The City of New York offers employees an opportunity to purchase an annual unlimited ride MetroCard, called Premium Transit check Metro Cards, via a pre-tax payroll deduction. With this card, you receive unlimited rides on subways and local buses, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
IRC Section 132, allows you to purchase your Premium Card with pre-tax dollars through payroll deductions. As a result, you do not pay Federal, State, City, Social Security, and Medicare taxes on payments for the card. The tax savings can be over $300 a year (based upon an annual salary of $38,900).
After enrollment the Premium Card will be mailed to the address you indicate on the enrollment form. Please provide a complete and accurate address to guarantee receipt of the card in time for your first month's use. Employees who wish to participate must complete and submit the Transit Benefit Enrollment Form to:
Administrative/Support Payrolls
Department of Education 65 Court Street - Room 1003
Brooklyn, New York 11201
ATTN: Transit Benefit Unit
As an alternative to processing an enrollment form; you can elect to enroll through the WEB Employee Self Service. Through this application, you can enroll, update or cancel your own application online. Using your centrally active DOE outlook email id, you can register with the Payroll Portal and then proceed to enroll, update or cancel your metro card membership.
Payroll Deduction
The cost of the Premium Card is $89.00 a month. After enrollment in the Transit Benefit Program, $41.08 (biweekly) or $44.50 (semi-monthly) will be deducted from your pre-tax wages each pay period. After the first two deductions, you will receive your Premium Card. Premium Cards always become active on the first day of a month and inactive on the last day of the month one year later. You will receive your new annual Premium Card approximately one week before your first month of usage commences.
Your Premium Card will remain valid as long as you continue to have deductions taken from your pay.
If your payroll deductions are interrupted for any reason such as anticipation of vacation, your Premium Card will be deactivated as of the first day of the month following the month during which the deduction was not taken. Your old Premium Card will not be reactivated even if you resume deductions.
When you resume participation in the Transit Benefit Program, sufficient deductions must be taken from your pay before you will receive a new Premium Card from the Transit Center. Depending on the balance prior to discontinuing deductions, one or two deductions will be required. After the threshold is met, you will receive your new Premium Card for use on the first day of the second month following the month during which the threshold is met.
You will not receive a refund for deductions taken from your pay for a Premium Card if you do not use your Premium Card. Refunds must be requested in writing to:
Transit Benefit Unit
OPA
One Centre Street
Room 200N
New York, New York 10007
Replacing a Card
The City will replace undelivered, damaged, and lost or stolen Premium Cards with receipt of a Certification form completed and signed by you, and the damaged card, if applicable. You can obtain a Certification form from the DOE's TransBenefit Coordinator at (718) 935-3545, receive it by fax from OPA's Service Line, (212) 669-8555, or download it from OPA's Web Site.
You can deliver, or mail the completed Certification form to OPA, TransitBenefit Unit, One Centre Street Room 200N, New York, NY 10007. Remember, a damaged Premium Card must be returned to OPA with a completed Certification before a replacement card can be provided to you. Replacement Premium Cards may be picked up at OPA or mailed to your designated address. Premium Cards will be replaced as follows:
Undelivered Premium Cards will be replaced with receipt of a Certification form, no earlier than the last business day of the month before the month of intended use. The replacement Premium Cards will be active the first day of the month of intended usage.
A damaged Premium Card will be replaced upon receipt of a Certification form and the damaged card. The replacement Premium Card will be active.
A lost of stolen Premium Card will be replaced with receipt of a Certification form. The replacement Premium Card will be active as of the first day of the month following the month during which the lost or stolen Premium Card was reported to OPA.
As soon as a Certification form is received, the undelivered, damaged, lost or stolen Premium Card will be deactivated. Once a Premium Card is deactivated, it will never be reactivated.