COVID–19 Commuter Benefits Distribution Act
Sponsored By: Senator Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced
Summary
Creates a one-time payout option from employer commuter benefit accounts to employees. The payment would be capped at each account's highest balance between March 13, 2020 and December 31, 2023 and must be paid within a six month window after enactment.
Show full summary
- Employees: Workers could receive a one-time qualified payment from their employer's commuter account equal to no more than the account's highest balance during March 13, 2020 to December 31, 2023. Any such payment would be included in the employee's gross income in the year it is paid.
- Employers and plans: The bill targets employer-established, salary-reduction commuter accounts that permit unused monthly amounts to carry forward. It lets employers make the one-time distribution from those specified transportation fringe benefit accounts.
- Tax and rules: The bill treats the one-time payment as taxable and says future determinations about whether other payments qualify under section 132 of the tax code must be made without counting the qualified payment. It also contemplates Treasury guidance on carryforward rules for these accounts.
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
One-time commuter payout for workers
If enacted, you would be able to get one one-time payment from your employer transportation (commuter) account. The payment must be made within the six-month period after the law takes effect. The payment cannot be larger than the highest balance that account had between March 13, 2020 and December 31, 2023. The payment would be includible in your gross income for the tax year when you receive it. Only amounts in a qualifying account set up under a compensation-reduction agreement that provided section 132 commuter benefits and allowed month-to-month carryforward would qualify. Other payments from the same account would still be judged under section 132 without counting this one-time payment.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
NY • D
Cosponsors
Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
NY • D
Sponsored 6/24/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov