Groups Call for Extension of Commuter Benefits

Do you get a tax credit for riding the MARC train into Washington or Baltimore?

If so, it's important to know that those benefits could be nearly halved, unless union and transit groups succeed in convincing lawmakers to pass an extension, The Hill newspaper reported last week.

Public transit riders can currently apply up to $230 of their monthly commuting costs, but that would drop to $125 on Jan. 1, unless Congress passes the Commuter Benefits Equity Act.

The National Treasury Employees Union and American Public Transportation Association wrote letters to lawmakers urging the bill's passage. They argue that a failure to extend the credit would be a de facto tax increase for public transit riders. 

Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) are included in a coalition supporting the extension.

The credit could impact commuters locally. Hundreds of people each day use MARC Train to commute from Odenton to Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. A rider who uses a monthly pass on MARC is currently charged $125.

In 2009, Congress more than doubled the tax-free benefit that workers could apply toward monthly commuting costs from $120 per month up to $230 per month.

The increase was designed to put mass-transit benefits on the same level as parking benefits. More than 2.5 million commuters nationwide use the transit credit, with more than 250,000 spending more than $125 per month, according to a Senate press release. 

Milkulski and Cardin wrote to their Senate colleagues that they believe the tax credit could be extended at "little to no net cost to the taxpayer."

"Extending the mass-transit commuter tax credit has an immediate impact, easing the burden on middle-class families and Maryland's federal workforce," Mikulski said. "It also provides much needed relief for everyone who uses the region's strained highway system. As we work to put people back to work, we should do all we can to help them get to their job."