Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Pre-Tax Payroll Deduction Transportation Benefits
Pre-tax purchases are made only through payroll deduction. Customers may enroll or change their enrollment in the program throughout the year. Stanford Transportation works with Stanford’s payroll departments (University and Hospitals) every pay period to process the applicable deductions for that pay period.
On this page
- How does the program work?
- How do I use pre-tax deductions for sustainable transportation?
- What pre-tax purchases can be made?
- What purchases are not allowed using pre-tax deductions?
- Who is eligible to make purchases?
- How do I get started?
- What can pre-tax commuter transit dollars be used to purchase?
- What is the ordering deadline to receive an order the following month?
- Why does some of the language on the Edenred site not fit the Stanford context?
- What are my responsibilities as an employee?
- How do I cancel future parking payments through Stanford Transportation?
- How do I cancel, return, or exchange transit pass and commuter benefits from Edenred?
- What is the effect on Social Security?
- Who administers the Pre-Tax Transportation Program?
- What is the status and duration of the program?
How does the program work?
Purchase your permit online. If you are a benefits-eligible employee, your payment method is defaulted to payroll deduction.
- Prorated purchases. To maximize participant benefits in the program, all permit costs will be divided into a series of payroll deductions rather than from a single paycheck. This way, the monthly cap is not reached, and the entire permit cost will be deducted from an individual's pre-tax income.
- One deduction will be taken each month. Depending on your purchase date, payments will be deducted from your first or second paycheck during the month.
Deductions for all permit purchases will continue until the full price is paid or the permit is returned. (Daily parking permit purchases occur as a one-time deduction. All permits purchased with pre-tax deductions are non-refundable).
Please review the Pre-Tax Policies page for more information on employee responsibilities.
How do I use pre-tax deductions for sustainable transportation?
Eligible employees may use pre-tax dollars to purchase transit passes, transit parking (such as Caltrain monthly parking permits), and Commuter Checks. These purchases can be made through our Pre-Tax Transit and Commuter Benefits program. Please note that all transit passes purchased with pre-tax deductions are non-refundable.
Eligible employees can purchase daily parking permits with pre-tax dollars by purchasing permits through our Parking Permit Management System.
What pre-tax purchases can be made?
Order through Stanford Transportation:
- ‘MC’ permits
- 'A' and 'C' permits
- 'Z' permits
- One-day permits
Place your order: Stanford Transportation Parking Permit Management System
Order through Edenred Commuter Benefits program:
- Transit passes (AC Transit, ACE train, BART, Caltrain, Muni, SamTrans), Clipper Cash, Commuter Checks.
- BART and Caltrain parking permits
Place your order:
Stanford University (non-SRWC) employees' pre-tax commute purchases log in
Stanford Redwood City (SRWC) employees' pre-tax commute purchases log in
What purchases are not allowed using pre-tax deductions?
Transit products for family members or friends are not eligible under this program and must be purchased directly from transit agencies or related vendors; items purchased must be used for your commute. In addition, the following are unallowable expenses.
NOT allowable:
- Tolls
- Taxis
- Gas/fuel
- Mileage
- Business trip costs
- Airport parking fees
- Parking fees at your home
- Transportation expenses are not related to commuting.
Who is eligible to make purchases?
Employees who meet the following criteria are eligible to use pre-tax payroll deduction:
- Work 20 hours or more per week
- Are paid through Stanford University
Exclusions include:
- Individuals employed on campus who are not paid directly by the university or the hospitals
- Contingent, temporary, and casual employees
- Postdoctoral scholars
- Graduate students
- Visiting Scholars
How do I get started?
University Employees:
Eligible members of the Stanford University community have access to Edenred Commuter Benefits through Stanford’s single sign-on process. Sign in using the following steps:
- Go to the Edenred portal for your worksite location: Main Campus/SLAC or Redwood City.
- Sign in using your Stanford single sign-on credentials.
- You are now signed in to Edenred’s portal and can begin making pre-tax commuter transit purchases online.
Hospital Employees:
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Stanford Health Care employees can access pre-tax commuter benefits through Stanford Medicine’s HealthEquity Pre-Tax Commuter Benefits program.
What can pre-tax commuter transit dollars be used to purchase?
