Transit Benefits

Marymount University has partnered with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to offer employees transit and parking benefits using Metro SmarTrip cards. The amount you designate for this benefit will be deducted on a pre-tax basis from your bi-weekly paycheck.

What is SmarTrip?

SmarTrip is a pre-tax commuter benefit election that is available to Marymount employees.

The program allows an employee to add pre-tax dollars to their SmarTrip card each month. The money is deducted from the employee’s paycheck on a pre-tax basis and is added to their SmarTrip card each month.

SmarTrip is a permanent, rechargeable transit and vanpool fare card that uses an embedded computer chip to keep track of the dollars on the card.

The SmarTrip card can be used to ride the Metro (bus or rail) and pay for parking at area Metro stations.

How it works:

• Employees choose the amount they want deducted from their bi-weeklyly paycheck for transit and/or parking expenses by completing the enrollment form and submitting it to Human Resource Services. The amount of the deduction, subject to the applicable limits, is not taxable.
• The payroll deduction is taken out prior to receiving your monthly SmarTrip dollars. If you return your form to the Human Resources Office before the 15th of the month, your benefit will be effective on the first of the following month.
• You must claim your SmarTrip Dollars each month by adding it to your card at a Passes/Farecard Metro machine. If the money is not added to your card by the last day of the month, that money will roll-over.

How much can I have put onto my card?

Federal legislation allows employers to provide employees with a tax-free or pre-tax transit benefit of up to $255 per month for transit and $255 for the parking.

FAQs

Marymount University has partnered with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to offer Marymount employees the pre-tax transit and parking benefit using Metro SmarTrip cards. The amount you designate for this benefit will be deducted on a pre-tax basis from your bi-weekly paycheck.