An employer in the United States may provide transportation benefits to their employees that are tax free up to a certain limit. Under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code section 132(a), the qualified transportation benefits are one of the eight types of statutory employee benefits (also known as fringe benefits) that are excluded from gross income in calculating federal income tax. The qualified transportation benefits are transit passes, vanpooling, bicycling, and parking associated with these things.[1][2]
Commuting expenses in general are not excluded from taxable compensation in US tax law (for example, the cost of fuel to drive to the regular work place cannot be deducted). The goal of making the specific benefits described above nontaxable is to encourage forms of commuting that reduce road congestion and pollution.[3]