WASHINGTON — A tax change taking effect on the first day of the new year could cost area commuters hundreds more annually and jam already clogged commuter roads.
The mass-transit commuter tax credit will end on Jan. 1, 2012, lowering the maximum tax-free amount commuters can put toward Metro, MARC and VRE train fare to $125. The limit had been $230 for two years.
Area Democratic senators Mark Warner, Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski sought to extend the increase again, citing a prospective increase in rush-hour traffic. Now roughly 250,000 people will face at least a few months of higher taxes, they say.
But it isn’t all bad news. Parking benefits are increasing from $230 to $240 tax-free per month.
Learn more here:
- NTEU calls on Congress to boost mass-transit tax benefit (Dec. 7)
- Senators call for mass-transit benefit extension (Dec. 12)
- Senate votes to continue $230 monthly transit benefit (Dec. 15)
WTOP’s Max Smith contributed to this report.
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