A cab receipt from a metered taxi shows how the fare was built — initial charge, distance units, and surcharges. This guide explains how metered fares are calculated, the flat airport rates, and how to get a receipt or dispute an overcharge after the ride.
Cab Receipt
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How a metered cab fare is actually built
A cab fare is not one number — it is a stack of small charges, and the receipt is the only place you can see the stack. Understanding it is the difference between accepting a fare and knowing you were overcharged.
Using New York's yellow cabs as the clearest example, the meter starts with an initial charge of $3.00, then adds $0.70 for every 1/5 of a mile — or for every 60 seconds when the cab is stopped or crawling in traffic. That last part explains the fare that seems too high for a short trip: in gridlock you are paying for time, not distance, and the meter keeps ticking while you sit still.
The surcharges that inflate the total
On top of the metered fare sit a series of add-ons that appear as separate lines on the receipt:
Night surcharge — $1.00, applied on overnight trips.
Rush hour surcharge — $2.50 on weekday peak-hour trips.
Congestion surcharge — $2.50 on yellow-taxi trips that begin, end, or pass through Manhattan south of 96th Street.
MTA congestion pricing toll — an additional 75 cents for yellow taxis in the zone south of and including 60th Street.
Tolls — bridges and tunnels are passed through at cost.
Two things that are not chargeable: there is no fee for extra passengers, for luggage, or for paying by credit card. A driver asking for a card surcharge or a bag fee is asking for something they are not owed.
Flat airport fares and when the meter should be off
Airport runs often use a fixed price instead of the meter. The classic example is the flat fare of $70.00 between Manhattan and JFK — tolls and surcharges still apply on top, but the distance charge does not.
This matters because a flat-fare trip run on the meter can cost noticeably more in heavy traffic. If you are travelling a route with a published flat fare, confirm it at the start of the ride, and check the receipt shows the flat rate rather than a metered total. The rate code printed on the receipt tells you which tariff was applied — it is the field to look at first when a fare seems wrong.
Reading the receipt and disputing an overcharge
A metered cab receipt should let you reconstruct the entire ride:
Medallion or vehicle number, and the driver or licence number — the identifiers a complaint is built on.
Date, start and end times, and the trip distance.
The rate code applied (standard meter, flat airport rate, out-of-town).
The fare breakdown — metered fare, each surcharge, tolls, tip, and the total.
If you believe you were overcharged, the medallion number and the trip time are what make a complaint actionable — without them, the regulator has nothing to trace. This is the practical reason for the standard advice: always take the receipt, even for a short trip, because it is worthless to you sitting in the driver's tray and essential if the fare turns out to be wrong.
Getting a receipt after you've left the cab
If you paid by card, the trip is recoverable — the payment processors used in taxis keep trip records, and many let a passenger look up a ride and email themselves a receipt using the card's last four digits and the date. Where a city regulator runs a lost-property or trip-lookup service, the medallion number is the key, which is one more reason to photograph it as you get out.
Cash rides with no paper receipt are the hard case: nothing was recorded to your name. If the fare genuinely happened and you need the record for an expense claim, reconstruct it from what you do have — the date, the route, the amount withdrawn or spent — and keep the reconstruction consistent with the actual trip. It documents a real journey you took, and it should never inflate the fare or invent a trip that did not occur.
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about the product and billing.
How is a metered cab fare calculated?
There is an initial charge — $3.00 in New York's yellow cabs — plus $0.70 for each 1/5 of a mile, or for each 60 seconds when the cab is stopped or crawling. That time-based unit is why a short trip in heavy traffic can cost far more than the distance suggests.
What surcharges appear on a cab receipt?
Commonly a $1.00 night surcharge, a $2.50 weekday rush-hour surcharge, a $2.50 congestion surcharge for trips through Manhattan below 96th Street, a 75-cent MTA congestion toll below 60th Street, plus any bridge or tunnel tolls.
Can a taxi driver charge extra for luggage or card payment?
No. There is no charge for extra passengers, for bags, or for paying by credit card. A request for a card surcharge or a luggage fee is not a legitimate charge.
What is the flat fare between Manhattan and JFK?
$70.00, with tolls and surcharges added on top. The meter's distance charge does not apply — check the receipt shows the flat rate code rather than a metered fare.
How do I dispute a taxi overcharge?
You need the medallion or vehicle number and the trip date and time — both are printed on the receipt. Without them a complaint cannot be traced to the ride, which is why taking the receipt matters even on a short trip.
Can I get a cab receipt after the ride?
If you paid by card, often yes — taxi payment processors let you look up a trip and email a receipt using the card's last four digits and the date. Cash rides with no paper receipt leave no record in your name.