Parking and Transit Accounts

Eligibility

All employees, including rehired annuitants and student hourly employees, are eligible for this program, except:

• Student Assistants with one of the following titles: Fellows, Scholars, Trainees
• Employees-in-Training with one of the following titles: Grad Intern/Trainee, Post-Doc Fellow/Trainee

Account Types

There are two types of accounts offered to Universities of Wisconsin employees.

• Parking Account

  Covers work-related parking expenses such as parking ramps and/or park and rides. This account may not be used to pay for parking at a university lot with the exception of Flex Pass expenses. If you pay for university parking through payroll deduction, your costs are deducted pre-tax and are not eligible for reimbursement with this account.

  • The contribution minimum is established by the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) and approved by the Group Insurance Board (GIB). The contribution maximum is established by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on an annual basis, reviewed by ETF, and approved by the GIB.
  • There is a $50 annual minimum contribution amount for the Parking Account.
  • The monthly contribution limit for a Parking Account for 2026 is $325.
• Transit AccountCovers work-related commuting expenses such as public transit passes to and from work (bus, trains, subway) and commuter highway vehicles (vanpools).
  • The contribution minimum is established by the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) and approved by the Group Insurance Board (GIB). The contribution maximum is established by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on an annual basis, reviewed by ETF, and approved by the GIB.
  • There is a $50 annual minimum contribution amount for the Transit Account.
  • The monthly contribution limit for a Transit Account for 2026 is $325.

Carryover Amounts

The Parking and Transit Accounts have unlimited carryover, so there is minimal “use-it-or-lose-it” risk.

Depending on your account balance on March 31 of the following plan year, the carryover provision may allow you to carry over your remaining balance as long as you remain an active employee on December 31.

Reminder: To be eligible for carryover from 2025 to 2026, you must have a minimum balance of $50 in your account at the end of the run-out period (March 31, 2026) or must have re-enrolled during the Benefits Open Enrollment period (October 6-31, 2025).

If eligible, carryover will appear in your Parking and/or Transit Account around April 15.

Enrollment

You can enroll in or change your Parking or Transit election at any time. Your election will begin on the first of the month on or following your enrollment. When you enroll in a Parking or Transit Account, you designate an annual election amount. Contributions will be deducted from two paychecks each month.

You must re-enroll each year to participate.

How to enroll or make changes

• Log in to Workday (myworkday.wisconsin.edu).
• From the Menu in the upper left go to Personal, then select Benefits and Pay.
• In the Suggested Links, select My Insurance Benefits to access the benefits enrollment system.