As stated above, the $50 fee has nothing to do with pass privileges being considered income by the IRS. The 20% discount we get for a Fly for Less ticket, however, does find its roots in the IRS tax code which limits employee discounts to 20% to avoid being charged imputed income. Along those lines, I was expecting to be charged imputed income on our One Great Team passes as that was a guaranteed seat for the employee's benefit, not the company's but never saw anything that did so.

The $50 pass fee is merely another way to "balance the books" on the backs of employees - kinda like our buddy passes which have really become ridiculously priced when compared to, say, Southwest. Had a friend ask me about two passes so he and his wife could go to San Antonio and it priced out at $300 round trip per person...I was floored. Probably why I usually have 8 left at the end of my pass year. That's a benefit that the negotiating committee can give up for me in exchange for another $0.50/hr in per diem. 😊