Tag Archive for Fringe Benefits

IRS On Elimination Of Deduction Of Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit Expenses

IRS On Elimination Of Deduction Of Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit Expenses

The Internal Revenue Service issued proposed regulations that provide guidance for the deduction of qualified transportation fringe and commuting expenses.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) does not allow deductions for qualified transportation fringe (QTF) expenses and does not allow deductions for certain expenses of transportation and commuting between an employee’s residence and place of employment.

The law also provided that a tax-exempt organization’s unrelated business taxable income is increased by the amount of the QTF expense that is nondeductible. However, on December 20, 2019, this was repealed as part of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020. This repeal was retroactive to the original date of enactment by the TCJA.
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Employees’ Fringe Benefits After Tax Reform

Charles Woodson - Fringe Benefits

Tax reform made a lot of changes, some of which impacted employees’ fringe benefits. This article reviews the most frequently encountered fringe benefits, including those that were and were not impacted by tax changes. These changes can affect both a business’s bottom line and its employees’ deductions.

BENEFITS IMPACTED BY TAX REFORM

Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits – Qualified transportation fringe benefits include parking, transit passes, commuter (van pool) transportation, and bicycle commuting.

  • Qualified parking – The tax-free fringe benefit for qualified parking is still available to employees and is capped at $265 per month for 2019, up from $260 in 2018.
  • Transit Passes – The tax-free fringe benefit for transit passes is also still available to employees, up to $265 per month for 2019, an increase from $260 in 2018.
  • Bicycle Commuting – Unfortunately, tax reform did away with the $20-per-month tax-free reimbursement for the cost of an employee commuting to work on a bicycle.
  • Commuting – Tax reform killed the monthly commuting fringe benefit (which was $260 in 2018) except when necessary for ensuring the safety of an employee. When allowed, the maximum amount is the same as the transit pass fringe benefit.

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Corporate Executive Compensation Compliance: Fringe Benefits (Part V)

Issue Description

Corporate executives often receive extraordinary fringe benefits that are not provided to other corporate employees. Any property or service that an executive receives in lieu of or in addition to regular taxable wages is a fringe benefit that may be subject to taxation. In 1984, the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) was amended to include the term “fringe benefits” i n the definition of gross income found in §61. A fringe benefit provided in connection with the performance of services, regardless of its form, must be treated as compensation includible in income under §61.

Whether a particular fringe benefit is taxable depends on whether there is a specific statutory exclusion that applies to the benefit. For example, when §61 was amended to include the term “fringe benefits”, §132 was added to provide exclusions for certain commonly provided fringe benefits that had previously not been addressed in the Code. Read More

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