FAQs About Eligible Commuter Benefits Expenses

Sorry! You can't use commuter benefits to pay for airfare or flight-related expenses such as parking at the airport.

Sorry! Zenefits does not support bicycle-related expenses at this time. 

Sorry! You can't use commuter benefits funds to take a taxi. 

However, you can use commuter benefits funds to pay for Lyft Line and UberPool rides. For more information, see the following page in the Zenefits Help Center: 

Can I use my commuter benefits funds to pay for a Lyft?

Can I use my commuter benefits funds to pay for an Uber?

Sorry! You can't use commuter benefits funds to pay for tunnel, bridge, or highway tolls (E-ZPass).

Sorry! Commuter benefits should only be used for travel between home and work. You can't use commuter benefits funds to pay for expenses related to traveling from your office to another business or client meetings.

Yes! You can use your commuter benefits funds to pay for passes, token, fare cards, vouchers, or similar items for your own transportation on mass transit. Mass transit includes buses, rails, and ferries.

However, you can't use commuter benefits to pay for transit for your spouse or dependents.

Sorry! You can't use commuter benefits funds to pay for fuel, mileage, or other costs related to your personal vehicle.

If you paid out of pocket for an expense that's covered by your commuter benefits, e.g., if your card was declined at a parking meter or Caltrain station, or if you simply didn't have your card on hand, you can submit a claim for reimbursement. You can submit a claim for expenses up to 12 months in the past, as long as the expense was not incurred prior to the plan being active. To be eligible for reimbursment, the expense needs to be incurred while the employee was actively enrolled in commuter benefits.

Please note: out-of-pocket expenses for UberPool and LyftLine are not eligible for manual claim reimbursement.

If you paid out of pocket for an expense that’s covered by your commuter benefits, you can submit a claim to receive a reimbursement. To submit a claim, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Commuter Benefits app on your dashboard.
2. Click on the Claims tab at the top of the page.
3. Click on the Submit a Claim button.
4. Enter information about your expense:
   • Whether it’s a transit or parking expense
   • The name of the company you paid
   • The date(s) the purchase was for
   • What you purchased
   • How much you paid
5. Upload a picture of your receipt.
6. Click Submit.

A commuter highway vehicle is any highway vehicle with a seating capacity of at least six adults, not including the driver.

A private or publicly-owned vehicle can qualify as a commuter highway vehicle as long as the following criteria is met:

• It's used 80% of the time for the purpose of transporting employees between their residences and their places of employment.
• The number of employees it transports for such purposes is, on average, at least half of its adult seating capacity.

IRS regulations require that commuter benefits funds designated for transit must be used to pay for transit and not parking, and vice versa. Normally, the Zenefits Card system can tell which kind of purchase you're making based on the the type of code used by the merchant or point-of-sale kiosk.

However, Caltrain's parking system doesn't differentiate between transit passes and parking passes, and uses the same transit code for both. When you try to use your Zenefits Card to pay for parking at Caltrain, the Zenefits Card system can't correctly tell which type of purchase you're making and may either decline the transaction, or incorrectly debit your transit funds instead of parking funds.

If you want to use Commuter Benefits to pay for parking at Caltrain, the easiest way to avoid issues is to pay out of pocket, then submit a claim. If you've already used your Zenefits Card to park at Caltrain and your transit funds were used, just contact Zenefits Customer Care to have the error corrected.

There are specific limitations when using your commuter benefit funds to pay for a Lyft or Uber. Make sure you're in compliance with all 3 limitations listed below. 

1. Commuter benefits funds can only be used to pay for Lyft Line or UberPOOL. 
2. They cannot be used for regular Lyft or Uber rides. 
3. Additionally, the Lyft Line commuter benefit is available in: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Las  Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Seattle, Washington D.C.
4. The UberPOOL commuter benefit is available in all US cities where UberPOOL is available: New York City, Boston, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Denver, Miami, Las Vegas, Chicago, San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle and all of New Jersey.

How does it work?

Lyft Line and UberPOOL matches you with others traveling the same way, letting you split the cost of the ride. When you use your prepaid transit commuter benefits card, you can save up to 40% on rides pre-tax.  Users cannot submit claims for UberPool or Lyft Line rides - can only use the card. That’s the only way for Lyft, Uber and Zenefits to verify that users are dispatched a compliant vehicle.

If you are listed as Full-Time or Part-Time  in Zenefits, you can enroll in commuter benefits at any time! To do this, click on the Commuter Benefits app, then follow the prompts to enroll into the plan. You may enroll at any time throughout the year. As long as you enroll on or before the 25th of the month your plan would then be effective the first of the very next month.