How to use commuter benefits for Uber and Lyft:
- Open up the Lyft or Uber app on your smartphone.
- Select Commuter Benefits as your payment method and add your card information.
- When you are ready to schedule your ride, open your app and choose your destination.
- Select your prepaid card as your payment method.
- Select the eligible shared ride option
Who is eligible for commuter benefits?
The benefits can be managed in one of three ways:
- Employers pay for an employee’s transit, vanpool, or parking expenses. In return, the employer receives a tax deduction for the amount up to the monthly limit for each commuter.
- Employees pay for their commuter expenses with pre-tax income deducted from their paychecks. ...
- The employer and employee share the costs by combining options one and two.
What is eligible commuter benefits expense?
- Highway tolls (EZ Pass, iPass, etc)
- Fuel/gasoline expenses
- Personal transportation or parking expenses not for getting to/from work
- Expenses for traveling between work and business meetings
- Transportation or parking expenses for spouses and dependents
- Airline flights
- Bicycle expenses, including bike sharing expenses
- Scooter sharing expenses
Are commuter benefits taxable?
Commuter benefits are considered tax-free benefits, not employee wages, so your company can save on average 7.65% in payroll taxes. Employees who participate in your commuter benefit program don’t have to pay income taxes on the money they set aside for their commute, saving up to a whopping 40% on their commuting expenses.
What are commuting expenses and are they tax deductible?
Unfortunately, commuting costs are not tax deductible. Commuting expenses incurred between your home and your main place of work, no matter how far are not an allowable deduction. Costs of driving a car from home to work and back again are personal commuting expenses.
Is commuter benefits use it or lose it?
The pre-tax transit or vanpool benefit is not a "use it or lose it" benefit. It is intended to be deducted and used each month. However, since employers capture the payroll deductions upfront, the employee uses the deductions on a rolling basis.
Can I withdraw money from my WageWorks commuter card?
How do I use the card? Your card can be used for debit or credit transactions to make qualified transit or parking purchases. Purchases can be made where Visa® is accepted by selecting “Credit or Debit” at the time of purchase. Your card cannot be used for cash advances or to make cash withdrawals.
Can commuter benefits be refunded?
Per IRS regulations, your employer can't refund your unused commuter benefits funds back to you. However, you can submit claims for eligible expenses incurred during employment for up to 90 days.
How do you use commuter?
You use your WageWorks Commuter Card just like you use a debit card—just swipe and go. Use it at transit agency ticket vending machines, ticket windows, and transit agency ordering websites.
Can I use my WageWorks commuter card for Uber?
With our partnership with Uber, you can now use your WageWorks® Commuter Card to pay for uberPOOL rides. This gives you the flexibility to use pre-tax funds to pay for uberPOOL rides when commuting to and from work.
What can I purchase with my WageWorks commuter card?
The WageWorks Commuter Card can be used to buy virtually every type of public transit pass, including bus, light rail, regional rail, streetcar, vanpool, trolley, subway, and ferry. The WageWorks Commuter card can also be used to pay for a wide variety of parking options in more than 3,000 locations.
Do commuter funds expire?
Commuter benefits funds do not expire unless you leave your company. These funds will continue to rollover month to month, year to year, as long as you're still at the same company. However, when you leave the company, any unused funds in your account will be returned to the company.
Can you take money out of WageWorks?
Yes, you can withdraw funds from your HSA at any time. But please keep in mind that if you use your HSA funds for any reason other than to pay for a qualified medical expense, those funds will be taxed as ordinary income, and the IRS will impose a 20% penalty.
Does commuter FSA roll over?
Any unused amounts left in the accounts at the end of the plan period are carried over into the next plan period. Employees have access to these funds from year to year as long as they remain eligible.
Can transit benefits be used for Uber?
Get an Uber ride and save money to get to or from work If you'd like, you can also use your savings toward public transit, like the subway or a bus, or qualified parking.
Can I use commuter benefits for Lyft?
WageWorks® Commuter Benefits just keep getting better. Starting today, individuals in Boston, Miami, New York City and Seattle with a WageWorks Commuter Benefits Account can use their pre-tax dollars to pay for Lyft Line rides to and from work.
What are commuter expenses?
Commuting expenses are costs that are incurred as a result of the taxpayer's regular means of getting back and forth to his or her place of employment. Commuting expenses can include car expenses, biking expenses, and public transportation costs. These costs are not tax-deductible in the U.S.
How much does a commuter benefit save?
Employees are enrolled to take advantage of the benefit. Employees use up to $270 tax-free dollars to go to work and back. Employees save $700 per year and companies save $40 per month for each employee.
What are commuter benefits?
Commuter benefits allow employers to support their employees when it comes to their daily commute. Commuter benefits include parking benefits and transit benefits, as well as benefits for vanpool and bicycle commuting. When an employee enrolls in a commuter benefits program, they can pay for their commuting costs with pre-tax money, ...
Why do employers offer commuter benefits?
Top reasons to offer commuter benefits: Employees save on commuting costs while employers save on payroll taxes. Attract, retain and engage employees. Create a happier, less stressed and productive work environment. Easy, hassle-free sign up leaves more time for other important tasks.
How much do you save on transit?
On average, employees save $700 each year, or more when they set aside up to $270.00 a month to pay for transit commuting expenses. Based on current legislation, your company can offer commuter benefits in the form of tax-free employer-paid subsidies, pre-tax employee-paid payroll deductions, or a combination of both.
