Qualified Transportation Expense Plan
The university offers a Qualified Transportation Expense (QTE) Plan, administered by EBPA. The QTE Plan enables you to reduce your taxable income by setting aside pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible commuting expenses.
Eligibility
The below populations are eligible for this benefit:
- Full-time faculty members
- Full-time administrative staff
- Part-time administrative staff who are scheduled to work 20 hours or more per week
- Part-time faculty members
- Academic student workers
Types of Accounts
There are two types of QTE accounts:
Mass Transit
Eligible expenses include commuting expenses incurred for travel to and from work by subway, train, bus, ferry, or van pool. Taxicab expenses are not eligible.
Parking
Eligible expenses include parking expenses incurred at a parking facility near your workplace or at a parking location from which you commute to work by mass transit or carpool.
How the QTE Plans Work
By enrolling in the Qualified Transportation Expense (QTE) Plan, you can pay for qualified workplace mass transit and parking expenses on a pre-tax basis, meaning you will not have to pay federal income taxes, social security (FICA) taxes or most state income taxes on these expenses. When you enroll in the Plan, you must indicate how much you want to contribute to your Mass Transit and/or Parking Account. Your pre-tax contribution and monthly benefit will be limited to the maximum allowed by the IRS. Any election amount that exceeds the IRS maximum will be deducted on an after-tax basis (post-tax).
Review the Qualified Transportation Expense Plan Summary for more information.
Enrollment and Modifications
New employees are eligible to enroll in this benefit once they have reached their benefits-effective date. You can enroll in the plan or make changes to your account once per month throughout the year by initiating a benefits event in MyDay via the instructions to Change In-Transit Parking Amount (you do not need to wait for Open Enrollment). Your enrollment or change will take effect on the first of the month following the date of your MyDay change. You may view your current benefits and per-paycheck contributions anytime. For technical assistance contact the Workday Solutions Group, or contact Benefits Help for any benefits questions.
Once enrolled, you will be issued a benefits card from EBPA with a MasterCard logo to use for Qualified Mass Transit and/or Qualified Parking expenses. The Benefits Card works much like a credit card. It allows you to pay for qualified transportation expenses at the point of sale and is accepted wherever MasterCard or Visa are accepted. In order to make a purchase using your card, you must have enough funds available in your account to cover the expense.
Once your EBPA account is established, you can access it online at ebpabenefits.com. (Go to Sign In; then use The New School as the Employer Name. Then go to Qualified Transportation and register or log in.) You can also call EBPA at 888.678.3457. You can then view your account contributions, reimbursements, and account balance(s) at any time.
If you leave The New School, your participation in the QTE Plan ends on your employment termination date. You will not be able to use your benefits card to pay for expenses after that date.
Contributions
If you choose to contribute to a Mass Transit or Parking Account, monthly minimum and maximum elections apply, as follows:
Account Type | Minimum | Maximum |
Mass Transit Account | $25 | $315 |
Parking Account | $25 | $315 |
In addition to making the pre-tax contribution to the Mass Transit and Parking accounts, you can elect to make post-tax contributions if your expenses exceed the maximum pre-tax allowable election. That way, your entire monthly commuting expense can be paid for using your benefits card. Funds in your account(s) not used at the end of the calendar year will be carried over to the next calendar year.
Submitting a Claim
If you pay for QTE-eligible expenses out of pocket instead of using your benefits card, you should print and complete a QTE Reimbursement Claim Form (below). You can submit your completed Reimbursement Claim Form and receipts electronically through EBPA's secure document submission portal, secure.ebpabenefits.com (select "Reimbursement Accounts"). You can also return your completed form and receipts to the mailing address or fax number indicated on the form.
You have until March 31 of the following calendar year to request reimbursement.
Claim Forms:
QTE - Claim Form.pdf
QTE - Direct Deposit Reimbursement Form.pdf
Return to Benefits - Overview.