Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Streetsblog

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.

false

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

We did find that the federal tax code provides benefits to vehicle owners but offers limited incentives for taxpayers to take transit or bike.

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:

Given the many benefits of vanpooling, riding transit or biking — to the environment, to drivers on the road, to the roads themselves, and, if one is biking, to one’s personal health and to healthcare costs for the community as a whole — it’s a wonder that our taxes don’t encourage these behaviors more.

For example, a commuter cannot take the bicycling reimbursement and commuter tax credit together. This doesn’t seem fair, given that some people bike to a transit station, or some may bike a few days a week and take transit the other days.

As Congress begins discussions about reforming the tax code, the opportunity should be used to either create greater parity in the tax code for non-drivers or greater incentives to make smarter and more sustainable transportation choices.

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.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Hundreds of Community Groups — From the Conservatives to the Socialists! — Demand Daylighting

Two hundred New York City groups from across the ideological spectrum joined calls to ban parking at corners in order to improve safety and visibility, also known as daylighting.

October 24, 2025

OPINION: Canal Street — Not The Vendors — Is the Problem

If Zohran Mamdani becomes mayor — and is true to his vision for a fair, livable city — he will have to take on this long-ignored corridor. Here's how.

October 24, 2025

Vision Zero Cities: Bicycles Are Not Cars So They Shouldn’t Have to Follow the Same Rules

The default in nearly all states is to impose the same traffic rules on bicycles as on motor vehicles even though the needs of cyclists are so different.

October 24, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Today’s the Day Edition

Mayor Adams's new 15 mph speed limit is officially goes into effect today. Plus more news.

October 24, 2025

Cough, Cough: DEP Considers Largest Ever Exemption Request to City’s Anti-Idling Law

Academy Bus claims no technological alternatives exist for heating and cooling buses without idling. Advocates warn an exemption would "gut" the city's 50-year-old idling ban.

October 23, 2025

Truckers to US DOT: Busways Are Good for Us!

The federal government has obviously lost its trucking mind.

October 23, 2025
See all posts