Third Party Pre-Tax Parking Reimbursement Account Program - PowerPoint Presentation

Third Party Pre-Tax Parking Reimbursement Account Program Section 2200 of B.A.M. 1/26/2017 1

General Program Information 1 Not a subsidy program. Regulated by Section 132(f) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) – “Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits”. Voluntary deduction of a specified dollar amount on a pre-tax basis from pay warrant. Current max. deduction for the 2017 tax year is $255.00/month. 1/26/2017 2

General Program Information 2 Must be for work-related parking fees. State Controller’s Office (SCO) deduction code is 361-001.ASI (Application Software, Inc.) is the TPA.No open enrollment period. No minimum deduction amount. No admin. fee. 3 1/26/2017

General Program Information 3 Only one (1) parking space per employee unless they have appointments with multiple departments in different locations or their duties require them to park in different locations.Employee pays vendor directly to park at parking facility. 4 1/26/2017

General Program Information 4 By enrolling in program, employee authorizes SCO to deduct a matching amount from pay warrant on a pre-tax basis. Employee submits parking receipt with a claim form (CalHR 681) to get reimbursed for the money taken out of pay warrant. Depending on tax bracket, savings could be in 20-30% range. 1/26/2017 5

Eligibility Criteria 1 Active state employees who may participate: Rank and file; Managerial, Supervisory, Confidential, Excluded; Constitutional Officers; Judicial Council employees; Supreme, Appellate, and Superior Court Judges 1/26/2017 6

Eligibility Criteria 2 Employee drives personal vehicle to work or to a location from which they commute to work; Employee pays for receipted employment-related parking; Concurrent DGS/department-administered parking deduction/space not allowed. 7 1/26/2017

Eligibility Criteria 3 Eligibility begins first month after first payroll deduction (IRC requirement).Example: if the 1st deduction starts in the July pay period (August 1 pay warrant), the parking fees for August are the first which may be claimed for reimbursement. 8 1/26/2017

Enrollment, Changes, and Cancellations Employees must complete and submit the Reimbursable Account Enrollment Form (CalHR 682) to their employer if they wish to enroll, change their deduction amount, or cancel from the program. SCO must receive the CalHR 682 by the 10th of the month in order for the transaction to take place in the current pay period. Once established, deduction continues without interruption until employee requests a change or cancellation. 1/26/2017 9

RetroactivityThe IRS and state do not allow for retroactive transactions (enrollments, changes to deduction amount, and cancellations). CalHR 682’s not processed by SCO in the pay period requested become effective in the next pay period. ASI and CalHR do not process the CalHR 682. Transactions must be processed by the employee’s Personnel Office and SCO. 10 1/26/2017

1/26/2017 11 CalHR 682 Third Party Pre-Tax Parking Reimbursement Account Program Enrollment Form

12 1/26/2017 CalHR 682 Third Party Pre-Tax Parking Reimbursement Account Program Enrollment Form page 2

Parking Lot Transfers Employees must cancel from the program if they transfer from a private parking lot to a state/department-sponsored lot or vice versa. Employees with multiple pre-tax parking deductions taken from their pay warrant may face forfeiture of the unclaimed Third Party Pre-Tax Parking Reimbursement Account payroll deduction(s). 1/26/2017 13

Leave of Absence For Leave of Absence (LOA), the deduction will continue if there is "sufficient gross" pay. If an employee is on Industrial Disability Leave (IDL) and receiving non-taxable income, the deduction ceases. 1/26/2017 14

Claims Process 1 Monthly deduction is for the next month (e.g., July pay period deduction is for the month of Augusts' parking). Employee pays parking vendor and receives a receipt. Employee completes Reimbursable Account Claim Form (CalHR 681)and sends vendor parking receipt(s) to ASI at the address listed on the CalHR 681. CalHR does not process the CalHR 681. 1/26/2017 15

Claims Process 2 Claims/receipts can be submitted after paying for parking space; there is no need to wait until end of month to submit a claim. ASI must receive claims/receipts by the 15th of the month to ensure the claim is included in the current processing cycle. ASI mails reimbursement checks or a direct deposit is made into an employee’s bank account at the end of each month. 16 1/26/2017

1/26/2017 17 CalHR 681 Third Party Pre-Tax Parking Reimbursement Account Program Claim Form

Stop Payment (Lost Checks) If an employee does not receive or loses their reimbursement check, the employee should contact CalHR for instructions on how to cancel and replace the check. 1/26/2017 18

Refund Requests Automatic refunds not allowed by IRC. CalHR reviews requests on a case-by-case basis. Examples of approved refunds: disability, death, department-caused delay in processing cancellation. All approved refunds are taxable without exception. 1/26/2017 19

Process for Refund Request Participant determines need for refundParticipant’s department submits request, on letterhead, with the following to CalHR: Participant’s full nameParticipant’s SSN (or the last 4)Pay period(s) involvedAmount per pay periodCopies of participant’s enrollment and cancellation forms (CalHR 682)Reason for refund request 20 1/26/2017

Forfeiture of Funds “Active” participants & separated employees have one (1) year from the date of their last activity (payroll deduction or submission of a claim) to file a claim with valid receipts for reimbursement of qualified work-related parking expenses incurred prior to their cancellation/separation from the state. Claims submitted after the time frames specified above will result in the forfeit of any remaining balance in the account. 1/26/2017 21

CalHR Website Info www.calhr.ca.govIn the “Services for State Employees” section click on “Check out services for state employees” Under “Current Employees” click on “Benefits” Click on “Pre-Tax Parking Program” 22 1/26/2017

Contact Information CalHR: Ray Asbell, Program Manager (916) 324-0526 Carol Azevedo, Benefits Program Manager (916) 327-1438Third Party Administrator (ASI): 1-800-659-3035 1/26/2017 23