Taxi Improvement Fund Grants for WAV Owners and Drivers

In short: The Taxi Improvement Fund (TIF) pays medallion owners to put and keep wheelchair-accessible taxis on the road. An owner gets a one-time $20,000 per new accessible vehicle at hack-up, plus $625 a quarter in operational payments when the medallion makes at least 750 trips that quarter, up to $30,000 or 16 quarters in total. You must apply within six months of hack-up. Drivers get $10 for each accessible trip that a passenger booked by phone; the old $1-per-trip driver payment ended on April 25, 2025.

The fund is paid for by the $1 Taxicab Improvement Surcharge passengers pay on every yellow and green taxi trip. This guide covers what you get, how to enroll, the conditions that stop payments, and how healthy the fund is.

Why the money exists

Since October 18, 2024, every taxi hack-up must be an accessible vehicle, and a court order requires half of all authorized medallions to be accessible by the end of 2028 (TIF report for 2025). Accessible minivans cost more to buy, convert, fuel and maintain. TLC reworked TIF in spring 2025 so more of the money goes to owners at hack-up: the up-front grant rose from $14,000 to $20,000, quarterly payments were cut, and driver payments were narrowed (2025 Annual Report; rule effective May 2, 2025).

Owner payments

Other conditions in rule 58-50:

• Apply within six months of the day the accessible vehicle is hacked up (58-50(j)(1)), and put the vehicle in service before payment.
• Clear all open items first: TLC summonses, fines, and incomplete renewal requirements (58-50(j)(2)). TLC's FAQ adds that the fund can't pay any medallion that owes money into the fund (unpaid TIF surcharge).
• One hack-up payment per VIN, ever. A used WAV that already got one can't get another, but it may still earn operational payments (TIF FAQ). Claiming twice for one VIN carries a $5,000 fine plus repayment of the hack-up payment (58-50(j)(5)).
• Stay accessible for four years. A medallion required to go accessible must stay hacked up with an accessible vehicle for at least four years (58-50(e)).
• Leasing it out? If you lease the medallion to a driver while receiving TIF payments, the driver gets a $77 a week credit on the lease for four years (rule 58-21(c)(3)(ii)). See DOV taxi leases.

How the numbers add up

The two caps line up exactly. A $20,000 hack-up payment plus 16 quarterly payments of $625 equals $30,000 ($20,000 + 16 × $625). So an owner who enrolls on time and meets the trip minimum every quarter for four years reaches both limits together. The rule describes the quarterly money as "equal payments adding up to $10,000 over a period of 4 years, … four (4) times per year."

The 16-quarter clock runs from the hack-up inspection, and a quarter is paid only when the trip minimum is met. So a quarter with fewer than 750 trips can leave you below $30,000 when the clock ends; the rule doesn't describe any make-up payment. A medallion that sits in storage for a few months makes no trips, so plan storage carefully if you are inside your four TIF years.

Why payments get held or denied

TLC lists these reasons in the rule and its FAQ. Each is in your control:

• Unpaid Taxicab Improvement Surcharge on the medallion, including debt left by a previous agent. The current agent must work it out with the owner; TLC's collections unit (tifcollections@tlc.nyc.gov) handles disputes about a former agent.
• Any debt to the City of New York, open TLC summonses, or an unfinished medallion renewal.
• Missing paperwork for more than 30 days after you first apply (58-50(j)(3)(i)).
• Fewer than 750 trips in the quarter being reviewed.
• A failed or missed inspection. Payments follow successful inspections (58-50(i)(1)(ii)(A)).
• Wrong or changed bank details. TLC pays the account on file until you re-enroll.
• Concealing who owns the medallion or a material misstatement on the application, which can lead to denial.

How to enroll (owners and agents)

No email one month after applying? Contact tift@tlc.nyc.gov. If your bank account changes, tell TIF through its webform and re-apply with the new account; TLC can't redirect a payment already sent.

Driver payments

Trips booked in an app or on a website do not earn the $10 (TLC driver page). Drivers still enroll with the Driver TIF Enrollment Form. For the full picture of earning in a WAV, see WAV driver pay.

How big and how healthy the fund is

In 2024 TLC projected the fund would need $6 million to stay solvent through 2025 and far more after; the 2025 changes were made so it could keep paying hack-ups without raising the $1 surcharge. TLC's report says no change to the surcharge is needed "at this time". Charts by year: Taxi Improvement Fund statistics.

Owners pay in too. The meter company (TSP) collects the surcharge, but if it isn't collected, the medallion owner must pay it; missing that is a summons under 58-16(f) with a $1,000 fine and suspension until compliance. Check your TIF surcharge balance in LARS before applying for payments.

Records and taxes

Every TIF payment to a medallion is published on NYC Open Data in the TIF Medallion Payments dataset (ht4t-wzcm), so you can check which medallion got what and when. If a payment looks wrong, use the TIF webform rather than calling the bank. TLC's FAQ says to expect a Form 1099 from the City for TIF income each year; keep it with your other business records and ask a tax professional how to report it. Your yearly financial disclosure to TLC also asks about medallion income.

Related help

• Cheaper financing for an accessible Sienna: ATLAS.
• Steps to put the car on the medallion: how to hack up a yellow taxi.
• Term definition: Taxi Improvement Fund. Green cab owners: see the green-cab rule 82-17(g)(2). More on the medallions hub.