State Agencies Bulletin No. 932

Subject
Reporting the Taxable Value of Personal Use of Employer-Provided Vehicles and Chauffeur Services for 2009
Date Issued
October 30, 2009
Status
Amended
Amended
Status Date
November 2, 2009
December 3, 2009

Purpose

To provide instructions for reporting the taxable value of the personal use of employer-provided vehicles and chauffeur services for tax year 2009.

Affected Employees

Employees with employer-provided vehicles and/or chauffeurs

Effective Date(s)

Immediately

Background

IRS Publication 15 (Circular E, Employer’s Tax Guide) requires taxable noncash fringe benefits be included in the employee’s gross wages.

IRS Publication 15-B (Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits) provides specialized and detailed information regarding the employment tax treatment of fringe benefits.

Internal Revenue Service Publication 525 (Taxable and Nontaxable Income) states that personal use of an employer- provided vehicle or employer-provided chauffeur services are usually taxable noncash fringe benefits.

OSC Actions

OSC will report the value of personal use of an employer-provided vehicle and personal use of employer-provided chauffeur services for the period November 1, 2008 through October 31, 2009 as income on the employee’s 2009 Form W-2 Statement.

Agency Actions

Reporting Taxable Fringe Benefits

It is the agency’s responsibility to provide OSC with the information on the value of the personal use of employer-provided vehicles and chauffeur services to ensure compliance with IRS Publications 525, 15 and 15-B. Agencies must have an established process requiring employees to substantiate their business use of State-provided vehicles and chauffeur services. If an employee is unable to substantiate business use, all miles driven are deemed to be for personal use, and the value is included in the employee’s income. Personal use of a State vehicle generally includes use of the vehicle for purposes of commuting to and from an employee’s home and his or her official work station and other trips unrelated to work.

Agency personnel responsible for participating in reporting the information are the Agency Representative and the Agency Vehicle Coordinator. The Agency Representative is the person, designated by the head of the agency, who attests that the valuation is, to the best of their knowledge, true and compliant with IRS regulations.

Information about the vehicle itself, such as the make, model and Kelley Blue Book Value, should be provided by the person(s) in the agency responsible for acquiring, tracking and securing vehicles for the agency.

Valuing Personal Use of Vehicles

Employees must choose from one of three methods acceptable to the IRS to determine the value of the personal use of an employer- provided vehicle. Agencies must review and approve the valuation method chosen to ensure that New York State is in compliance with IRS regulations.

The acceptable valuation methods are:

  • Annual Lease Value – Most appropriate when the vehicle is provided for general use, both personal and business, by the employee.
  • Commuting Rule – Most appropriate when the vehicle is provided primarily for commuting and the employee is expected to use the vehicle for commuting.
  • Cents-Per-Mile – This method is the most restrictive and cannot be used if the fair market value exceeds set amounts in the year the vehicle was assigned or if the ALV method was used in the previous three (3) years.
Valuing Personal Use of Chauffeur Services

The value of personal use of chauffeur services is usually based on the fair market value of obtaining such services in the market place. An alternative method is to use the actual compensation of the chauffeur as defined in Internal Revenue Code Section 415(c)(3).

Computing the Value of Personal Use

Agencies must ensure that employees with employer-provided vehicles submit a completed Agency Report of the Taxable Value of Personal Use for the period of November 1, 2008 through October 31, 2009.

Agencies must review the form to determine if it is acceptable and in compliance with IRS regulations. Agencies must retain the form for four (4) years so that it is available in the event of an OSC or IRS audit.

Agencies must use the Earn Code FRB and enter the value of the personal use of the employer-provided vehicle on the Time Entry page or Miscellaneous File using the current pay period effective dates. The taxable amounts for 2009 should be processed in PayServ as soon as possible, but no later than Pay Periods 19-Lag and 20-Current for Institution and Pay Periods 18-Lag and 19-Current for Administration agencies to ensure the appropriate taxes are withheld during 2009. Failure to meet these deadlines may result in negative tax consequences for the employee.

If an agency is unable to report the transaction within the deadlines, the agency should submit the Agency Report of the Taxable Value of Personal Use to OSC as soon as possible. The worksheet may be faxed to OSC (518-486-3099) or scanned and sent to the Tax and Compliance mailbox for inclusion in the 2009 Form W-2 processing. OSC will make every effort to reflect this information in the Form W-2, but provides no guarantee. Late reporting may necessitate OSC to issue a Corrected Form W-2, which may require the employee to file an amended tax return and/or be liable for a tax penalty.

Form W-2 Information

The taxable value of personal use of an employer-provided vehicle is subject to income and Social Security/Medicare taxes and must be reported as income on the Form W-2 Statement. New York State will not withhold Federal income taxes. However, State, local and Social Security/Medicare taxes will be withheld.

While OSC cannot withhold taxes for inactive employees, OSC will include the taxable value on the employee’s Form W-2 Statement and assess a tax deficiency for the Social Security and Medicare taxes.

The amount of the taxable value is not considered salary for the purposes of computing retirement benefits.

Employee's Paycheck/Advice

The earn code FRB and the amount of the taxable value will appear on the paycheck stub or direct deposit advice and will be included in the YTD Gross.

Supporting Documents

Please click on the links below to access the following documents:

Guidance on Determining the Value of the Personal Use of Employer-Provided Vehicle

Guidance on Determining the Value of the Personal Use of Employer-Provided Chauffeur Services

Guidelines for Qualified Nonpersonal Use of Vehicles

Annual Lease Value Table

Agency Report of the Taxable Value of Personal Use

Questions

Questions regarding the taxable value calculation may be directed to the Tax and Compliance mailbox.