Congestion surcharge

Generally, the person or entity that dispatches a vehicle to a customer is responsible for paying the surcharge including:

• businesses and individuals that receive transportation requests directly from customers and use their own vehicles to provide the transportation; and
• transportation network companies as defined in Article 44B of the Vehicle and Traffic Law.

However, for medallion taxicabs and green cabs, as of July 1, 2021 , Technology Service Providers (TSPs) are responsible for withholding and remitting the congestion surcharge and filing returns. Beginning with trips on or after July 1, 2021, medallion owners and agents do not need to file a return for the congestion surcharge for any trips which your Technology Service Provider (TSP) has taken over collection and filing responsibilities for you.

TSPs will withhold the surcharge due to New York State prior to distributing funds to the owners or agents from the fares collected by the TSPs.  If the TSPs are unable to withhold the surcharge in full from a day's fares, they will withhold it from the next day's fares.  They will continue with that process until the surcharge due have been withheld in full from the fares collected.  If after 12 months the TSPs are unable to withhold the surcharge due, the owner or agent, if applicable, will be responsible for the outstanding surcharge.

Taxicab Medallion Owners and their Agents: see Note.

Any person or entity who will be responsible for the payment of a surcharge on more than one trip in any calendar month must register with the New York State Tax Department by completing an online application and obtaining a certificate of registration, which will be valid for the specified term on the certificate and is subject to renewal. There is a $1.50 fee to register. There is also a $1.50 fee to renew a certificate of registration.

You must have a Business Online Services account to register and pay the fee.

1. Create a Business Online Services account with the Tax Department (or log in if you already have an account).
2. Select the ≡ Services menu in the upper left-hand corner of your Account Summary homepage.
3. Select Other taxes, then select Congestion surcharge registration from the expanded menu.

For important payment information, see ACH debit block. 

If you are responsible for the payment of the surcharge on no more than one trip in any calendar month, you are not required to register. However, you must file a return and pay any surcharge that is due when a surcharge liability is incurred. 

If the information reported on the current registration has changed, you are required to update your information on a calendar quarterly basis. There is no fee to update your registration.

Taxicab Medallion Owners and their Agents: see Note.

You must keep detailed records. Information should include, but is not limited to, the following for all transportation that is subject to the surcharge:

• Location, date and time where each trip begins and ends, and the route taken. In the case of for-hire vehicles, also include the date, time and location where the vehicle enters and/or leaves the congestion zone. In the case of pool trips, also include the date time and location where each individual or group that separately requests transportation enters and exits the vehicle.
• Detailed vehicle information, license plate number and jurisdiction, or any number assigned to the vehicle by a regulatory agency.
• Records of all amounts charged and collected for the trip, including fare, taxes, and surcharges (including the congestion surcharge).
• True and complete copies of any records that must be kept as required by any applicable regulatory department or agency.

Keep all records for a minimum of three years after filing a return to which those records relate, or from the date such return was due, whichever is later. In the absence of a filed return, the maintenance of records from earlier periods is required. Copies of these records must be electronically transmitted to the Tax Department upon request.

Compliance with the above may be achieved by using a system or equipment that is required to be used in for-hire vehicles by a regulatory agency, so long as such system or equipment is capable of collecting, storing and electronically transmitting all required records and information.

The rate depends on the type of vehicle used to provide transportation in or through the congestion zone. The surcharge is generally:

• $2.75 for each for-hire transportation trip in a vehicle that is not a medallion taxicab or a pool vehicle.
• $2.50 per trip when the transportation is provided by a medallion taxicab vehicle.
• $0.75 per pool trip.

This amount is required to be passed through to passengers and reported separately on any receipt given to the passenger.   

Taxicab Medallion Owners and their Agents: see Note.

If you are required to collect the surcharge, you must file your return and pay the assessment online on a monthly basis. To file and pay online, you will need to:

1. Create a Business Online Services account with the Tax Department (or log in if you already have an account).
2. Select the ≡ Services menu in the upper left-hand corner of your Account Summary homepage.
3. Select Other taxes, then select Congestion surcharge web file from the expanded menu.

For important payment information, see ACH debit block.

Returns must be filed, and the balance due must be paid, no later than 20 days after the end of the month that the return covers.

Persons registered for the surcharge must file a return even if they incurred no surcharges during a calendar month.

If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the return is due on the next business day.

If you do not file your return and pay the balance due by the due date, you are subject to penalty and interest.

If  you fail to pay the surcharge when due, in addition to the regular penalties assessed, there is an additional penalty equal to two hundred percent of the total surcharge amount that is due, unless it is shown that such failure is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect.

You can compute your penalty and interest due using our Penalty and Interest Calculator.

Black Cars are vehicles that are affiliated with a Black Car Base and:

• are dispatched on a prearranged basis;
• are owned by franchisees of the Base or are members of a cooperative that operates the Base; and
• more than ninety percent (90%) of the Base’s business is on a payment basis other than direct cash payment by a passenger.

Buses are any motor vehicles with a seating capacity of at least 15 persons, excluding the driver, that do not otherwise qualify as  limousines.

Green cabs (hail vehicles) are vehicles that are affiliated with a base, and authorized by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) to accept hails from prospective passengers in the streets of New York City, but that do not have a medallion issued by the TLC affixed to it. In addition to green cabs, hail vehicles are also known as Boro taxis or street hail liveries. 

Limousines are vehicles with a seating capacity of up to 14 persons, excluding the driver, and any vehicle with a seating capacity of between 15 and 20 persons, excluding the driver, that has only two axles and four tires.

Livery vehicles are For-Hire vehicles that are affiliated with a Livery Base Station and:

• are dispatched from the Base on a prearranged basis;
• are designed to carry fewer than six (6) passengers; and
• passengers are charged for service based on a flat rate, time, mileage, or zones.

Medallion taxicabs are vehicles, commonly referred to as “yellow or green cabs”, that have a medallion issued by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission affixed to them.

Taxis are for-hire vehicles that carry passengers in New York City and:

• are duly licensed with a medallion by the Taxi Limousine Commission of New York City (TLC); and
• are permitted to accept hails from prospective passengers in the street.

A Technology Service Provider (TSP) means a person that acts by employment, contract or otherwise on behalf of one or more taxicab owners or HAIL vehicle owners to collect the trip record for a taxicab trip or HAIL vehicle trip.

A Transportation Network Company is any person or entity that:

• is licensed through the DMV; and
• operates in New York State, exclusively using a digital network to connect passengers with TNC drivers who provide TNC prearranged trips.

• Congestion surcharge TSB-Ms
• Congestion surcharge regulations
• Important Notice N-19-2, New York State Supreme Court Lifts Temporary Restraining order on Congestion Surcharge