Employee FAQ
Graduate Employee Daily parking – specifics and sign-up process
Graduate Employee Daily parking – switching from a student account
Leased parking rate
Parking off campus
Payment options – employee
Payment options – faculty retiree
Payment options – graduate student employee
Payment schedules by type
Semester/summer parking
What is Graduate Employee Daily parking, and how do I get it?
Graduate Employee Daily parking is available to eligible graduate student employees and provides access to more parking lots on campus for the standard daily parking rate with an annual cap that is higher than the cap for student parking accounts.
- Note that graduate students living on campus (who are eligible for campus resident parking) are not eligible for daily parking programs.
If you are eligible for Graduate Daily Parking, simply request a new parking account online via Atlas. The system will recognize your eligibility for Graduate Employee Daily parking and will offer it as one of your parking account options.
- You can choose a student parking account if you prefer.
- If you already have a student account and you want to keep it, no action is necessary. See below for information about switching accounts.
Additional information about employee parking accounts can be found on the employee parking page. Graduate students with questions about benefits can review information on the Office of Graduate Education website or may contact grad-funding-help@mit.edu.
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If I already have a student parking account, and I am eligible for a Graduate Employee Daily account, how do I switch?
If you want to switch from an existing student parking account to a graduate employee account, you should cancel the student account first and then apply for a new account as described above.
- You can cancel your student parking account through your online parking dashboard or by contacting the Parking & Transportation Office.
- The annual cap for your new parking account will be adjusted to reflect the fact that the account was authorized mid-cycle (the parking cycle is July 1-June 30).
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I have been parking in a leased space off campus and paying a monthly rate. Will I now be charged a daily rate?
No. The payment structure will remain unchanged as monthly payments. If you have questions, please contact the Parking & Transportation Office for more information.
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A colleague of mine is parking in a leased space off campus. Is that an option for me?
Leased spaces are not generally part of our parking system and are only arranged on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the Parking & Transportation Office for more information.
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As an employee, what are my parking payment options? I have heard there are advantages to paying through payroll deduction.
Employees can pay daily parking charges either by payroll deduction, where parking costs are deducted before income taxes are calculated, or via credit card auto-pay.
If you choose payroll deduction for your parking charges, the advantage is that you save some money. As a pre-tax deduction, the payroll deduction reduces your gross pay before state and federal tax withholding is calculated. In other words, you won’t pay income tax on the money you pay for parking charges if that money has been deducted from payroll.
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What are my parking payment options as a faculty retiree?
Faculty retirees are encouraged to pay for parking via credit card auto-pay.
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What parking payment options are available to graduate student employees?
Graduate student employees can pay for parking either through your student account or via credit card auto-pay.
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When will I get charged for parking?
Credit card auto-pay (all parkers): Your daily parking charges (or your monthly fee for a leased space) will be charged at the beginning of the month after the parking activity occurred. For example: Your parking activity (or monthly fee) for the month of July will be charged to your credit card at the beginning of August.
Payroll deduction (employee parking account holders only): You will see the deduction on the next paycheck following the parking activity. For example:
- For weekly payroll: Your parking activity for the first week of July will be deducted from your payroll check the second week of July;
- For semi-monthly payroll: Your parking activity for July 1-15 will be deducted from your July 31 check.
- For leased spaces, please note: Your monthly parking charge will be deducted from your paycheck in either four installments of one fourth the cost (weekly payroll) or two installments of one half the cost (semi-monthly payroll). For example, for semi-monthly payroll, one half of the cost of parking in July will be deducted on July 15, and the other half will be deducted on July 31.
Student account (all undergraduate and graduate students, including graduate student employees): Parking costs are charged at the beginning of the month after the parking activity occurred. For example: Your daily parking activity (or monthly fee) for the month of July will be charged to your account at the beginning of August.
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I will be working at MIT, but just for a semester/summer. Can I get on-campus parking?
If you are employed by MIT full- or part-time, you are eligible to apply for daily employee parking. If you are not an MIT employee, you are eligible to apply for affiliate parking. See our FAQ about affiliate parking for more information.
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