Commuting Made Smart
Commuter Benefits
Mobile & Sustainable
The cost of commuting continues to rise and consumes a larger portion of an employee’s income. With average commuter costs taking up as much as 15% of an employee’s income, a commuter benefits program can help ease the pinch of commuting costs.
Control Your Working Commute
No matter how you get to work, get there with minimal hassle and less costs.
Each year, the IRS determines the monthly amount of pre-tax payments for qualified transit and parking expenses. By participating in the Commuter Spending Account (CSA) plan, you are able to save both federal income tax and FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes on all contributions. Depending on your needs, there are two types of CSAs that could help you save. A CSA is an IRS regulated, employer-sponsored benefit plan that allows you to pay for eligible parking and transportation expenses with pre-tax money saving you as much as 40% on your commuter costs. When using mass transit or a van-pool service (the vehicle must seat six (6) adults excluding the driver), the CSA enables you to use pre-tax dollars to pay for items such as transit passes, tokens, vouchers or fare cards.
Timely Transportation
Save money on mass transit options with our Transportation Spending Account.
Used to pay for eligible mass transit or van-pool expenses associated with travel to and from work.
Proactive Parking
Take advantage of commuting by car with our Parking Spending Account.
Used to pay for eligible parking expenses either at your place of employment or at a location where you use mass transit.
Commuter Benefits
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 | $325.00 |
| Pre-tax Contribution for Transit | - $0.00 | $325.00 |
| Adjusted Gross | $3,750.00 | $3,100.00 |
| Taxes (28%) | $1,050.00 | $893.20 |
| Take Home Pay | $2,700.00 | $2,206.80 |
| Less Parking Costs | $325.00 | - $0.00 |
| Less Transit Costs | $325.00 | - $0.00 |
| Income After Commuting Costs | $2,050.00 | $2,206.80 |
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
| 2025 | |
|---|---|
| Transit Expenses | $325 |
| Parking Expenses | $325 |