On December 10, 2020, Chris Moran was quoted in Bloomberg Tax on final rules from the IRS addressing changes from 2017 tax law that eliminated deductions for some corporate fringe benefits under tax code Section 274.
According to the article, the IRS offered some flexibility in rules addressing the tax law’s elimination of a deduction for fringe benefits—such as employer-provided parking spaces—but was limited in how far it could go. The agency modified a definition tied to the primary use of parking spaces and expanded a safety provision in final rules, released on December 9, as it tried to respond to the ways the COVID-19 pandemic impacted commuting.
“A lot of the commenters wanted relief that went beyond what the IRS probably felt like it could do given the statute,” said Moran.
For example, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce requested that the IRS temporarily allow deductions for the expenses while employees are working from home during the pandemic. In response, the rules said that tax code Section 274 doesn’t include any pandemic-related exceptions for qualified transportation fringe benefits.