How to Read an Uber or Lyft Pay Statement in NYC

In short: your Uber or Lyft statement should let you check three separate things: your pay for each trip (which must meet the TLC minimum per mile and per minute), your tips (which must be passed on in full), and your toll refunds (also in full). TLC rule 59B-18(f)(5) says every earnings receipt must show the date, the amount, what it is for, the rule or agreement that allows it, the minimum per-mile and per-minute rates for the period, what passengers paid, and the minutes and miles you were paid for on each trip. Any deduction must be listed in your agreement and in the company's statement of fees filed with TLC.

The apps change their screen layouts and line names often, so this guide explains what each kind of line means and which rule covers it, not where a button sits. The sample below uses made-up numbers.

What TLC rules say your statement must show

Uber and Lyft are licensed as High-Volume For-Hire Services, and their bases must follow the base rules in chapter 59. For every payment or deduction, the base must give you a written receipt (TLC chapter 59, §59B-18(f)(5)).

A missing receipt carries a $200 fine per missing receipt against the base, and the base must appear at the hearing. TLC's own FAQ says the companies must "provide detailed receipts to drivers so that drivers can determine whether they were paid at least the minimum amount required" (TLC Driver Pay for Bases).

The companies also report to TLC. Every two weeks they must send, for each driver, a weekly statement of total earnings itemizing deductions and any extra payments (rule 59D-14(c)(2)). So TLC can compare what you see with what the company reported.

A sample week, line by line

Three things to notice in the sample:

1. Pay, tips and tolls are different money. TLC's trip records define driver pay as "total driver pay (not including tolls or tips and net of commission, surcharges, or taxes)" (TLC data dictionary). If a statement mixes them, you can't check the minimum. Whether a company may count a tip toward the minimum is explained in do tips count toward the TLC minimum pay?
2. Passenger charges can appear without being yours to pay. The Black Car Fund says its surcharge "may appear on your paycheck as a deduction" but "does not come out of your pay". See why my pay shows a Black Car Fund charge and congestion charges on pay statements.
3. The total is not your income for taxes. Toll refunds are paid back costs. Your Form 1099-K gross can be much bigger than your payouts. See Form 1099-K for Uber and Lyft drivers.

Check one trip against the minimum

Made-up example: a 6.2-mile, 24-minute trip in a regular car. 6.2 × $1.283 = $7.95; 24 × $0.681 = $16.34. The minimum is about $24.30. If the trip pay line shows less, save the screenshot. You can do the same math with TLC's Driver Pay Calculator or our minimum pay estimator. Rate history is on minimum pay rate history.

Reconcile the whole week

A single trip check finds a single mistake. A weekly check finds patterns. Once a week, do this:

• Count the trips. The number of trips on the statement should match your own trip history for the same days. A trip that is missing is unpaid.
• Add up the tips on each trip and compare with the tips total. The two should be equal, because the whole tip is yours.
• Add up the tolls you paid on dispatched trips (your E-ZPass statement shows each crossing) and compare with the toll refunds.
• Look for any line that reduces your pay. For each one, find the clause in your agreement that allows it.
• Check the dates. The money must reach you within one week of each trip (§59B-18(f)(4)(ii)); the franchise and co-op exception does not apply to high-volume services. See how fast must my base pay me?

One more rule helps when a rider's card fails. When it applied for its license, a high-volume company had to certify that, unless it reasonably believes your account is linked to fraud, you will receive the entire amount owed for a completed trip even if the payment fails (§59D-05(d)(1), fine $250).

Deductions: what is allowed

A base can take only the costs and fees written in your base agreement. Anything else is an overcharge (§59B-18(f)(3)(i)). A high-volume company also must not charge you any fee or deduction that is not in its statement of fees filed with TLC (§59D-19(d)). The penalty is $500 and up to 30 days' suspension. For an overcharge under the base-agreement rule, the hearing officer must also order the base to pay you back the amount. More in can a base charge fees not in my agreement? and statement of fees.

Some charges are never allowed: a base cannot charge, ask for or accept a tip from you (§59B-18(f)(3)(ii)). It cannot make you pay a summons that was not written to you. This rule has no exception for high-volume services (§59B-18(f)(3)(iii)).

What the 2023 settlements added

The New York Attorney General's settlements with Uber and Lyft (November 2, 2023) require accurate earnings statements for each pay period, a notice after each ride of the amount the rider paid, and in-app chat support in several languages for pay questions (NY Attorney General). The settlements followed findings that the companies had taken sales tax and Black Car Fund money out of drivers' pay in 2014–2017. How that money splits is shown in what riders pay vs what drivers get.

If something is wrong

TLC's Driver Protection Unit handles complaints about unpaid earnings, missing receipts and overcharges. It says it has helped drivers get back more than $3.2 million. Underpayment of the minimum carries a $500 fine per instance and restitution to you (§59D-22(a)). A lockout that cuts your hours is a separate rule: see app lockouts: the 72-hour and 16-hour rules.