Question

Assume that Tom and Mason are in the 24% marginal tax bracket and the actual before-tax cost for Tom to drive to and from work is $0.30 per mile. What are Tom's and Mason's after-tax costs of commuting to and from work

Answer 1

The question incomplete! The complete question along with answer and explanation is provided below.

Question:

Eagle Life Insurance Company pays its employees $.30 per mile for driving their personal automobiles to and from work. The company reimburses each employee who rides the bus $100 a month for the cost of a pass. Tom, in his Mazda 2-seat Roadster, collected $100 for his automobile mileage, and Mason received $100 as reimbursement for the cost of a bus pass.

a. What are the effects of the $100 reimbursement on Tom's and Mason's gross income?

b. Assume that Tom and Mason are in the 24% marginal tax bracket and the actual before-tax cost for Tom to drive to and from work is $0.30 per mile. What are Tom's and Mason's after-tax costs of commuting to and from work?

Explanation:

a.

For Tom:

He is required to include the $100 in gross income therefore, he would have to pay after-tax cost on the reimbursement.

For Mason:

He is not required to include the $100 in gross income due to qualified transportation fringe.

b.

For Tom:

Marginal tax = 24%

The after-tax cost of commuting = 0.24*$100 = $24

The before-tax cost of commuting = $0 (since he was reimbursed)

For Mason:

The after-tax cost of commuting = $0

The before-tax cost of commuting = $0 (since he was reimbursed)