How the U.S. Tax Code Favors Driving Over Other Modes

If you get to work by transit or bike, you're saving a lot of money on gas, but come tax season, Uncle Sam probably won't be as generous to you as he'll be to car commuters.

The Tri-State Transportation Campaign took a look recently at the way tax benefits apply to different modes of transportation. Renata Silberblatt writes:

Here are the tax benefits they found for each category:

For Drivers:

• Tax deduction for donating vehicles to charity
• People involved in crashes where they were not found to be at fault can deduct unreimbursed expenses
• Tax credits for fuel efficient vehicles (recently expired)
• Up to $245 per month in tax-deductible parking expenses

For Transit Riders/Vanpoolers:

• Up to $245 per month in tax-deductible commuting expenses (valid only through the end of 2013)
• Up to $245 per month in tax-deductible parking expenses

For Bike Commuters:

• Bike commuters can be reimbursed $20 per month for expenses related to commuting (cannot be used with any other commuting benefit).

Tri-State concludes that U.S. tax code does seem to favor driving, when common sense would dictate the opposite:

Elsewhere on the Network today: The Get Around Blog laments that deaths caused by auto collisions don't get as much attention in the press as gun deaths. World Streets begins imagining what a transportation system designed around equity would look like. And Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space turns a critical eye on recent media reports about red light cameras in Washington, D.C.