NYC Council Passes Law Requiring Employers to Offer Commuter Benefits

On October 21, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the Affordable Transit Act requiring many NYC employers to offer pretax commuter benefits to their employees. The law goes into effect as of January 1, 2016.

NYC employers with 20 or more employees will be required to offer their full time employees the opportunity to use pre-tax earnings to purchase qualified transportation fringe benefits, other than qualified parking. Employees will be able deduct up to $130 per month from their paychecks for transit costs, thereby reducing their personal tax liability. For purposes of the law, full time employees are employees who work an average of 30 or more hours per week.

BDB is ready to assist you in setting up pretax commuter benefits for your employees to ensure your full compliance with this law. Contact your client services representative today to get started.

For a text of the law please visit here.