Commuter benefits help you to pay for the public transportation, vanpool, or parking that you need to get to and from work with pre-tax money – money you deduct from your paycheck before you pay taxes. Vanpool applies to transit with more than five passengers and parking benefits must be used for parking at or near work, or at or near a place where you take public transportation to work (such as at a Park and Ride).
In most cases, you can sign up any time—the benefit will be effective for the first month possible after you make your election.
You will receive an email indicating the reason for the denial along with instructions for submitting the requested documentation.
Cost Savings
Setting aside pre-tax dollars helps cover commuting costs and increase your actual take home pay. The following example illustrates these savings.
| Without Commuter Savings Account | With Commuter Savings Account | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Gross | $3,750.00 | $3,750.00 |
| Pre-tax Contribution for Parking | – $0.00 | $280.00 |
| Pre-tax Contribution for Transit | – $0.00 | $280.00 |
| Adjusted Gross | $3,750.00 | $3,190.00 |
| Taxes (28%) | $1,050.00 | $893.20 |
| Take Home Pay | $2,700.00 | $2,296.80 |
| Less Parking Costs | $280.00 | – $0.00 |
| Less Transit Costs | $280.00 | – $0.00 |
| Income After Commuting Costs | $2,140.00 | $2,296.80 |
Savings: $156.80 per month or $1,881.60 a year
Who Is Eligible
For employee eligibility: as with the Flexible Spending Accounts, eligibility in the Commuter Savings Accounts (CSA), only requires that you are an otherwise eligible employee of an employer that offers these accounts as part of their benefits program. A unique feature of the CSA is that there is not an “annual enrollment period” for the program. Eligible employees may enroll in or make changes to their contributions at any time throughout the year.
Contribution Limits
IRS MANDATED PRE-TAX CONTRIBUTION LIMITS
| 2024 | |
|---|---|
| Transit Expenses | $315 |
| Parking Expenses | $315 |
