State employees took advantage
of a new pre-tax commuter benefits program during the biennium, with an average
of more than 1,000 passes purchased monthly through the program.
The program, supported by labor and management, takes advantage of a new federal
tax law allowing commuters to use pre-tax income to purchase transit, vanpool
and parking passes through participating employers.
Ohio currently is participating in the transit and vanpool portions of the
program
Governor Bob Taft initiated the program after hearing about it at a conference.
Ohio later became the first state to offer the program to all its employees
when it began in September 2001.
The administration of the program is being funded by a grant given to the
Central
Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) from the Mid-Ohio
Regional Planning Commission. The grant stems from the Ohio
Department of Transportation's Congestion, Mitigation and Air Quality
funds.
To participate in this pre-tax program,
employees authorize the state to deduct
the cost of their monthly pass from their
pay by enrolling through the program's
third-party administrator. Transit passes
are then mailed to participants' homes,
saving state employees the wait at the transit
station. Vanpool riders are asked to mail their
receipts to the third-party administrator.
Although exact savings varies based on
individual tax circumstances, a state employee
in the 15 percent tax bracket saves roughly
$11 per month when purchasing a $50 transit pass.
This portion of the DAS eNewsCenter is for Human Resources Division customers.
| This article was reprinted from the 2002-2003 DAS Biennial Report. |