Commuter Accounts

Administration

Help your employees save money coming and
going to work by offering commuter benefits!

Commuter Benefits features that benefit you:

Alleviate staff commuting costs by offering Section 132 plans – contribute pretax dollars* to pay for qualified transportation expenses
Employees save between 15% – 40% toward eligible expenses, while employers save 7.65% on FICA taxes for each dollar contributed
BASIC Commuter Accounts seamlessly integrate with other benefits on our CDA platform. Employers can easily design their plan while participants experience lightning fast reimbursement on our easy-to-use mobile app or website!

* Refer to www.basiconline.com/regulations to view monthly tax-free reimbursement maximum

Guaranteed compliance

Variety of plan options

Increased employee satisfaction

Plan options include:

Transit

Participants choose a monthly election amount (up to the IRS maximum) to use pretax funds toward transit expenses. They use their BASIC Card to purchase transit fare, tokens, or vouchers at approved payment terminals. Unlike other pretax accounts, participants can change or stop their transit account election at any time.

Parking

Participants use pretax parking funds at eligible parking locations near the employer’s location or where the employee commutes via carpool, vanpool, or other commuter highway vehicle. They can use their BASIC Card for easy payment or pay out-of-pocket and submit a manual reimbursement. Like a Transit Plan employees can change the month elections each month as their needs change.

Gas Plus (non-tax advantaged)

The Gas Plus Account is available as part of the BASIC’s CDA offering that makes it easy for employers to configure a plan design that works for their specific workforce needs. It’s 100% employer funded and can be used to reimburse gas and/or public transportation expenses. The employer (client) determines the frequency and amount of plan contributions, plan dates, carryover allowance, and employee eligibility rules.

Bike (non-tax advantaged)

A Bike Account allows employees to be reimbursed for bike expenses associated with their commute from home to work. Attract and retain employees, especially in an urban environment where biking to work is common. Commuter benefits for biking include a quick workout, parking problem solver, time saver, and environmentally-friendly mode of transportation.

Commuter Benefits Regulations

Most commuter benefit plans are part of the IRS Section 132. Commuter Accounts (like parking and transit) are an employer-sponsored benefit that allows employees to set aside money on a pretax basis for qualified transit/commuter passes, parking, vanpooling, and commuter highway vehicles.

The IRS regulates what services or purchases are eligible under Section 132. Commuter benefits have a maximum contribution limit under Section 132. The IRS sets maximum monthly limits for both parking and transit. Current IRS limits can be found at our Regulations Page.

Eligible Expenses

Transportation to or from work via subway, train, bus, or ferry
Parking at or near the office at meters, garages, or lots
Parking at a commuter lot where commuters transfer to mass transit
Vanpool fees

Mandatory Commuter Benefits Ordinances:

Seattle, WA
New York City, NY
Berkeley & Richmond, CA
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Washington, DC
New Jersey – the first statewide ordinance
For details visit our Commuter Benefit Ordinance page

Commuter Benefit Plan Facts

Unlike Flexible Spending Accounts, employees can change their election amount at any time during the plan year.
The IRS ruled (Revenue Ruling 2014-0011) that transit stated cash reimbursements are no longer compliant. Transit expenses must be purchased with a benefits debit card or through a custom platform for commuter fares.
A plan document is not required for Commuter Plans; however, the rules, regulations, and administrative processes all must be provided to participants. Some form of summary documentation is needed.
Commuter Plans are not required to pass discrimination tests. An employer can offer parking, transit, and vanpooling benefits at one work location while only offering parking benefits at another location.
COBRA and HIPAA do not apply to Commuter Plans.
ERISA doesn’t apply to Commuter Plans; however, state laws may apply.
Employers need not file a Form 5500 for a Commuter Plan.

Give your employees the ability to leverage pretax savings, request a Commuter Accounts proposal today!

Learn More

BASIC Consumer Driven Accounts (CDA)

A cutting edge integrated system allowing employers and participants to manage all their benefit plans and benefit continuation (COBRA) accounts with one card, one website, and one mobile app.

Employers can choose to enrich their benefits package with a wide range of healthcare benefit accounts like FSA, Simple HRA, or HSA.
Combine with a variety of available benefit accounts such as Dependent Care, Commuter, Wellness Rewards, Employee Crisis, and Education Reimbursement.
Single sign-on solution to access benefit plans and benefit continuation accounts – no more switching between multiple systems!

We’re happy to help

Relationship Managers available for large clients or for our preferred referral partners
Toll-free support with below industry average hold times for all clients
Readily available customer service representatives for participant questions on eligible expenses
Our CDA benefit system empowers clients to perform routine functions like enrolling or terminating employees from a benefit plan at any time.
Support Requests can be made directly in our CDA benefit system, enabling clients to quickly request changes to their benefit plan, plus receive a tracking number and status updates. No need to track multiple email addresses or wonder about the status of your request.

About Commuter

What are commuter benefits?

Commuter benefits are employer-provided programs that help employees cover the costs of commuting to work, typically through pre-tax payroll deductions or employer subsidies. These benefits can include transit passes, parking expenses, or even subsidies for bicycle commuting. In fact, BASIC offers Transit, Parking, and Bike Accounts, as well as our Gas Plus Account to help employees with the cost of gas used to get to and from work!

Are commuter benefits tax-advantaged?

Commuter benefits are often tax-advantaged, as they allow employees to use pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible commuting expenses, reducing their taxable income and potentially saving on taxes. BASIC offers tax-advantaged commuter benefit accounts such as Transit and Parking Accounts, as well as accounts that are not tax-advantaged including our Gas Plus and Bike Accounts.

What are eligible commuter expenses?

Examples of eligible commuter expenses can include things like mass transit fare (e.g., bus, train, etc.), parking costs, bike purchases and maintenance, fuel costs for traveling to and from work, ride share fares to and from work, vanpools, and more. Each BASIC Commuter Account offering has its own eligible expense categories, so choose the account(s) that best fit your staff’s needs.