Frequently Asked Questions
Commuter Benefits Program
General Information
Eligible Expenses
Deadlines
Benefit Elections - Transit
Benefit Elections - Parking
Benefit Elections - General
Reimbursement
General Information
What is the Commuter Benefits program?
The Commuter Benefits program is a qualified transportation benefit
program under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) § 132 which allows employees
to pay for certain employment-related transportation expenses on
a pre-tax basis.
Which benefits are offered?
- Mass Transit: The
Commuter Benefits program provides employees with the convenience
of buying transit passes online and having them automatically
delivered every month directly to their homes.
- Parking: Employees
may elect to have their parking facility paid directly every month,
or they may choose to establish an account from which their parking
expenses are reimbursed.
- Vanpool: Employees
may elect to have their vanpool provider paid directly every month
or establish a pre-tax account from which their vanpool expenses
may be reimbursed.
Who is Eligible?
All state employees, including limited term employees, (LTEs) can
participate in this pre-tax Commuter Benefits program. Spouses and
dependent children are not eligible. Any employee who regularly
pays for mass transit, vanpool or parking may take advantage of
this program. NOTE: If you already have your parking
or vanpool expenses deducted pre-tax from your paycheck, you do
not need to sign up for this benefit. You are already enjoying a
tax-free benefit.
How do I enroll?
Visit Fringe
Benefit Management Company's website where you will be able
to enroll, change or delete your Commuter Benefits election.
Why should I use the Commuter Benefits
program?
You will save money - up to a 40 percent tax savings on transit
or parking up to the maximum pre-tax benefit limit.
- Commuters get convenient delivery of monthly passes from transit
providers.
- A direct pay option is available to make automatic payments
to your parking provider.
- The costs for these services are automatically deducted from
your paycheck.
Who is responsible for administering
the program?
The Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) oversees the program.
A third-party administrator, Fringe Benefits Management Company
(FBMC), provides administrative services. FBMC is responsible for
online enrollment, order and delivery of your transit passes, paying
your parking facility or vanpool directly, and processing requests
for reimbursement of eligible expenses. Eligibility of expenses
is dictated by the IRS, and FBMC uses those guidelines when reviewing
claims.
Is my information on the Commuter Benefits
program system kept secure and private?
Yes. FBMC, the program administrator, maintains physical, electronic
and procedural safeguards for protecting personal information.
What are the dollar limits on tax-free
transit and parking benefits?
Federal law limits the amount of gross wages you may spend each
month on tax-free transit or parking. Effective January 1, 2012,
the limits are $125 per month for transit and/or vanpool, and $240
per month for parking.
Can I combine the dollar limits from
month to month?
No. The specified limits for transit, parking and vanpool apply
individually to each calendar month.
Will participation in the Commuter
Benefits program have an impact on my other benefits?
Participation in the Commuter Benefits program has no impact on
the gross amount of earnings used to calculate retirement, life
insurance, income continuation insurance, sick leave conversion
credits, unemployment or workers' compensation.
The plan reduces the salary amount used for calculating Social
Security benefits at retirement. Your Commuter Benefits program
contribution also reduces the includable compensation used to compute
the maximum amount deferred under a tax shelter annuity or deferred
compensation plan.
Will I need to fill out any special
tax forms to get my savings?
No.
Eligible Expenses
What commuting expenses are eligible?
Only actual amounts spent by you for the purpose of commuting to
and from work are eligible. There are limits on the amount you can
claim. Two types of commuting expenses are eligible under federal
law:
- Mass transit fares, including tickets, passes,
tokens, vouchers or other fares for riding buses, trains, paratransit
vans or other mass transportation vehicles. The cost of participating
in an official vanpool is also available. The cost of commuting
in a taxi or in your personal car or van is not included.
- Parking fees at or near your work place or
parking at a location from which you commute to your work place
via mass transportation or a carpool (such as a park-and-ride
lot). Residential parking is not eligible.
Only parking and mass transit costs incurred by you in connection
with travel between your residence and your work place are eligible.
What expenses are not eligible?
