Late on December 15th, the House-Senate Conference Committee released the final tax bill. The House and Senate molded the differences between the previous House and Senate versions, with most of the Final Tax Bill looking very similar to the prior Senate version. The next step is for the House and Senate to each vote on the Final Tax Bill. As of today, the House is scheduled to vote Tuesday, December 19th on the Final Tax Bill, and the Senate vote may be the same day or the next day. If it is approved by both the House and Senate, the Final Tax Bill will become law once President Trump signs it. (Both House and Senate passage and the President’s signature are expected.)
The prior House version (which we previously discussed on this blog) would have eliminated or severely restricted dependent care flexible spending arrangements, adoption assistance programs and tuition reimbursement programs. We are happy to report that the Final Tax Bill contains no such restrictions. Employer-sponsored dependent care flexible spending arrangements, adoption assistance programs and tuition reimbursement programs will be unchanged by the Final Tax Bill. Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits The Final Tax Bill does change qualified transportation fringe benefits under Code Section 132(f). Those changes are as follows –- Section 13304(c) of the Final Tax Bill disallows employer deductions relating to qualified transportation fringe benefits effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017; and
- Section 11047 of the Final Tax Bill provides that qualified bicycle commuting expenses will no longer be tax exempt to employees effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017.
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