JFK Flat Fare: What Taxi Drivers Add and Don't Add

In short: A yellow taxi trip between JFK and anywhere in Manhattan, in either direction, is a $70 flat fare. On top of the $70 you add: the 50-cent MTA tax, the $1.00 improvement surcharge, a $5.00 rush hour surcharge (weekdays 4–8 p.m., not holidays), the congestion charges when the Manhattan end is in those zones, the $2.00 airport access fee when you pick up at JFK, tolls, and the tip. TLC's fare page lists no overnight surcharge for the flat fare. Trips between JFK and the other boroughs use the meter.

The rule is TLC Rule 58-26(b). The amounts are from TLC's Taxi Fare page, checked October 12, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.

The flat fare and each add-on

Rule 58-26(b)(1) puts it in one sentence: the fare "will be a Flat Rate of $70, plus any tolls and applicable surcharges". The meter must show that it is a flat-rate trip. TLC's fare page says the screen should read "Rate #2 – JFK Airport".

The rush surcharge: $5, not $2.50

The two rush amounts are easy to mix up. On a normal metered trip, the weekday rush surcharge is $2.50. On the JFK–Manhattan flat fare, Rule 58-26(b)(1)(i) sets it at $5.00 "for all trips beginning on a weekday after 4:00 p.m. and before 8:00 p.m.", and not on legal holidays. What counts is when the trip begins. A pickup at JFK at 7:55 p.m. on a Tuesday gets the $5. A pickup at 8:05 p.m. does not.

The overnight $1.00 surcharge (8 p.m. to 6 a.m.) is part of the metered fare in Rule 58-26(a). TLC's fare page does not list it among the flat-fare add-ons.

Before you start the trip

A few checks at the start prevent most fare disputes:

When the $70 does not apply

• E-hail trips with an upfront price. TLC's fare page says a passenger who accepted a binding fare quote in an e-hail app "will pay the fare that you accepted", and the meter stays off. That can happen on a trip to JFK. It can't happen on a pickup at JFK: the same page says the Port Authority "does not currently allow taxis to be E-Hailed at the airport".
• Green cabs. A green cab can't take a hail at JFK. Its own flat-fare rule covers hail trips to JFK from upper Manhattan only (Rule 82-26(b)). See can green cabs pick up at JFK or LaGuardia?
• If TLC suspends it. Rule 58-26(b)(4) lets the TLC Chair suspend the flat-fare rule "if ... necessary to preserve adequate levels of service to and from Kennedy Airport". TLC would announce any such change. Watch for industry notices.

If the passenger won't pay

Rule 80-17(b) gives the steps. Put the meter in the off or "Vacant" position. Record the fare amount in the trip record through the technology system (or the written trip record if the system is down). Then go directly to the nearest police precinct, tell the police what happened, and follow their instructions.

Two worked examples

These use the rates above. Tolls and tip are left out because they depend on the route and the passenger.

Your own route decides the toll. For the options, see JFK to Manhattan tolls by route.

Several stops in Manhattan

Rule 58-26(b)(2) tells you exactly how to charge a group going to more than one Manhattan stop. The rule's own example uses stops at 42nd St., 18th St. and 4th St.:

The rule only covers multi-stop trips from JFK to Manhattan. If a passenger wants a stop outside Manhattan, the trip is no longer a JFK–Manhattan trip. Explain the fare before you start.

Trips to other boroughs use the meter

Rule 58-26(b)(3) says all trips between JFK and "a borough other than Manhattan" are metered under Rule 58-26(a). That covers Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. On those trips you charge the normal metered fare and surcharges: the $2.50 weekday rush surcharge, the $1.00 overnight surcharge, the MTA tax and improvement surcharge, plus the $2.00 access fee if you picked up at JFK, tolls and tip. The quick answer for passengers is on is the JFK flat fare for Brooklyn and Queens?

Trips to Nassau or Westchester follow the out-of-city rules: the meter inside the city, then double the meter outside it. Other places outside the city need a flat fare you agree on before the trip (Rule 80-17(f)(1)).

Check a trip yourself

Overcharging: why small mistakes are expensive

Charging more than the approved fare is an overcharge under Rule 80-17(a)(1). It carries the mandatory penalties in Rule 80-02(e):

• First violation: $350 if you plead guilty before a hearing, $500 if found guilty after one.
• Second within 24 months: $700 plea, or $1,000 and up to 30 days' suspension after a hearing.
• Third within 36 months: revocation, plus $750 if you plead guilty before a hearing or $1,000 after one.
• $10 or more over the approved fare: "will revoke the Driver License", and the driver may have to return the overpayment.

On a $70 flat fare, mistakes that would charge more than the approved fare include charging the $5 rush surcharge outside 4–8 p.m. on a weekday, adding a $1 overnight surcharge that TLC's fare page does not list for this trip, or forgetting to switch to Rate #2 and running the meter instead. A $10 mistake is a revocation case.

How common the flat fare is

In TLC's yellow trip records for those 12 months, 1,106,737 trips ended on the JFK rate code. Of the 1,828,649 yellow pickups at JFK in the same records, 834,970 (about 46%) were on the JFK rate, so close to half of yellow taxi trips from JFK were charged the Manhattan flat fare (our count from TLC trip records). Monthly counts and the fare math are on JFK flat-fare trip statistics. How taxis get their fares at the airport is covered in the JFK taxi line guide. More on the airport is on our JFK page and the airports topic.