As a new teacher, the chances are pretty
good that you are shuttling between home, work and graduate
school. Here is a way to help defray your transportation
costs. If you use public transportation you can take advantage
of the Transit Benefit Program. Using this program you can
save over $250 a year in taxes.
Premium TransitChek Metro Card (hereafter referred to as
Premium Card) is a special type of Metro Card available
to New York City employees. The Premium Card is good for
unlimited rides on local buses and subways 24 hours a day,
every day for a continuous 12-month period.
Once you enroll, the card is purchased through payroll deductions.
These deductions are made BEFORE TAXES. This means that
you won't pay Federal, State, City, Social Security or Medicare
taxes on the money used to pay for the card. The card costs
$70 per month. That translates to $32.32 being deducted
from your bi-weekly paycheck.
If your card is lost, stolen or undelivered, the City will
replace it; however you will need to complete and submit
a Certification form. You can get this form from the Department
Of Education Transit Benefit Coordinators (718) 935-3545,
via fax from the Office of Payroll Administration (OPA)
Service Line (212) 669-8555, or you can download it from
the OPA website:
