April 9, 1999

Because of recently enacted federal legislation, MGH and Partners employees now can benefit from a pretax payroll deduction for their MBTA pass purchases. The federal legislation, called the Transportation Equity Act (TEA), permits a pretax deduction of up to $65 a month – minus any employer-provided subsidy – for transit pass purchases.

For example, an MGH or Partners employee currently pays $60 through an after-tax payroll deduction for a Zone 2 pass that the MBTA sells for $72. When the pretax deduction is implemented April 22 for employees enrolled in the payroll deduction program, $53 ($65 monthly maximum minus the $12 employer subsidy) will be deducted before federal and social security taxes are paid, reducing the amount of federal taxes owed. The remaining $7 will be deducted after taxes.

Applications for the payroll deduction program are available in the Police and Security Office in the Clinics basement, the Parking Office in the Fruit Street Garage, the information desk in the WACC Lobby and the Payroll Department at CNY. For more information, send e-mail to ibenefits@partners.org.