Toward the end of 2023, Illinois enacted the Transportation Benefits Program Act. This Act, which became effective January 1, 2024, requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide their employees with a pre-tax...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Many employers maintain a tax-preferred transportation fringe benefit plan to provide tax-free transit benefits to employees. Under such plans, the benefit is often distributed in the form of an electronic...more
On March 1, 2019, New Jersey became the first state to enact legislation, Senate Bill No. 1567 (“An Act concerning pre-tax transportation fringe benefits”), requiring employers with 20 or more employees to offer pre-tax...more
On March 1, 2019, when Governor Phil Murphy signed into law Senate Bill No. 1567, “An Act concerning pre-tax transportation fringe benefits” (“NJ Transit Benefits Law” or “Law”), New Jersey became the first state to require...more
On January 1, 2016, New York City’s Mass Transit Benefits Law, Local Law 53, went into effect, requiring employers with 20 or more full-time employees working in New York City to offer commuter benefits to those full-time...more
I Just Received Drafts of Construction Loan Documents from My Lender, Now What? I have heard the following statement many, many times over the course of my career: “Do I really need to hire an attorney to close a simple...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 (the Act) retroactively increased the 2015 employer and employee Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) and Federal Income Tax exclusion limit for transit benefits, from $130...more
This month a new law requiring certain New York City employers to provide pre-tax commuter benefits to their employees went into effect. Under the law, covered New York City employers must give full-time employees the...more
Congress’s recent $1.8 trillion holiday shopping spree (aka The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, which became law on December 18, 2015) included a few employee benefit packages. We recently unwrapped the packages....more
In a year-end flurry of activity, Congress adopted major tax and spending legislation, which was signed into law on Friday, December 18 by President Obama. The legislation, called the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016...more
Two new laws require employers in Washington, D.C. (D.C.) and New York City (NYC) to offer pre-tax transit benefits, effective on January 1, 2016. Employers with employees in these cities must take action quickly to ensure...more
New York City’s Affordable Transit Act, which takes effect on January 1, 2016, will require most employers with 20 or more full-time employees to allow employees to apply pre-tax earnings toward qualified commuting expenses. ...more
New York City’s Affordable Transit Act (Local Law 53) (the “Act”) will take effect on January 1, 2016. The Act requires employers in New York City with 20 or more full-time employees to provide pre-tax transit benefits to...more
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, ruled Monday that security guards’ “off-the-clock” meal periods may be compensable when they were required to travel for 10 to...more
The IRS issued Notice 2015-2, which provides for a special procedure for employers to address the retroactive increase of the monthly transit benefit exclusion from $130 to $250 for 2014. The notice provides guidance on...more
U.S. Supreme Court Invalidates Yard-Man Presumption for Collectively-Bargained Retiree Health Benefits - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in M&G Polymers USA, LLC v. Tackett, 574 U.S. ____ (2015) that ordinary principles...more
On January 2 , 2013, President Obama signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (H.R. 8) (the “Relief Act”) into law. While the principal intention of the Relief Act was to avert the key elements of the “fiscal cliff” by...more
In This Issue: - Health & Welfare Plans ..Health Care Reform: IRS Issues Proposed “Pay or Play” Regulations ..Health Care Reform: IRS Issues FAQs on Various ACA Issues ..HHS Issues Final HIPAA Regulations...more
On January 16, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2013-8 providing a special administrative procedure for employers with respect to 2012 transit benefits. Under Section 132(f) of the Internal Revenue Code...more
On January 11, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service published Notice 2013-8 providing a special administrative procedure for employers with respect to 2012 transit pass benefits. The American Taxpayer Relief Act retroactively...more
The American Taxpayer Relief Act (“ATRA”) of 2013 increased the monthly transit benefit exclusion from $125 to $240 per employee, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2012....more
On January 2, 2013, President Obama signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 ("ATRA") into law. ATRA, adopted as an alternative to stepping over the "fiscal cliff," preserves most of the Bush-era tax cuts and...more
On January 16 the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued guidance on the application of the retroactive increase in excludible transit benefits, as enacted under the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA). IRS Notice...more
One of the changes made by the American Taxpayer Relief Act ("ATRA") was to restore the $240 monthly limit on employer-provided transit passes or commuting transportation, which had reverted to $125 as of January 1, 2012. ...more