What should Alice look like in payroll?

Alice's pretax commuter benefit shows up in your payroll system as two deduction codes and two reimbursement codes, applied each pay period based on what your employees spent.

The four codes you'll see

Deductions (pretax):

Alice Pretax Transit
Alice Pretax Parking

Reimbursements / earnings (post-tax):

Alice Post Tax Transit
Alice Post Tax Parking

Personal-card spending — deduction matches reimbursement

When an employee confirms eligible commuter spending on a personal connected card, you will see two equal-and-opposite line items on the paycheck — one negative (pretax deduction) and one positive (post-tax reimbursement). They cancel out as a dollar amount, but the income that ran through them is now shielded from payroll and income taxes. The net effect: the employee keeps more of what they make.

Example: Sally spent $121 on transit using her personal card and confirmed those expenses. Her paycheck shows -$121 pretax and +$121 post-tax. The $121 of income is now tax-shielded, so Sally keeps more of it.

Alice Card spending — deduction only

When an employee spends with Alice Card (a Visa commercial card), the "reimbursement" happens at the point of sale — they got the ride or the parking up front. So in payroll you only see the pretax deduction, not a matching reimbursement. Alice withdraws that same amount from your connected payroll bank account after the deduction runs, to cover the funds we fronted.

Example: Sally used Alice Card for $128 in transit. Her paycheck shows a -$128 pretax deduction. Alice pulls $128 from your payroll bank account to settle. Sally saves on taxes on that $128 because it never hit federal, state, or FICA payroll taxes.

Why a number might look higher than usual

Sometimes Alice rolls amounts forward from one pay period to the next. The most common reason is that an employee's connected card disconnected and reconnected — when that happens, a couple months of eligible expenses can land on a single paycheck.

Example: Charlotte spends $150 per month on parking. After reconnecting her card, she confirms two months at once. Her next paycheck shows -$300 deduction and +$300 reimbursement, capped at the IRS monthly maximums.

Questions about a specific paycheck? Reach the Alice admin team at (929) 552-4625 or admin-support@thisisalice.com.

Specific benefits, election rules, and run-out periods depend on your employer's plan design. Check with your HR team or plan administrator for details.

Pretax Hero Visa Commercial Card is powered by Stripe and Alice Card is issued by Celtic Bank. Program funds held at Fifth Third Bank, N.A. (Member FDIC). Use of card and program is subject to the cardholder terms and related agreements presented at issuance.

Trademarks, brands, and product names referenced in this article are the property of their respective owners. References are for descriptive purposes only and do not imply endorsement. For definitive information about a third party's products or services, contact that party directly.

Alice does not provide tax, legal, or financial advice. Consult your own tax preparer, lawyer, or financial advisor for guidance specific to your situation.