This petition was submitted during the 2017–2019 Conservative government
Rejected petition Travel Cost / Season Ticket Loans should be a Tax Free allowance
The average UK commuter spends 11% of their salary on travel, representing up to 5 times as much as passengers in other European countries.
This will be worsened in January when a permitted rise of 3.2% is inflicted. Once considered this increase contributes to a 9% rise since 2016.
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This increase out strips wage growth meaning another real time cost increase for millions of commuters, held to ransom by private, foreign train companies.
The exorbitant costs mean that many ‘commuter hostages’ have to rely upon their employer to provide a Season Ticket Loan to spread the cost of going to work.
This petition calls upon the UK Government to make the repayment of Travel Loans a tax free allowance, providing a small relief to the millions of citizens trapped in commuter misery.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.
We're not sure what action you would like the UK Government or Parliament to take. In particular, we are not clear what you mean by making the repayment of travel loans a tax free allowance.
According to HMRC, loans to employees of up to £10,000 are exempt from tax or National Insurance. This includes season ticket loans:
https://www.gov.uk/expenses-and-benefits-loans-provided-to-employees/whats-exempt
You could start a new petition calling for the cost of season tickets to be made tax deductible if that is something you would like to happen.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.