overview

financial incentives

guaranteed ride program

tax savings

Significant tax savings are available for commuters and employers.

Connecticut employers can benefit from Connecticut's Traffic Reduction Tax Credit Program. Connecticut commuters and employers can both benefit from the DeduCT-a-Ride tax benefit. New York commuters and employers can benefit from the Commuter Choice tax benefit.

Connecticut's Traffic Reduction Tax Credit Program
The Traffic Reduction Tax Credit is a credit on an employer's corporation business tax return for expenses incurred as part of a state-approved traffic reduction plan. The Credit is part of the Connecticut Department of Transportation's (ConnDOT) Voluntary Traffic Reduction Program, designed to encourage employers to help their employees use alternatives to driving alone to work. To date, employers in Fairfield County have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax credits to help defray the cost of their commute programs.

To qualify for the Traffic Reduction Tax Credit Program, you must:

1. Incur direct costs to implement your approved ECO Plan.
2. Be located in Fairfield County and have 100 or more employees.

To determine the amount of your credit:

1. ConnDOT will determine the amount of your credit and issue you written notification of the amount that may be claimed on your corporate business tax return. ConnDOT will review the direct costs listed on the application to confirm that the costs are reasonable for the level of effort described in in your original ECO Plan and your annual update.
2. ConnDOT will calculate your maximum eligible credit as the lesser of the following two amounts:
   1. The number of participating employees multiplied by $250.
   2. Fifty percent of the total approved direct costs
3. If the total maximum eligible credits for all qualified corporations for a single credit year exceeds the statutory limit, your credit will be prorated for the available funds. (See Section 12-217s-8(c) for the formula used to determine this amount).

In order to get your credit, you must:

1. Submit Form A (a simple Annual Update form), which reports on the success of your current traffic reduction program and describes the measures that you will implement next year as part of your ongoing effort to encourage you employees to use alternatives to driving alone to work. Submittal of this form will bring you "current" with the state's now-voluntary Employee Commute Options program.
2. Receive approval for your plan from ConnDOT.
3. Submit Form B (Tax Credit Application Form), identifying the direct costs incurred in implementing your program (See Section 12-217s-6 of the Traffic Reduction Tax Credit Program regulations for a definition of direct costs).
4. Receive written notification from ConnDOT on the amount of your maximum eligible credit.
5. File an adjustment with the Department of Revenue Services for the applicable income year to claim the credit.

For more information tax credit forms call ConnDOT at (860) 594-2840.