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Tax$ave Benefits

Tax$ave is a benefit program that allows eligible employees of the State of New Jersey to set aside before-tax dollars to pay for certain eligible expenses.

Flexible Spending Accounts

Tax$ave Plans Overview

Eligible employees are able to set aside before-tax dollars to pay for certain medical, dental, and dependent care expenses.

Medical Flex Spending
$2,500 per year max

Dependent Flex Spending
$5,000 per year max

You must re-enroll in a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) each plan year to participate, plans do not renew automatically.

Tax$ave Plans Eligibility

Tax$ave is only available to eligible State Employees. An eligible employee is any full-time employee of the State or a State college or university who is eligible to participate in the State Health Benefits Program.

Flexible Spending Account Reference Guide

Tax$ave Essential Guide

How to Enroll in Tax$ave Plans

New employees may enroll during their initial enrollment period when hired. All other eligible employees must enroll during Open Enrollment.

Employees may enroll directly with Horizon in one of these ways:

At the beginning of the plan year, you elect a dollar amount to contribute to your account. This election can only be changed if you experience a life change that qualifies as an Election Change Event.

After experiencing an Election Change Event, you have 30 days from the date of the event to contact your employer and change your election amount.

There are two restrictions to changes made as a result of an Election Change Event:

  1. The change must correspond with the type of change (e.g., getting married increases the election amount; divorce decreases the amount).
  2. The new dollar amount can’t be less than the amount that you’ve already contributed or been reimbursed in the current plan year.

To request a change in your election, download the Qualifying Event Notification Form. Fill out the form and email it to hr-benefits@montclair.edu, who will send it to Horizon MyWay.

Health Savings Accounts

Tax$ave Plan Eligibility

Any employees that participate in the NJ Direct HDHigh/HDLow or Aetna Freedom HDHigh/HDLow are eligible to enroll in a Health Savings Account. Health Savings Accounts allow employees to set money aside on a pre-tax basis to pay for qualified medical expenses.

The 2025 Annual Maximums are as follow:

  • An individual with self coverage only can contribute up to $4,300
  • An individual with family coverage can contribute up to $8,550
  • If you are over the age of 55, you can contribute an additional catch up contribution of $1,000 per year

The State of New Jersey SHBP plan will automatically contribute $300 each year when enrolled in the NJ Direct HDLow.

How to Enroll in a HSA

  • Complete the HSA Contribution Form and email it to hr-benefits@montclair.edu
  • If you would like to make any changes to your contribution amount throughout the year a new contribution form will need to be completed and submitted to hr-benefits@montclair.edu.
Commuter Benefits

Overview

The Commuter Tax Save program is divided into two components: mass transit and commuter parking. The plan allows employees to set aside pretax dollars for eligible mass transit and commuter parking expenses. The pretax dollars are not subject to Federal Income, Social Security and Medicare taxes, thereby saving you money.

How Does it Work

For 2025, the program allows participants to elect up to $325.00 per month for mass transit expenses and/or up to $325.00 per month for commuter parking expenses. The minimum deduction amount is $15.00 per month for each plan.

Whether you take public transportation, drive, or use a park and ride, the program offers several options that may meet your needs.

Available Options

Public Transportation

  • Smart Card Loading: Provides electronic loading of Smart Cards in several cities nationwide, including NYC’s MTA Annual MetroCard.
  • Commuter Check Prepaid Mastercard: Use nationwide at participating transit providers where Debit Mastercard is accepted.
  • Commuter Check Voucher for Transit: Redeemable where transit vouchers are accepted.
  • Regional Transit Passes: Receive transit or bus passes directly.

Parking

  • Direct Pay: Pays parking providers on your behalf on a monthly or quarterly basis.
  • Commuter Check Voucher for Parking: Redeemable where parking vouchers are accepted.
  • Commuter Check Prepaid Mastercard: Use nationwide at participating parking providers where Debit Mastercard is accepted.

Vanpool/Rideshare

  • Direct Pay: Pays vanpool operators on your behalf on a monthly basis.
  • Commuter Check Voucher for Vanpool: Redeemable where vanpool vouchers are accepted.

What is Covered Under the Plan

Mass Transit Riders

  • Bus
  • Subway
  • Train
  • Trolley
  • Ferry
  • Water Taxi
  • Light Rail
  • Vanpool

Commuter Parking

  • Parking Expenses
  • Meters
  • Garages and Lots
  • Parking Expenses
*The Red Hawk Deck parking is currently a pre-tax deduction and is not covered under the Commuter Tax$ave program. 

How to Enroll

Commuter Tax$ave benefit is administered by Edenred Commuter Benefit Solutions.

  1. Send an email to hr-benefits@montclair.edu to request your information be added to the Edenred portal
  2. Once you received confirmation that your account has been created, you can enroll at www.commuterbenefits.com. You will need your University email address and Company Code: SNJ2 (View: How-To-Guide).

For additional questions contact the Customer Service department at 1-866-512-8769.

Questions?

View our frequently asked questions or contact the Benefits team at HR-Benefits@montclair.edu.