Commuting and Parking Benefits

Mass Transit and Mass-Transit-Related Parking:

Take the bus or train to work? To encourage the use of public transportation and reduce the expense of commuting to the office, we will reimburse your mass transit and public transit parking costs up to $100 per month. Reimbursement for transit expenses will be paid via payroll in the month following use of the benefit and subject to expense approval. For example, any June transit receipts will be paid in July. If you pay July transit in June, please wait until July to submit expenses for August payment.

Eligible expenses include:

• TRAX and FrontRunner daily tickets
• Monthly transit passes for TRAX and FrontRunner
• TRAX and FrontRunner parking, if applicable
  • Note: Per IRS guidelines, parking at the office is not a reimbursable expense.

Examples of Reimbursements:

• Employee submits a parking reimbursement request on September 20 for $150 for the benefit eligible period of the month of September. The receipt submitted has a payment date of September 1. The reimbursement request is approved but only for $100 because of the maximum eligible reimbursement amount of $100 per month.
• Employee submits a transit reimbursement request for $80 and a transit parking reimbursement request for $50 on September 18 for the benefit eligible period of the month of September. The transit request would be approved for $80 and the parking request approved for $20 (because it is more than the eligible maximum of $100 per month).

Important Note: Expenses for public transit and public transit parking fees (e.g., parking at a TRAX and FrontRunner station) are the only eligible expenses to receive the monthly reimbursement. Carpool lane expenses are not eligible for reimbursement.

Reimbursement Guidelines and Procedure:
Employees must follow the reimbursement procedure via the Espresa Workplace Program system that requires the following:

• You must submit your reimbursement requests no later than the fifth of the month for expenses incurred the previous month.
• All receipts submitted must clearly identify the transit or parking supplier, date (which must fall within the eligible month), and amount to be reimbursed. Credit card statements or screenshots from banking accounts will not be accepted.
• You’ll be able to submit receipts for the current and prior month only.
• You’ll receive reimbursement in your paycheck at the end of the month for the previous month’s expenses (for example, payment on October 31 will be for September transit expenses).
• Unused funds are not carried over from month to month.
• The reimbursement amount will be reported as taxable income on your W-2 and to the Internal Revenue Service and is subject to FICA, Medicare, federal, state, and local taxes.

Exclusions

All transportation and parking not listed under the Guidelines and Procedure section of this document are excluded from reimbursement eligibility.

Tax Liability

The amount reimbursed to employees will be reported as taxable income on your W-2 and to the Internal Revenue Service and is subject to FICA, Medicare, federal, state, and local taxes.