Only expenses for your workplace parking and mass transit are eligible
on a pre-tax basis. Commuting expenses you cannot claim under the
program include, but are not limited to, the following examples:
- Tolls;
- Traffic tickets;
- Fuel;
- Mileage or other costs you incur in operating a vehicle;
- Taxis;
- Payments to a fellow carpool participant or to a friend who
drives you to work;
- Expenses incurred for parking at your spouse's place of work;
- Parking at a mall or similar location where you stop on your
drive to or from your place of work; and
- Costs paid by your employer, such as for a business trip.
I ride in a car pool with my neighbor.
Can I take advantage of this program?
Only the Commuter Benefits program participant who actually pays
for the parking space may have the cost deducted from his or her
paycheck on a pre-tax basis.
Is my vanpool eligible?
Under federal law, arrangements where you and other commuters share
the cost of renting a van for commuting to work are eligible for
tax-free transit benefits. A van that you or one of the other
riders owns or operates as your personal vehicle is not a vanpool. Also,
the van must be primarily used for commuting, must have a seating
capacity of at least six adults including the driver and must typically
be at least half full.
My parking expenses are deducted from
my paycheck. Do I need to sign up for this benefit to have it deducted
pre-tax?
No, if your parking is provided through a state agency and the
cost is deducted from your paycheck, you are already enjoying a
tax-free benefit.
Deadlines
What is the deadline to sign up, change
or cancel my benefits?
The deadline for ordering transit and parking passes through the
Commuter Benefits program online is the 10th of the month to receive
benefits on the first of the following benefit month. If you miss
the 10th of the month deadline, you will not receive your pass by
the first of the following month. For example, if you enroll on
September 12, you will not receive your pass until November 1.
If I sign up now, can I make changes
later?
Yes. You can change or discontinue your participation in the Commuter
Benefits program later.
If I don't sign up now, can I do so
later?
Yes. The Commuter Benefits program is a monthly program. You may
make an election every month. Remember that you must enroll by the
10th of the month to receive your transit passes or have
your parking provider paid by the first of the following benefit
month.
I missed the deadline for next month. What
do I do?
Unfortunately, the deadline for signing up, changing or canceling
benefits for any given month can not be altered. Be sure to contact
FBMC immediately when you know that your parking or transit needs
may change. All changes must be made by the 10th of the
month. Any benefits processed after the 10th
of the month may not be refunded.
Benefit Elections - Transit
Why can't I just get a cash reimbursement,
instead of ordering my transit passes online?
Government regulations prevent us from allowing cash reimbursement
when a transit pass is readily available for purchase from the Commuter
Benefits program site. You can be reimbursed for transit passes
if:
- The transit pass is not available through the Commuter Benefits
program;
- The transit pass is not available through the Commuter Benefits
program in the denomination that you purchase from the transit
agency; or
- You purchased your pass through the Commuter Benefits program
and had two occasions when the pass was not delivered.
We monitor reimbursement claims and may deny your claim if the
pass is available on the Commuter Benefits program website.
Can I sign up to get my transit pass
automatically without having to come back to the Commuter Benefits
program every month?
Yes. By selecting "Every Month" when
you configure your transit selection, you will automatically receive
your transit pass. You will not need to come back to the Commuter
Benefits program website unless you wish to make a change to the
monthly frequency or to the type of pass.
I pay for parking at my park-and-ride
lot, but pay for a bus pass separately. How do I use pre-tax dollars
for both parking and transit?
You can use pre-tax dollars for parking and for transit by electing
each commuter benefit separately. The bus fare would count toward
the monthly transit limit; the parking fee would count toward the
parking limit.
My transit plans can change from
month to month. How accurate do I have to be when I predict my next
month's expense?
If you are unsure about the total expense, you may wish to underestimate
how much to have withheld from your paycheck. Remember the monthly
pre-tax limits when making your benefit election.
Benefit Elections - Parking
What is the direct pay option
for parking?
The Commuter Benefits program will automatically pay your designated
parking provider on a monthly basis using your pre-tax dollars.
Because your provider is paid directly, you do not need to submit
paper receipts for reimbursement.
