by Roger Smith

Every working day, Stephanie Bell-Williams enjoys a career mom’s ritual – picking up her son Aaron.

“It’s exciting every day when he’s waiting for me,” said Bell-Williams, a senior human resources specialist in the Planning & Development Department. “I am, after all, ‘mommy’!”

Make that a smart mommy. Bell-Williams is one of the 50 city employees who take advantage of the city’s dependent-care reimbursement program.

Bell-Williams uses dependent-care reimbursement for Aaron’s tuition at Sugar Grove Christian School and for one or two hours of extended day care after class. She pays those expenses using pretax dollars from her paycheck. Aaron’s tuition and day care are paid before taxes are taken out, so Bell-Williams saves because she’s taxed on lower wages.

Bell-Williams and her husband have been using dependent-care reimbursement, either through the city or his employer, since Aaron was a baby. He’s their only child.

Parents who use dependent-care reimbursement can watch their money go up to 20 percent further because they are paying for the care with pretax dollars, said Helen Murphy, benefits supervisor in the Human Resources Department.

“In these days of few pay increases and higher expenses, every penny counts,” Murphy said. “If you can pay for something with pretax dollars, there are savings.”

So how do you choose between DCR and the tax credit you take when you file your tax return? To decide, complete a worksheet with the help of a knowledgeable tax advisor to measure your income and your child-care costs.

If your household income is more than $25,000, and you spend more than $5,000 on child care, you may do better with dependent-care reimbursement. Under $25,000, the tax credit might work better for you, Murphy said. But that is just an example. Completing the worksheet is the only way to be sure what’s best for you.

Using DCR, you don’t pay any more than you would normally pay for child-care. You start by paying into the plan one payment cycle sooner. Then you continue payments weekly or monthly, whichever your care provider requires.

What scares some employees away from using dependent-care reimbursement, Murphy said, is the paperwork.

“They don’t want to make that little extra effort to file the claim for their reimbursement on their day-care expense,” Murphy said. “I’ve heard people say, ‘It’s too much trouble. I don’t like doing it.’ But it’s really not very difficult.”

Bell-Williams agrees. “It’s not much trouble. It’s simple. You fill out the reimbursement form and fax it or mail it. The money comes out a little at a time, the same amount they’d be paying anyway.”

“Perhaps people are intimidated by the booklet that explains DCR,” Murphy said. “Looking at it and reading it appear to be a lot of trouble, and maybe that’s keeping them away.”

Murphy suggests you visit HR’s benefits division, 611 Walker, fourth floor, during open enrollment, Nov. 1-30, to see if DCR is right for you. Ask for Murphy or Tracey Norman. Call Norman, (713) 837-9367, for more information. Watch for meeting notices in October.

“I just think it’s a wonderful thing,” Bell-Williams said. “I get some money back and a reduction in my taxes.”

Stephanie Bell-Williams has saved thousands of dollars using dependent-care reimbursement since her son Aaron, now in first grade, was a baby.