Can TLC Drivers Deduct Tolls and Parking?

Yes. Business tolls and business parking are deductible, and you add them on top of the standard mileage rate. IRS Publication 463 says: "In addition to using the standard mileage rate, you can deduct any business-related parking fees and tolls" (Pub 463 (2025)). IRS Topic 510 adds that they are deductible "whether you use the standard mileage rate or actual expenses" (Topic 510). There are two catches for TLC drivers. Many of your tolls are paid back to you by the app or the passenger, and parking at your regular place of work counts as commuting.

This is general information, not tax advice.

Where it goes on Schedule C

The 2025 Schedule C instructions say that with the standard mileage rate you multiply business miles by the rate, "add to this amount your parking fees and tolls," and enter the total on line 9 (Schedule C instructions). For 2026 that means business miles × 72.5¢ (January to June) plus business miles × 76¢ (July to December), then your tolls and parking (IRS rates, checked 2026-10-12).

Reimbursed tolls: the caution

TLC rules mean that on many trips the toll is not really your cost:

• App trips (Uber, Lyft): "A High-Volume For-Hire Service must remit to the Driver the entirety of any toll paid by the Driver during a dispatched trip" (§59D-17(c)). If the app doesn't, the fine is $500 plus restitution of the toll.
• Other FHV trips: "Passengers must pay for the toll, but only must pay the actual amount (often a discounted toll) charged to the EZ-Pass" (§59A-23(a)(3)). On trips beyond the city, the passenger pays tolls to and from the destination (§59A-23(b)(2)).
• Yellow and green taxis: TLC's fare page says "Discounted E-ZPass tolls will be added to the passenger fare at the end of the trip" (TLC: Taxi Fare).

Sources: TLC Chapter 59.

Some tolls are never charged to anyone but you, for example a toll you pay on a business drive with no passenger, such as heading to a busier area or driving back empty after a drop-off inside the city. On trips beyond the city, the passenger pays the tolls "to and from the destination" (§59A-23(b)(2)). For a few bridge trips into and out of Staten Island and the Rockaway Peninsula, §59A-23(b)(1) sets special rules: no toll in one direction, two times the toll in the other. Full rules: who pays tolls on taxi trips.

Your E-ZPass deposit is not a toll

If you drive an owner's FHV on their E-ZPass, the owner may make you keep a replenishment account of up to $10 for every 12-hour shift in the lease, with a maximum of $100 (§59A-24(d)(2)). That money is a deposit the owner draws on for tolls. What you deduct is the tolls actually charged, not the deposit.

Parking: business vs commuting

Pub 463: "Parking fees you pay to park your car at your place of work are nondeductible commuting expenses." It also says you "can deduct business-related parking fees when visiting a customer or client." For a driver, paid parking while you wait for a scheduled pickup, or at a paid lot during a shift, is business parking. Parking at the garage or lot where you start every shift may count as parking at your place of work, which Pub 463 treats as commuting. If you are not sure which side a cost falls on, keep the receipt and ask.

Parking tickets are not parking fees. Pub 463 says "You can't deduct fines you pay or collateral you forfeit for traffic violations." NYS lists tickets or summons as not deductible for drivers (NYS Tax). See can I deduct TLC fines?

Records

Related rules

• Tolls and parking are on top of the mileage rate, but gas, insurance and rent are not. Under the mileage rate they are inside the rate. See can I deduct my TLC car rental? and standard mileage vs actual expenses.
• The rate itself has changed often. See the IRS mileage rate history and the 2026 rate guide.
• More tax topics are on the taxes hub.