State Agencies Bulletin No. 1230

Subject
Retroactive Pre-Tax Transit Adjustment
Date Issued
February 11, 2013

Purpose

To inform agencies of the steps the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) will take to apply the Retroactive Increase in Excludable Transit Benefits.

Background

The enactment of Section 203 of the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) increased the monthly transit benefit exclusion (under section 132 (f) (2) (A) of the Internal Revenue Code) from $125 to $240 per month for the period of January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012.

Also, as a result of ATRA, the IRS released additional annual inflation adjustments for the monthly limit for transit passes and transportation in a commuter vehicle. Effective January 1, 2013, the transit limit has been increased to $245 for the 2013 tax year.

Effective Date(s)

Immediately

Affected Employees

Employees who participated in the NYS-Ride Benefit Plan, for tax year 2012, with total monthly transit benefit deduction of more than $125.00 under deduction codes:

  • 421  NYS-Ride Pre-Tax
  • 422  NYS Ride Post-Tax

OSC Actions

OSC has issued a letter and a copy of the Prior Year Social Security and Medicare Tax Refund Certification (Form AC 3206), to affected employees informing them of the steps that will be taken to apply the retroactive transit exclusion amount for tax year 2012.

Questions

Questions regarding the NYS Ride benefit should be directed to the third party administrator, WageWorks, at the toll free number 1-866-428-7781 (TDD 1-866-353-5058).

Questions regarding this bulletin may be e-mailed to the Tax and Compliance mailbox.