CommuteCon 2018

Jason Pavluchuk is the founder of Pavluchuk & Associates, and advocacy group with a strong focus on TDM-related policy. He joined CommuteCon to talk about recent tax reforms and changes to transportation benefits.

Newly passed legislation has introduced changes to transportation fringe benefits, with impacts on both employees and the companies they work for. For employees:

• Tax benefits for parking and transit remain available to individuals
• Nothing has changed for those who are eligible to receive parking or transit benefits
• Bicycle benefits have been eliminated until 2026

Employer-focused impacts include:

• Exemptions on payroll taxes on employer-provided transportation fringe benefits
• Employers may deduct expenses related to providing bicycle benefits (but the bicycle benefit is considered income for the employee and is thus subject to payroll taxes)
• Employer can no longer deduct expenses related to transportation fringe benefits provided to employees unless they are provided for safety reasons

The new laws also affect universities and nonprofit organizations, as they will be required to declare expenses related to the provision of transportation fringe benefits as unrelated business taxable income. Since government agencies do not generate unrelated business taxable income, they appear to be unaffected.

Pavluchuk also touched on upcoming developments in TDM policy. In addition to a wide range of local-level and state-level developments, Pavluchuk projects the following issues to gain traction federally:

• Updates and tweaks to the newly instituted tax reforms
• Transportation infrastructure development packages
• Reauthorization of the Transportation Bill (in 2020)
• Automated vehicle (AV) and connected vehicle (CV) policies

Many businesses, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations have questions about the complexities of the new legislation, and where TDM policy is headed next. Pavluchuk’s full presentation offers in-depth, detailed answers, and is a must-see for those who want to learn more about how recent federal tax reforms have impacted transportation benefits, and to those who want a glimpse into the future of TDM policy in the United States.