eTRAC FAQs

Qualified Parking

1. What Parking expenses are eligible to be paid under a QTE Plan?
2. How much can I set aside in a Parking account on a tax-free basis?

What Parking expenses are eligible to be paid under a QTE Plan?

Expenses for parking are eligible to be paid under a QTE Plan if they are provided to the employee on or near the business premises of the employer or on or near a location from which the employee commutes to work by car pool, in a commuter highway vehicle, on mass transit facilities or on transportation provided by any person in the business of transporting persons for compensation or hire in a commuter highway vehicle. It does not include any parking on or near the property used by the employee for residential purposes. It also does not include expenses for anyone other than the employee.

Note that a commuter highway vehicle means any highway vehicle with a seating capacity of at least six (6) adults (excluding the driver); and of which at least eighty percent (80%) of the mileage for a year is reasonably expected to be used:

• for purposes of transporting employees in connection with travel between their residences and their places of employment; and
• on trips during which the number of employees transported for such purposes is at least one-half (1/2) of the adult seating capacity of such vehicle (excluding the driver).

How much can I set aside in a Parking account on a tax free basis?

Your maximum monthly tax-free election for qualified parking expenses is limited by the IRS. The maximum for 2009 is $230 per month (a $10 increase from the 2008 limit).