Transportation legislation enables Sarah Lawrence College to offer employees the opportunity to set aside up to $280 a month ($3,360 a year) from their paycheck, on a pre-tax basis, to pay for commuting cost. In effect, the employees reimburse themselves on a tax-free basis for commuting expenses.

How Does It Work?

Employees should notify Human Resources by email of their interest in the program by completing the Commuter Benefits-Employer Compliance Form. HR will add employee to the HealthEquity site, and notify employee once added into the site. Employees may then self-enroll and self-administer transit benefits at Healthequity.com (Employees may elect up to $126 per month in the form of a MetroCard or up to $280 per month as a prepaid Visa Card to purchase mass transit. This amount is exempt from Federal Income, New York State and City Income, Social Security and Medicare Taxes.

TransitChek Policy and Advantages

  • Sarah Lawrence College is offering commuter program through Healthequity/Wageworks (Employee Login) as a pre-tax benefit. This program will allow eligible employees to commute tax-free up to $280 per month, $3,360 per year.
  • By participation in the pre-tax Healthequity/Wageworks commuter program, employees in effect give themselves a raise in pay. Depending on the tax bracket and the amount set aside, the tax-exemption will be at least 30% of the amount set aside – for example, an employee in a salary range of $20,000 to $40,000 who elects $1,200 a year in pre-tax commuter benefits actually reduces their payroll taxes by over $360.
  • This amount is exempt from Federal Income, New York State and City Income, Social Security and Medicare taxes.
  • Commuting costs cannot otherwise be “written off” as income tax deductions.
  • Commuter prepaid Visa Cards are accepted by providers of mass transit in the New York Metro area, including LIRR, Metro-North, NJ Transit, PATH, MTA subways and buses, suburban buses, van pools and ferry service. For more information please go to the HealthEquity/ WageWorks website.

Procedure:

The following procedures shall apply to Healthequity.com participants:

  • Employees may enroll on a monthly basis.
  • Employee must notify Human Resources by email of their interest in the program by completing the Commuter Benefits-Employer Compliance Form.
  • Employees may review, change, and manage their monthly benefit online at Healthequity/Wageworks (Employee Login).
  • Commuter products are paid for by Employee one month in advance.
  • Commuter products will be mailed to the employee's home and reloaded monthly thereafter.
  • Commuter products can be replaced if they are lost or stolen but a charge may be applied.
  • Commuter products will be made available at the end of each month for transportation the following month.
  • In the event of separation from the College, per the IRS, the employee is not entitled to a cash refund on pre-tax funds. 
  • The College reserves the right in its sole discretion to modify, amend, suspend or terminate the HealthEquity/WageWorks Program at any time without notice. No program is intended as a guarantee of benefits or rights.
  • TransitChek Program Documents

    Name Description Status Source
    Transit Introduction-HealthEquity Required HealthEquity Commuter-Transit Presentation.PPTX Edit Transit Introduction-HealthEquity Delete Transit Introduction-HealthEquity
    Enrollment Form Required CommuterBenefits-EmployerComplianceForm Original.pdf Edit Enrollment Form Delete Enrollment Form
    Online Enrollment Guide-HealthEquity Required HealthEquity Commuter-Transit Presentation.PPTX Edit Online Enrollment Guide-HealthEquity Delete Online Enrollment Guide-HealthEquity
    While focused on a reorder icon, press the Enter key or spacebar to "select" the icon. While a reorder icon is selected, pressing the up and down arrows will change the order of the selected item within the list. Pressing Enter key or spacebar again will drop the selected item at that location in the list.
While focused on a reorder icon, press the Enter key or spacebar to "select" the icon. While a reorder icon is selected, pressing the up and down arrows will change the order of the selected item within the list. Pressing Enter key or spacebar again will drop the selected item at that location in the list.