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In short: The Lincoln Tunnel costs a car $16.79 at peak and $14.79 off-peak with a New York or New Jersey E-ZPass, charged only into New York (rates as of October 12, 2026). Coming out in Midtown puts you inside the congestion zone. In your own car at peak with E-ZPass, the MTA takes $3.00 off the $9.00 zone toll because you already paid the tunnel. A TLC trip gets no credit: the passenger pays the flat per-trip charge instead.
Lincoln Tunnel rates (Class 1 car)
- Peak: weekdays 6–10 a.m. and 4–8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m.–9 p.m. Everything else is off-peak.
- Only NY and NJ E-ZPass accounts get the discount (Port Authority tolls).
- Mid-Tier ($19.55) since July 6, 2025, for NY/NJ accounts whose tag is not mounted properly and not read.
- Tolls by Mail ($23.30) at all hours when there is no account for the plate.
The congestion credit: who gets it
The credit is in the TBTA congestion toll schedule. It is for vehicles paying the daily zone toll:
| Lincoln/Holland credit, car | Phase 1 (2025–2027) | Phase 2 (2028–2030) | Phase 3 (from 2031) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peak, E-ZPass | $3.00 | $4.00 | $5.00 |
| Maximum credit per day | $5.00 | $5.00 | $5.00 |
Source: TBTA CBD charges schedule. The Port Authority describes it the same way: E-ZPass vehicles entering the zone at peak through the Lincoln or Holland get "up to $3 for passenger vehicles" (Port Authority E-ZPass page).
The conditions are strict:
- Peak only (5 a.m.–9 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m.–9 p.m. weekends; these are the MTA's peak hours, not the Port Authority's).
- E-ZPass only. A Tolls by Mail car gets no credit.
- It reduces the zone toll, not the tunnel toll. You still pay the full Port Authority price.
Why a TLC trip gets nothing: an enrolled taxi or FHV never pays the daily toll. Its passenger pays a per-trip charge, $0.75 for a yellow taxi, green cab or other FHV and $1.50 for an Uber or Lyft trip, on every trip to, from, within or through the zone. There is no daily toll to reduce. If your base or meter company is not enrolled, the owner may be charged the $9 daily toll instead (see the congestion toll rate card).
Example: your own car on a day off
Details on combining credits, the $5 cap and the Queens-Midtown and Carey tunnels: congestion pricing crossing credits. Everything else about your personal car: congestion pricing for your own car.
Who pays the tunnel toll on a TLC trip
Your passenger pays the tunnel toll whenever the trip goes to or comes from New Jersey. TLC rules say that on trips beyond the city the passenger pays "all necessary tolls to and from the destination" (§58-26(f)(2) taxis, §59A-23(b)(2) FHVs). Going to Weehawken or Union City through the Lincoln, the passenger pays the toll you pay to come back into New York. It must be the actual E-ZPass amount: peak $16.79 or off-peak $14.79 with an NY/NJ tag. Anything more is an overcharge under §80-17.
For Uber and Lyft, TLC rule §59D-17(c) says the company must pass to the driver every toll the driver paid during a dispatched trip. Driving into Manhattan with no passenger? Read do I pay congestion pricing when I drive empty?
How many TLC vehicles use the Lincoln
In 2025 the MTA counted 2,743,659 TLC taxi/FHV entries into the zone through the Lincoln Tunnel. That is only 16.6% of all vehicles entering there, the lowest TLC share of any of the 12 entry points (t6yz-b64h). About 73% of the vehicles entering there (11,997,372) were in the MTA's "cars, pickups and vans" class; buses were about 3%.
Across all crossings, roughly seven in ten yellow taxi trips and about a third of Uber/Lyft trips carry the zone charge in this data. More numbers: TLC trips charged the congestion fee.
Other crossings into the zone: the Holland Tunnel, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel. The whole program, step by step: congestion pricing for TLC drivers. More: tolls hub.
Data on this page
Aggregates of public data. They describe trips and vehicles, never individual people.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Lincoln Tunnel toll?
With a New York or New Jersey E-ZPass, $16.79 at peak and $14.79 off-peak. Mid-Tier is $19.55 and Tolls by Mail is $23.30. The toll is charged only when entering New York.
What is the $3 congestion pricing credit at the Lincoln Tunnel?
A private car that enters the Congestion Relief Zone through the Lincoln or Holland Tunnel at peak with E-ZPass gets up to $3.00 off its daily zone toll in Phase 1. The schedule raises the credit to $4.00 in 2028–2030 and $5.00 from 2031.
Do Uber or taxi trips through the Lincoln Tunnel get the $3 credit?
No. Enrolled TLC vehicles pay a per-trip charge collected from the passenger ($0.75 or $1.50) instead of the daily toll, so there is no daily toll to credit.
Who pays the Lincoln Tunnel toll on a TLC trip?
On trips to New Jersey, the passenger pays all necessary tolls to and from the destination, including the toll you pay coming back into New York, at the actual E-ZPass amount.
Sources
Last reviewed against the official sources on .
- Port Authority of NY & NJ: Tolls (July 2026 toll rates) panynj.gov
- Port Authority of NY & NJ: E-ZPass page (congestion pricing credit) panynj.gov
- TBTA Central Business District (CBD) charges schedule (PDF) mta.info
- MTA: Congestion Relief Zone FAQ mta.info
- TLC Rules, Chapter 58 (§58-26) and Chapter 59 (§59A-23) nyc.gov
- NY Open Data: MTA Congestion Relief Zone Vehicle Entries (t6yz-b64h) data.ny.gov
Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll check it against the official source.
TLC Help is not a law firm and is not affiliated with the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission or OATH. Explanations on this site are general information, not legal advice. Legal representation is provided by independent attorneys and OATH-registered representatives in our network.