How does my Benefits Card work?

If you elect to utilize the Benefits Card at enrollment, you will receive the Card in the mail after your initial enrollment. You can elect a Card during enrollment or by logging in to your Surency Member Account and order a Card. It is essentially a limited use Credit Card. The funds are added to the Card electronically each pay date during the month following the enrollment deadline.

What records must I keep if I receive a qualified transportation or parking benefit?

If your employer utilizes a cash reimbursement system, you will have to provide Surency with receipts or some record of your expenses in order to substantiate your claim(s).

What are the claim(s) filing limits?

Federal Regulations require claims to be filed and substantiated within 180 of incurring the expense. All claims filed after the 180 day window will be denied and funds will be forfeited.

What documentation must accompany my claim in order to receive reimbursement?

Federal Regulations require you to provide a written statement from the service provider that supports your claim if the service provider supplies receipts or other documentation in the ordinary course of its business. If the service provider does not supply receipts or other documentation, check the box indicating that you have attempted to obtain a valid receipt, but the service provider does not supply one. If the service provider normally supplies documentation, such as receipts, you must provide a copy with your claim.

The documentation must contain the following:

• The service provider’s name.
• The date or range of dates of parking, transit, or payment. You may not claim expenses for more than one month on one line.
• A description of the service provided (for example, "Month/Year Parking" or "Month/Year bus fare”).
• The cost of the service or the amount paid.

Do I have to send anything with a claim form?

Submit receipts for the month or week and a signed reimbursement claim form to Surency as substantiation of your incurred expense. You can only be reimbursed for services that have already been provided.

How do I get reimbursed for my expenses?

Surency offers three ways to get reimbursed.

1. The easiest option is to use the Surency mobile app. Choose “File a Claim,” enter the requested information and snap a photo from your phone of your receipt. The claim request and receipt will be automatically sent to Surency for processing.  
2. Log in to your Member Account. Choose “File a New Claim,” upload your receipt and enter the requested information. The claim request and receipt will be sent to Surency for processing.
3. Print a Parking or Transit Claim Form and mail it to Surency for processing. Your claim form must be signed indicating that you agree to the condition of the Commuter Benefits Program reimbursement procedures.

Remember, if you paid for the transit or parking expenses with your Benefits Card, you will not need to file a claim.  

What are the annual limits for Commuter Benefits?

Annual limits are set by the IRS. The following limits are currently in effect for 2024 (indexed annually): 

• Parking deduction is limited to $315 per month; and 
• Transit passes & vanpooling, whether separately or combined, deduction is limited to $315 per month.

Any monthly costs above these limits cannot be exempt from taxes and cannot be carried over to future months. Although these are the limits set by the IRS, your employer may choose to offer lesser amounts.

I pay for parking at a park-and-ride lot, but pay for a bus separately. How do I use pre-tax dollars to pay for parking and transit separately?

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 $315 transit limit; the parking fee would count toward the $315 parking limit.

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 personal van or other vehicle that you or one of the other commuters owns or operates is not a vanpool. The van must be primarily used for commuting (more than 80% of the miles driven must be for transporting people to and from work) and have a seating capacity of at least six (6) adults, excluding the driver, and must typically be at least half full of commuters.

Transportation in a commuter highway vehicle (vanpool) which is provided "by and for" (on behalf of) the employer is eligible for the Commuter Benefits Program. These types of vanpool arrangements are: employer-owned; employer-leased; employee-owned; employee-leased, and public transit operated.