Business Commute Options

Put our bus in your BUSiness with... Sponsored by GATRA, EZ commute is safe, dependable and easy transportation to help your employees get to work. EZ commute offers a variety of benefits for employers, employees and the entire community! Employer advantages: Up to a $105.00 deduction per employee/per month as an ordinary business expense. * An additional aid for employee recruitment and retention. EZ commute makes it easier for employees to arrive relaxed and on time. Meets the needs of companies that have little or no employee parking. Provides more parking space for your customers. Enhanced public image for your company. Employee advantages: In Massachusetts, transit commuters could save money on their Massachusetts automobile insurance by purchasing GATRA monthly passes. Check with your insurance carrier for details. Non-taxable benefit. Decreases employee commuting costs by providing savings on gas and car maintenance and repair. More reliable, safer and less stressful travel (especially during the harsh winter months). Community advantages: Less traffic congestion. Reduced air pollution. Provides a critical link in helping communities create and sustain employment opportunities for prospective employees. All GATRA vehicles are accessible to people with disabilities. * The Comprehensive National Energy Strategy Law (P.L. 102-486). Employers may provide employees with a transportation fringe benefit of up to $105.00 per month. The cost of transportation to and from work is not considered taxable personal income to the employee and the employer may deduct up to $105.00 per month per employee as an ordinary business expense. The provisions of the benefit are clarified in IRS Notice 94-3, Administrative, Procedural, and Miscellaneous Qualified Transportation Fringes Under Section 132(f), 26 USC.

The Tax-Free Employee Benefit

A new tax law, passed June 9, 1998, enables employers to reduce employees' transit fares by up to 40% while saving on payroll taxes!

Commuter Check is a provision of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), Section 132(f) that permits an employer to subsidize his/her employees' cost of commuting to work by transit. It also allows employees to use pre-tax dollars to pay for their transit passes.

Commuter Check provides:

Savings for employers.
A valuable employee incentive benefit.

Improves morale and decreases turnover.

• Reduces traffic congestion.

Employers can either purchase Commuter Check vouchers and give them to their employees, who can apply the value toward the purchase of GATRA passes. Employers may set aside pre-tax dollars for the purchase of Commuter Check vouchers.

There are many creative ways employers can use Commuter Check:

• Compensate specific groups of employees.
• Reward employees for excellent performance.
• Increase parking fees to offset the cost of the vouchers.
• Use the vouchers as prizes in a drawing.
• Give away vouchers as incentives at a commuter fair.
• Provide vouchers as a year-end bonus.
• Alter your benefits package to offset the cost of the vouchers.
• Sell the vouchers at half price.

Federal Tax Benefits for Transit Passes