Commuters can purchase the same pre-tax commuter purchases as before this change, such as transit passes, Caltrain parking, Clipper Cash, and commuter checks. In addition, new options have been added, including BART parking.
What is the ordering deadline to receive an order the following month?
Orders must be placed through Edenred’s portal by the 10th of the preceding month. For example, if you want to receive an order in March, you must place your order by Feb. 10.
Why does some of the language on the Edenred site not fit the Stanford context?
Please be aware that Edenred’s system appears the same for all of their clients, so they use generic terms and cannot pre-populate some of the information specifically for Stanford, such as the cost of Caltrain parking. For example, where their form asks for the “Parking Account Number” for Caltrain parking, your Clipper card number is the correct number to enter.
What are my responsibilities as an employee?
Employees should observe the following policies and be advised that transit passes or parking permits purchased via pre-tax payroll deduction may NOT be purchased for or transferred to other individuals. Additional restrictions apply.
Monitoring payments: Employees are responsible for monitoring their paychecks to ensure proper deductions are made for their purchases.
Missed payments: Participants are liable for missed payments, including when an employee does not receive a paycheck during the pay period in which a deduction is scheduled. If you will miss a payment for any reason, contact Stanford Transportation.
How do I cancel future parking payments through Stanford Transportation?
Previous deductions: Changes may not be made to deductions already made. Parking pass cancellations: Parking permits should only be purchased as needed. All parking permits, except quarterly and monthly auto-renew permits, are invoiced in full and non-refundable once purchased. Only future recurring payments for quarterly and monthly auto-renew permits can be stopped by canceling the parking permit after the first effective month. Cancellation requests must be submitted by the 15th of the month to stop future recurring payments. Requests submitted after the 15th will result in one final monthly charge and remain effective until the last day of the following month. Unused permits: There will be no refunds for the unused portion of the current month’s permit or unused daily permits. For more information, visit our Permit Cancellation Policy/Return Policy.
How do I cancel, return, or exchange transit pass and commuter benefits from Edenred?
- Transit pass and commuter benefits cancellations, returns, and exchanges:
- Cancellations: Orders must be canceled through the Pre-Tax Transit and Commuter Benefits Portal by the 10th of the month for the next month's order to be canceled. For example, You would have to cancel your order by February 10th to stop an order for March. If you submit your cancellation on Feb. 20, in this example, the cancellation will take effect in April.
- No refunds, returns, or exchanges: Transit passes, Clipper card funds, and transit parking cannot be refunded, returned, or exchanged, even if you don't use them. If you have funds on your Clipper card, you have six months from leaving Stanford to use or add funds to the card (validate), or the value will expire. If you leave Stanford on or before the 10th of the month, you have until the end of the month to use the cash value on your Mastercard before it expires. If you leave Stanford on the 11th or later, you have until the end of the following month to use your Mastercard funds. If you have questions, please call Edenred Customer Service at 888.235.9223.
- Please refer to the Pre-Tax Transit and Commuter Benefits page for further information.
Once your transit pass or transit parking pass is mailed, Stanford Transportation and/or Edenred are NOT responsible if it gets lost. If you do not receive your pass in the mail, please contact Edenred immediately at 888.235.9223 and submit a support ticket.
What is the effect on Social Security?
Since this program generally lowers a participant’s taxable income (as reported on Form W-2), Social Security benefits may be reduced for certain participants (i.e., those who do not reach the annual FICA wage cap). Stanford-provided benefits will not be affected.
Who administers the pre-tax transportation program?
Stanford Transportation administers the Pre-Tax Transportation Program. Stanford Transportation reserves the right to request any information it deems necessary to determine that the program's requirements have been or will be met. Stanford Transportation also reserves the right to deny participation in the program if more than one scheduled deduction is missed.
What is the status and duration of the program?
This program is intended to provide benefits excluded from taxation under U.S. Internal Revenue Code Section 132(f) and California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 17149 (and/or other applicable laws). The program may be changed at any time by the University to effectuate or maintain compliance with these or other such laws. The University also reserves the right to modify this program in any other respect or discontinue this program at any time. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) does not govern this program.
For more information on federal regulations regarding pre-tax dollars used for personal transportation, refer to the “Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits (QTF)” section of the “Fringe Benefit Guide” on the Internal Revenue Service’s website.