Eligible parking is the cost of parking at or near your place of
work, or at or near a place from which you commute to work via mass
transit, such as a park-and-ride lot. The cost of parking at your
place of residence is not included under any circumstances.
When will my parking provider be paid
under the direct pay option?
Any payment instruction that you create by the 10th of each month
is sent to your parking provider so that it arrives before the first
of the subsequent month. For example, if on June 8 you instruct
the Commuter Benefits program to pay $100 to Ed's Garage, Ed's Garage
will receive payment in time to post it to your account before July
1.
Can I schedule payments to occur
at some other time during the month?
No.
I pay for my parking every day or
every week. Can I use the direct pay option?
Direct pay can be used to make payments once a month. You cannot
schedule daily or weekly payments. Otherwise, use the pay me
back feature from the Parking menu to be reimbursed for your
daily or weekly out-of-pocket expenses.
Benefit Elections - General
What happens to my transit pass order
or parking payment if I leave state service?
Be sure to logon to www.myfbmc.com
and cancel your benefit election immediately when you know that
your parking or transit needs may change. All changes must be made
before the 10th of the month. Any benefits processed
after the 10th of the month may not be refunded.
What if the transit or parking I use
isn't available through the Commuter Benefits program system?
You can still enjoy tax savings on parking or transit items if
you report them as out-of-pocket expenses. For parking expenses,
simply enroll in the pay me back option to have your expenses
reimbursed directly to you. For transit expenses, click on the link
"Click here to enroll in Transit Cash Reimbursement"
found at the bottom of the "Transit Order"
page at www.myfbmc.com.
You may then enter your usual monthly out-of-pocket expenditure
for transit.
My monthly commuting costs vary. How
much should I enter for my monthly expense?
You should enter your usual expense in an ordinary month, ignoring
special circumstances like sick days, short vacations and occasional
overtime.
What happens to my pay me back
election if I do not use all the money deposited into my commuter
benefit account for the current month?
There is no "use it or lose it" rule. Excess balances
will be carried over to the subsequent month. You may adjust future
monthly Commuter Benefit elections to avoid having an excess balance.
Reimbursement
If I buy my transit pass or have my
parking facility paid directly through the Commuter Benefits program,
do I need to submit a receipt?
No. You only need to submit receipts if you report your out-of-pocket
expenses.
With the pay me back option
how do I get reimbursed for my daily parking or transit expenses?
Submit your receipts for the month and a reimbursement claim form
to FBMC. You may include both parking and transit expenses on the
same reimbursement claim form. Please allow 10 to 15 days to receive
your reimbursement check.
What kind of supporting documents
need to be submitted so that I can be reimbursed?
When submitting a claim include an expense receipt from the parking
facility or transit provider that shows:
- the name of the vendor;
- the date(s) the service was provided; and
- the cost for the service.
When proof that an eligible expense has occurred is not available,
you must sign and submit a statement indicating the expense incurred.
Canceled checks are acceptable as supporting documentation.
You can also create an electronic receipt at www.myfmbc.com.
Click the "Submit Receipts" button then
click on the "eReceipt" button on the
right side of the page following the instructions. If you use the
"eReceipt" option you do not have to
send a claim form.
I have the same out-of-pocket expense
every month. Do I still need to submit receipts?
Yes. Commuter Benefits will withhold your out-of-pocket expense
automatically from your paycheck if you click "Every Month,"
for your account, but you still need to submit receipts. Your commuting
expenses will not be reimbursed until the Commuter Benefits program
receives your receipts.
My provider doesn't give receipts
or ticket stubs. What should I do?
You can submit an eReceipt online to certify your expense at www.myfmbc.com.
You will not need to submit an envelope with the eReceipt function.
Select "Reimburse Me" and click on your
expense link to access the eReceipt option.
What happens if I don't submit receipts
or other documentation?
Your commute expenses will not be reimbursed until you submit your
receipts.
Where do I get more of the Commuter
Benefits program reimbursement request forms?
Reimbursement forms
are available on this site or call FBMC Customer Service to request
forms by mail.
FMBC Customer Service 1-800-342-8017
Fringe Benefits Management Co.
P.O. Box 1878
Talahassee, FL 32303-1878
www.myFBMC.com
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