In the new bill....

[Bees Knees]

Sec. 211. Transportation fringe benefit to bicycle commuters.

Qualified transportation benefits provided to employees is excluded from taxable wages. Beginning in 2009, qualified transportation benefits include qualified bicycle commuting reimbursements. Any employer reimbursement during the 15-month period beginning with the first day of a calendar year for reasonable expenses incurred by the employee for the purchase of a bicycle and bicycle improvements, repair, and storage, are excluded from the employee’s taxable income if such bicycle is regularly used for travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment. The annual limitation on tax free reimbursements is $20 multiplied by the number of qualified bicycle commuting months during the year. A qualified bicycle commuting month is any month the employee regularly uses the bicycle for a substantial portion of the travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment, and the employee does not receive any other qualified transportation fringe benefit during the month for a commuter highway vehicle, transit pass, or qualified parking.

[Bees Knees]

and more stuff...

Sec. 117. Carbon audit of the tax code.

The Secretary of the Treasury shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to undertake a comprehensive review of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to identify the types of and specific tax provisions that have the largest effects on carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions and to estimate the magnitude of those effects. Congress has authorized $1,500,000 for the period of fiscal years 2009 and 2010 to do this comprehensive review.

[RLymanC]

Tax Bill

Spidell Publishing e-mailed the following, I quote:

Congress Passes Extender Bill

The financial bailout package passed today by the House (H.R. 1424)contains many anticipated tax extenders and other tax provisions. The bill will go to the president, who is expected to sign it.

Included are:

· AMT patch

· Extensions of expiring provisions including:

o Teacher's above the line expense deduction

o Deduction of qualified tuition

o Sales tax deduction

o Property tax deduction for nonitemizers

o Tax-free distributions from IRA for charitable purposes

o 15-year cost recovery for qualified leasehold improvements and restaurant property, and new 15-year treatment for qualified retail improvement property

· Changes to preparer penalty rules

· Increase in the AMT refundable credit

· Liberalization of the refundable child credit

Spidell say's California conforms to none of these changes.

[taxea]

In the new bill....

anyone got a reference for the signed law in detail? I haven't been able to find it...too soon?taxea

[Kram BergGold]

Question for Bees

If my client purchases a new bike in Jan 2009 for $300 does he get to claim $20 per month for every month during the year that he commutes?

[Snaggletooth]

Politically Correct Police

Sec. 211. Transportation fringe benefit to bicycle commuters.

How are they going to enforce this?

New bicycles bought in 2009 to get a $240 tax credit. Sold later in yard sales, or back in the garage rusting away, with owners becoming more and more ectomorphic. Not exactly the picture enshrined by the bill - with slender people leisurely riding to work with a smile, briefcases in the front basket, waving their hands to thousands of other bicycles in passing, and parking their bikes in now-empty parking garages.

All they need now is a bill to limit rain and snow to nighttime hours only, and reduce the work day to five hours, to compensate for the hour-and-a-half required to ride to work.

It's so beautiful it makes me want to cry.

[JCH]

You gotta love it. It's stuff like this that keeps us all in business.

[solomon]

anyone got a reference for the signed law in detail? I haven't been able to find it...too soon?taxea

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-1424

[Uncle Sam]

In the new bill

Why is the bill dated "the third day of January two thousand and eight"?

[solomon]

Why is the bill dated "the third day of January two thousand and eight"?

I think it is the start date of a new congress. The first version (6 of them) of the bill was introduced March 9th.

[dyne]

Among the many new laws, the following I found especially interesting:
Division C (toward the end) Section 204 extends the deduction for real estate taxes paid
by non-itemizers to include the 2009 tax year.
Title II, Section 205 allows a credit for qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles
of $2500 plus $417 for each kilowatt of tractive battery in excess of 4 kilowatt hours.
This is limited to $7,500 for vehicles weighing less than 10,000 pounds and increasingly
larger credits for heavier vehicles ending up with a maximum credit of $15,000 for vehicles
weighing more than 26,000 pounds. Such vehicles are generally not available yet.
Toyota is reported to be coming out with such a small car in 2010, I believe. Does
not giving a larger credit for heavier vehicles defeat the purpose in that it will encourage
people to purchase heavy SUV's instead of smaller lighter cars?
Title III, Section 304 extends the new energy credit subsection (a) section 45L through
Dec 31, 2009. There is much more in this new law.

[solomon]

All should when reading Sec. 506. MLTN standard is gone and substantial authority reigns regarding IRC 6694.

[Black Bart]

First-time Flat-screen HDTV Buyers' Credit

Anybody heard anything about this being included in the bill? I emailed my congressman months ago, but no response so far.

[solomon]

Anybody heard anything about this being included in the bill? I emailed my congressman months ago, but no response so far.

I too was disappointed with no response for a refundable credit for a new set of golf clubs - especially since they would have taken at least 4 strokes from my game.

[veritas]

New Deal for the 21st century for Black Bart

HDTVA


Stands for High Definition Televison Authority.


I think it's on page 250 between the arrow thing and income averaging for money received from Exxon Valdez setlement.