HRPAY 20-13 Qualified Transit Fringe Benefits
Published: December 21, 2020
Effective: Pay Period 01, 2021
Summary
For 2021, the fringe benefit for parking fees will remain $270 per month. The combined monthly limit for transit passes and van pooling expenses for 2021 will remain $270.
Implementation
Agency Paid Subsidies
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations state that employee parking subsidies over $270 and transit subsidies over $270 are considered taxable fringe benefits. An Agency’s Time and Attendance (T&A) reporting system can be used to record a parking or subsidy fringe benefit in excess of the IRS limit. This is done via Transaction Code (TC) 17, Suffix 09, Parking/Taxable Fringe; TC 17, Prefix 10, Transit Subsidy; or TC 17, Suffix 08, Chauffeur Driven Auto. When entering employee parking/taxable fringe, transit subsidies, or chauffeur-driven auto on the T&A, the benefits may be recorded biweekly, monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually (in accordance with Agency policy), and must be reported by the end of the tax year.
In addition to the T&A option, some Agencies utilize the reporting of the parking fringe benefit in excess of the IRS limit of $270 (i.e., taxable portion) via Allowance Type 179, Parking Fringe. When using the Web-based Entry, Processing, Inquiry, and Correction System (EPICWeb), EmpowHR, or Agency Front-End System Interface (FESI) to record the taxable portion of this fringe benefit, the amount entered in the Allowance Rate field will be reported each pay period until deleted. The allowance record can be processed via one of the following methods:
- EPICWeb, Payroll Document, Allowances
- EmpowHR, Payroll Document Menu Group, Allowances Component
- FESI, Allowance Document 127, Data Record Layout
Employee Paid Subsidies
In situations where the Agency does not pay the employee’s transit or parking subsidy, the employee can report his/her payment of that transit or parking expense as pre-tax on his/her taxes. This is handled via the processing of an allowance record with Allowance Type 525, Transit Benefits (Non Taxable), and Allowance Type 526, Parking Benefits (Non Taxable). When using EPICWeb, EmpowHR, or FESI to enter these benefits, the amount entered in the Allowance Rate field will be reported each pay period until deleted. The allowance record(s) can be processed via one of the following methods:
- EPICWeb, Payroll Document, Allowances
- EmpowHR, Payroll Document Menu Group, Allowances Component
- FESI, Allowance Document 127, Data Record Layout
Resources
The procedure manual for these applications are available online at the National Finance Center (NFC) Web site. To view this procedure, select
from the drop-down menu on the NFC Home page. At the page, select the tab and select the applicable category to access the procedure manual within the category.Inquiries
For questions about NFC processing, authorized Servicing Personnel Office representatives should contact the NFC Contact Center at
or via the customer service portal.