Can a Taxi Owner Charge Me for Repairs or Maintenance?

Short answer: No, not for normal upkeep. If you lease a yellow cab with the car by the shift or by the week, service and maintenance are the owner's job, and TLC Rule 58-21(b)(1) says the cost "cannot be charged to the Driver". Accident damage is different: on a weekly lease you pay only if you signed a written agreement to pay for damage caused by your own negligence, and if the owner later gets paid by someone else, you get your money back. Medallion-only and DOV drivers pay for their own repairs, but can pick their own shop.

TLC's Driver Bill of Rights lists "charge drivers for service and maintenance of vehicle" as a prohibited charge. Rules checked October 12, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

The written negligence agreement

For weekly leases, Rule 58-21(c)(1)(vi) says the lease price includes "collision and other damage coverage, including repairs of physical damage". It is not an overcharge for you to pay for damage only if all of these are true:

• you and the owner agreed in writing that you will pay for damage caused by your negligence;
• the lease itself tells you that you will be responsible for such damage;
• the damage was in fact caused by your negligence; and
• the agreement lasts only while you lease from that owner.

The refund rule

"If the Owner receives compensation for damages to the vehicle incurred from an entity other than the driver, any amount previously paid by the driver as compensation for damages, must be refunded to the driver." The same applies on DOV leases where you did not buy the optional coverage, and a deductible you paid must be reimbursed if the owner later gets insurance or court money for the repair (Rule 58-21(c)(4)(v)(G)-(I)).

What is allowed instead

The owner's list of allowed extras is short: a card surcharge ($7 per shift or $49 per week), a gas surcharge if it supplies all your fuel, a deposit, discounted tolls, late fees, a cancellation charge, parking and red-light tickets you can challenge, the MTA tax and a few others. The full list is in extra charges a taxi fleet can add, and the lease amounts in NYC taxi lease caps.

Penalties and how to report

Charging a lessee for maintenance breaks Rule 58-21(b): $500 for a first violation, then $1,000 and/or up to 30 days' medallion suspension, and the judge must order the owner to repay what you were charged. Report it to TLC's Driver Protection Unit at 718-391-5539 or driverprotection@tlc.nyc.gov, with your lease and receipts. Every receipt must name the TLC rule that allows the charge (Rule 58-21(g)); a "repair" line has no rule behind it on a shift or weekly vehicle lease.

After a crash: your own duties

Even when the owner pays for the repair, you have duties under TLC rules. If a crash injures someone or damages another person's property, you must stop, show your licenses and exchange information with the other party or the police (Rule 80-13(a)(4): $350 and 3 points), and immediately report the collision to the vehicle's owner (Rule 80-13(a)(5): $100 and 3 points). Reporting quickly also helps you if the owner later claims you caused damage. Note that your deposit has its own limits: see taxi security deposit rules.

Card fees are a separate question: how much a taxi owner can charge for credit cards. The congestion surcharge can't be charged to you either: does the taxi driver pay the congestion surcharge? More on the money hub.