Photo by Mr. T in DC

Metro says it has in fact been granted an extension on implementing required changes to its SmartBenefits program. Last month, the transit agency announced that it would seek a year-long extension on the changes, which have been mandated by the IRS, after some controversy arose over a provision that would have required unused benefits to be returned to the employer at the end of each month, regardless of whether the employee was contributing their own pre-tax salary to it. Today’s announcement reported the extension has in fact been formally granted, giving WMATA until Jan. 1, 2011 to implement the revised program, so for the time being, employers may continue to assign monthly benefits directly onto their employees’ SmarTrip cards.

In related news, Metro also announced today that implementation of new SmarTrip features is expected to begin late spring 2010. Those features will include a new self-service website that will allow SmarTrip users to add value, view their trip history and check card balances all online.