages for income and employment tax purposes for 2024 with respect to the transit pass.
IRS Information Letter
This IRS information letter confirmed the following points:
- Refunds (or cash outs) of unused compensation reduction amounts under a qualified transportation benefit program funds are not permitted since these amounts can only be used for qualifying commuting activity.[4]
- Unused qualified transportation benefit plan funds can be carried over to future months and used for future qualified transportation benefits offered under the plan, as long as the employee does not receive benefits that exceed the maximum excludable amount in any month.[5]
- Employees may apply their unused qualified transportation benefit amounts to another qualified transportation benefit (such as applying unused transit funds to qualified parking expenses) offered under their employers’ plan as long as unused amounts do not exceed the maximum monthly limitation amount for the respective qualified transportation benefit.[6]
Employer Takeaways
The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a new world of remote and hybrid schedule work arrangements, which significantly changed commuting patterns for many workers. As such, this recent IRS letter, while not binding legal advice, provides helpful guidance to employers who may be faced with employee requests to refund their unused qualified transportation benefit funds due to the fact that they stopped commuting or reduced their commuting habits during the COVID-19 pandemic. These refund requests will often come from individuals terminating their employment.
Employers are advised to periodically remind their employees who participate in their qualified transportation benefit program that:
- Employees may change their election in the qualified transportation benefit program on a monthly basis (to meet their changing commuting needs)
- Any unused funds can be applied to qualified transportation expenses incurred in future months. This also includes applying unused qualified transit benefit funds to qualified parking benefit funds (or vice versa)
- Refunds, or cash outs, of unused qualified transportation benefit programs are not permitted
On a related note, several cities and two states have enacted laws requiring certain employers to offer qualified transportation benefits to their employees working in those jurisdictions. Refer to the list below to see if your company employs workers in any of these locations and is subject to these laws, as applicable. These city/state commuter benefit requirements generally apply to employers with a minimum of 10-50 employees, depending on jurisdiction.
- Berkeley, CA
- Illinois
- Los Angeles
- New York City
- New Jersey
|
- Philadelphia
- Richmond, CA
- Seattle
- San Francisco Bay Area
- Washington, D.C.
|
As a final reminder for employers offering qualified transportation benefits on a nationwide basis, the tax-preferred benefit limits referenced in this article are those established under federal law. While many states mirror the federal income tax code, some do not. As a result, employers should work with their payroll providers to ensure proper withholding occurs at the state level, as may be required based on location.
Risk Strategies is here to help. Contact us directly at benefits@risk-strategies.com.
[1] To qualify as a commuter highway vehicle, a vehicle must have seating capacity for at least six adults (not including the driver) and at least 80% of the vehicle mileage must be used for transporting employees between their homes and workplace with employees occupying at least one-half the vehicle's seats (not including the driver's).
[2] Treas. Reg. §1.132-9, Q/A-14 (b) & (c).
[3] Revenue Procedure 2023-34
[4] Treas. Reg. §1.132-9, Q/A-14 (d).
[5] Treas. Reg. §1.132-9, Q/A-15.
[6] IRS Information Letter 2020-0024
