How Much Can a Taxi Owner Charge Drivers for Credit Cards?

Short answer: A taxi owner or fleet can charge you no more than $7 per shift (daily leases) or $49 per week (weekly, medallion-only and DOV leases) for credit card processing. That surcharge is the only card cost you can be charged. The owner must pay you all card fares at no cost and cannot take a percentage, a "swipe fee" or the technology company's fees out of your money.

The rule is TLC Rule 58-21(c)(5)(xi), and TLC's Driver Pay FAQ says: "The maximum credit surcharge that fleets can charge is $7 per shift and $49 per week." Checked October 12, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

No extra fees on top

Three rules work together:

• All card fares are yours. An owner who is the merchant "must pay to a Driver all fares paid by credit card" and may not charge you "a pass-along or deduction" (Rule 58-26(g)(1)). The Driver Bill of Rights says owners must pay credit card fares at the end of each shift (daily drivers) or week (weekly drivers) "at no cost to the driver".
• No withholding. The owner "must not withhold from the payments any credit card pass-along, fees or charges" (Rule 58-21(f)(3)). The only things taken out of your card money are the $1 improvement surcharge, the MTA tax if the owner is the taxpayer, and amounts a TLC rule lets the technology provider keep. How that works is shown in who keeps what from a taxi fare.
• No TSP fees passed on. An owner collecting the $7 or $49 surcharge "must ensure that a Driver is not charged any additional credit card charges", including charges from the Technology System Provider, or must reimburse you (Rule 58-26(g)(3)).

Your own duty is the mirror image: you must never add a fee to a passenger's card payment (Rule 80-17(e)(1)), and the passenger must not be charged a pass-along either (Rule 58-26(g)(2)).

Fines and getting your money back

What to do next

1. Look at your receipts. Every charge must show the TLC rule that allows it (Rule 58-21(g)). The card line should cite 58-21(c)(5)(xi) and be $7 a shift or $49 a week at most.
2. Add up any other card-related lines: "processing", "merchant", "TSP" or "swipe" fees. These should be zero.
3. Ask the owner in writing to refund the extra.
4. If not fixed, contact TLC's Driver Protection Unit: 718-391-5539 or driverprotection@tlc.nyc.gov.

History: how the fee came down

TLC's driver income rules, adopted December 4, 2018, cut the daily maximum from $11 to $7 and the weekly maximum from $66 to $49, and removed a separate $132 per week surcharge for medallion-only and long-term vehicle leases, which now fall under the $49 weekly limit. TLC estimated the daily cut "could save a full-time driver more than $1000 per year".

Related rules and exceptions

• For medallion-only and DOV leases, Rule 58-21(c)(3)-(4) also lists "credit card fees or charges" as included in the lease, while (c)(5)(xi) allows the $49 surcharge. TLC's DOV poster lists "credit card surcharge up to $49/week" as permitted.
• Owners whose lease prices are set by a collective bargaining agreement fall outside the cap rules (Rule 58-21(c)(7)).
• How often riders pay by card is on card vs cash in NYC taxis, and the full list of allowed extras is in extra charges a taxi fleet can add. Lease amounts: NYC taxi lease caps. More on the money hub.