What are some examples of tax free benefits?
For example, their tax-free dollars can be provided to pay for their commuting costs using: Vouchers. Smart Cards.
Is commuting a decision making factor?
With time and costs to get to work continuing to increase, commuting remains a major decision making factor for employees when accepting an offer or changing jobs. When it comes to the total benefits package, employee expectations are changing. The benefits you offer need to keep up with those expectations.
Is Vanpool a tax benefit?
Although there are no tax benefits to employers who offer biking, it is a great perk to offer for employees who may bike to work.
What are the benefits of being a commuter?
Commuter Benefits – Tax Savings, Expenses, Advantages, and More. For most people, the transportation costs associated with getting to and from work aren’t in the same ballpark as healthcare costs. Yet, fuel costs, vehicle maintenance, parking fees, transit fares, and other associated expenditures can still add up to a sizeable expense for many.
What is commuter benefit?
What are Commuter Benefits? The formal designation for federal commuter benefits is the “Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit .”. It consists of a voluntary benefit program, regulated by IRS Code Section 132 (f), that allows employers to provide pre-tax transportation benefits to their employees.
How does a transit card work?
The card connects directly to a specific account funded by employee contributions and deducts the money whenever a purchase is made for commuter expenses. This can help account holders keep better track of their transit purchases, and they don’t have to worry about filing claims for reimbursement.
What are qualified expenses for a commuter?
Qualified expenses include: Riding in a commuter highway vehicle (vanpool) between the employee’s home and place of employment. A transit pass. Qualified parking. At one time, there was a bicycling commuter benefit. However, due to tax reform legislation, the bicycle benefit no longer offers a tax break.
Why do employers save on pre-tax contributions?
Employees save on pre-tax contributions to their commuter plan because it reduces their total taxable income.
What is transit pass?
Transit Pass. Any pass, token, fare card, voucher, or similar item for mass transit (bus, subway, train, ferry) OR a vehicle (operated by a third party) that sits at least 6 people, not including the driver. Parking. Parking lot fees for a lot that is located near the business premises. Commuter highway vehicle.
Do commuter benefits have to be included in payroll taxes?
These qualified commuter benefit expenses offer tax advantages to employers and their employees. Employers do not have to include them as part of an employee’s wages when calculating payroll taxes. Meanwhile, the expenses are excluded from an employee’s gross income for income tax purposes.
How much can a company save per month?
For example, a company can save up to $41 per month per employee. If you had 50 employees take advantage of commuter benefits every month for 12 months, you could save as much as $24,000.
Do you need to know about parking and ridesharing?
Parking and Ridesharing: what do you need to know. If you need to take public transportation to work, chances are commuter benefits can benefit you because in most cities, and some rural areas, there is a bus system for the area.
What are Commuter Benefits?
Commuter benefits give employees the opportunity to use tax-free dollars on commuting costs and keep more of what they earn in their paycheck. Companies that offer commuter benefits
Commuter Benefits eBook
Download our free Commuter Benefits 101 Guide: A complete guide to understanding how commuter benefits work, designed for HR professionals and benefit managers.
Current Commuting Solutions
Public Transit includes bus, train, subway and ferry services. We offer many options to pay for public transit such as our prepaid card, smart cards and transit passes.
Payment Methods
Our prepaid card can be used to pay for public transit, parking, Uber/Lyft, bike share, and e-scooter sharing. It’s fully integrated into your commuter benefits account.
Ordinance
Many cities and regions have recently passed mandatory commuter benefit ordinances.
Ready to Get Started?
Contact our sales team to learn more about commuter benefits and our Wired Commute programs.
Employer Calculator
Employers save an average of $40 per month for each participating employee. If 50 employees participate over 12 months,
How to reimburse yourself for medical expenses?
How to Reimburse Yourself for IRS-Qualified Medical Expenses With Your FSA or HRA 1 The claim is automatically processed, and you are reimbursed directly from your consumer-directed health accounts based on employer plan stacking rules, consumer eligibility, and available account balances, or; 2 Sent to your Expense Tracker, where you can choose whether to pay from your FSA or HRA. The Expense Tracker can be accessed from either the Member Website or the Mobile App for iOS and Android devices.
Do commuter benefits have to be paid in a tax year?
These accounts enable you to pay for certain workplace transit and parking expenses on a tax-free basis through payroll deductions. Commuter Benefits are not tied to a benefit year, so the funds will remain in your account until exhausted.
Commuter benefits overview
Reduce your commuting expenses by taking advantage of commuter benefits. The IRS allows for certain work-related transit and parking expenses to be deducted from your paycheck on a pre-tax basis. Because you do not pay taxes on these expenses, you can save on commuter expenses.
Online ordering model
Use your commuter benefits to purchase qualified products and services.
Why are employers focusing on more pressing employee needs than optional benefits?
Employers are focusing on more pressing employee needs than optional benefits, in part because there isn’t a reason to make major changes beyond making employees aware that they can alter their benefit profile.
Is opt in benefit enough?
Opt-in benefits are “not enough of a cost headache for companies to worry about changing in the short term,” Jennifer Benz, senior vice president at consulting firm Segal Benz, said. Some companies are developing quarantine-specific benefits “to support people being at home, Benz said.
