Commuter Access Reform Act

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat qualified alternative commuter programs as an excludable qualified transportation fringe benefit. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Commuter Access Reform Act 2. Qualified alternative commuter programs treated as an excludable qualified transportation fringe benefit (a) In general Section 132(f)(1) (E) Any transportation provided pursuant to a qualified alternative commuter program of the employer. . (b) Application of dollar limitation Section 132(f)(2)(B) of such Code is amended by striking qualified parking the aggregate of the benefits described in subparagraphs (C) and (E) of paragraph (1) (c) Qualified alternative commuter program Section 132(f)(5) of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following: (G) Qualified alternative commuter program (i) In general The term qualified alternative commuter program (ii) Qualified ride-share commuting transportation The term qualified ride-share commuting transportation (I) is designed to provide service to multiple passengers with fully or partially overlapping journeys, and (II) the fare for each passenger for such transportation is determined at the beginning of the trip and such fare is based upon such transportation having multiple riders. (iii) Transportation network company The term transportation network company (iv) Commuter vehicle The term commuter vehicle (v) Records requirement The term qualified alternative commuter program (vi) Treatment of partial trips Transportation for a portion of the distance between an employee’s residence, place of employment, or mass transit facility shall not fail to treated as described in clause (i) if such transportation is part of a trip between such employee’s residence, place of employment, or mass transit facility and such transportation either begins or ends near such employee’s residence, place of employment, or mass transit facility. (vii) Expenses must be reasonable A reimbursement for any cost shall not be taken into account under clause (i) unless the amount of such cost is reasonable with respect to the transportation provided. . (d) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall apply to months beginning after the seventh month which begins after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Summary: Commuter Access Reform Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat transportation provided by an employer's qualified alternative commuter program as a qualified transportation fringe benefit that is excluded from an employee's gross income. A "qualified alternative commuter program" reimburses an employee for the cost of certain ride-share commuting transportation between the employee's residence, place of employment, or a mass transit facility. The benefit applies to ride-sharing commuting transportation in a commuter vehicle provided by a transportation network company if: (1) it is designed to provide service to multiple passengers with fully or partially overlapping journeys, and (2) the fare for each passenger is determined at the beginning of the trip and is based on the transportation having multiple riders. The benefit is subject to a limit on the aggregate amount of transportation fringe benefits for parking and an alternative commuter program that may be excluded from gross income.