The Transportation Reimbursement Incentive Program (TRIP), through HealthEquity, allows you to lower your commuting costs by using before-tax dollars to pay for qualified transportation expenses, such as commuter transit passes and parking.
If you enroll in TRIP, you’ll receive a HealthEquity Transit Commuter Card you must use to pay for your transportation passes. Your account is replenished each month through payroll deductions to purchase your transit pass, pay for your qualified parking, or reimburse yourself for qualified expenses based on the arrangements you make when you enroll. HealthEquity provides a Commuter Savings Calculator to help you estimate how much more money you could take home when you use a pre-tax benefit.
TRIP allows you to change your contribution from month to month and unused balances can be carried forward each year. You can enroll, change or stop your TRIP election at any time during the year.
You can manage your account online through the HealthEquity Web Portal. The HealthEquity EZ Receipts mobile app also allows you to view your account balance. For additional information about HealthEquity, please visit the HealthEquity website or contact HealthEquity Customer Service by phone at 1-877-924-3967.
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If you enroll for TRIP, you will receive in the mail a HealthEquity Transit Commuter Debit Card and/or a Parking Commuter Debit Card. Upon receipt, you will need to activate your HealthEquity Transit Commuter and/or Parking Commuter Debit Card(s) in order to pay for your eligible commuter expenses.
Use your HealthEquity Parking Commuter Card to pay for your parking expenses related to getting to and from work. TRIP works much like a Flexible Spending Account, as you elect to have a portion of your pre-tax income transferred to an account for future reimbursement for transportation expenses. Unlike a Flexible Spending Account, TRIP elections and unused amounts are carried forward from one year to the next.
Under TRIP, you are required to use the HealthEquity Commuter Transit Debit Card and/or the HealthEquity Parking Commuter Debit Card as method of payment for your eligible transportation expenses. HealthEquity will not accept the Commuter Card Special Handling Form or Substitute Receipt Form as a means to claim funds for your transportation expenses (except as noted below).
The HealthEquity Commuter Card Special Handling Form should ONLY be used when:
The HealthEquity Substitute Receipt Form should be used ONLY IN LIEU of the receipt for instances where the service provider does not provide receipts (such as payments made by token/ticket machine, parking meter or cashbox). Your HealthEquity Substitute Receipt Form must be submitted along with your completed HealthEquity Commuter Card Special Handling Form in order for your claim to be processed.
*Note: The HealthEquity Commuter Card Special Handling Form should only be used as a means to claim funds for your transportation expenses purchases through commuter systems that do not accept the HealthEquity Commuter Debit Card as a form of payment. Please note the following commuter vendor systems do not accept the HealthEquity Commuter Transit Debit Card:
For instances in which a paper claim is required (i.e., instances where you could not use your HealthEquity Commuter Debit Card), please be mindful of the claims filing deadline. You may file claims (only for the instances described above), using the HealthEquity Commuter Card Special Handling Form after you incur the eligible expense, up to 180 calendar days from the date of service (i.e., the date expense was incurred). HealthEquity will deny claims filed after the 180 calendar day period from the date of service.
The post-tax commuter benefit allows you to pay for eligible commuter expenses that exceed IRS pre-tax contribution limits (for 2023 the limits are $300 per month each for transit and parking). This means that if you are enrolled in TRIP, you’ll be able to use your HealthEquity Debit Card to pay for all eligible commuter expenses. This added convenience eliminates the need to pay for eligible expenses upfront and out-of-pocket and to then submit claims to HealthEquity for reimbursement.
To enroll in TRIP, follow the steps listed below:
*Processing time is approximately 1 ‒ 2 pay periods from the date the change is made online. If enrolling, it will take approximately 2-1/2 weeks from the date you execute the change via the bswift benefits enrollment system for you to receive your Commuter Debit Card from HealthEquity. At that time you can register to view your account information on the HealthEquity site.
If you terminate employment, please note the following: