Congestion pricing exemptions in the United States apply only to New York City’s Congestion Relief Zone, which covers Manhattan south of 60th Street and is the country’s only active program as of 2026. Emergency vehicles, qualifying school and commuter buses, specialized government vehicles on active duty, and vehicles enrolled in a disability exemption plan pay nothing. Low-income drivers, zone residents under an income cap, and E-ZPass users entering through tolled tunnels get discounts or credits rather than full waivers. Every exemption and discount requires an active E-ZPass account and advance enrollment.
Vehicles That Pay Nothing
A short list of vehicle types owes no congestion toll at all. These full exemptions exist because the vehicles serve public safety, disability transportation, or mass transit functions that a toll would undermine.
- Authorized emergency vehicles, meaning police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances that qualify as emergency vehicles under state vehicle and traffic law.
- Publicly owned vehicles specifically designed for public works other than general transportation, but only while directly engaged in a core agency function. A city sedan driven to a meeting does not qualify; a public works truck responding to a water main break does.
- Buses operating under contract with the public school system.
- Commuter vans licensed by a local taxi and limousine commission, and buses providing scheduled commuter service open to the public. Tour and charter buses do not qualify.
- Vehicles enrolled in an individual or organizational disability exemption plan, when transporting a qualifying person.
The toll system reads E-ZPass transponders and license plates and matches them against its enrollment database, so no driver action is needed at the gantry itself. The enrollment work happens before the trip.
Disability Exemptions
Disability exemptions come in two forms: one for individuals and one for organizations that transport people with disabilities.
Individual Disability Exemption Plan
This plan fully waives the congestion toll for one designated vehicle per qualifying applicant. The exemption covers the vehicle whether the person with a disability is driving or riding as a passenger with a caregiver behind the wheel. You can designate your own vehicle or a caregiver’s vehicle, but not both.
Eligibility is not tied to a specific diagnosis or to any particular medical equipment. You need to show that a disability prevents you from using public transportation, and there are three ways to do that:
- Schedule an in-person appointment at a designated assessment center. If the center determines you qualify, you then complete the full exemption application. A denial can be appealed using instructions provided in the determination letter.
- Submit proof of current enrollment in a public paratransit program, which serves as automatic proof of eligibility.
- Submit a valid government-issued parking permit for people with disabilities, though specific issuance-date cutoffs can apply.
You need an E-ZPass account dedicated to the exempted vehicle alone. If the designated vehicle is already on a shared E-ZPass account, open a separate account for it. Caregivers applying on behalf of someone else must indicate the relationship to the applicant.
Organizational Disability Exemption
Organizations can enroll vehicles used solely to transport people with disabilities. “Solely” is the operative word. A van that sometimes carries passengers with disabilities and sometimes runs other errands does not qualify. Inside the tolling zone, the vehicle must be used exclusively for disability transportation.
Low-Income Discount
Low-income drivers do not get a full exemption, but the Low-Income Discount Plan cuts the peak-period toll in half, bringing a $9 passenger-vehicle charge down to $4.50. The discount applies only after the first 10 peak-period trips in a calendar month. Those first 10 trips are billed at the full rate.
That structure matters. A driver who enters the zone only occasionally never reaches the threshold. The plan is built for people who commute through the zone regularly and can’t route around it.
To qualify, you must either be enrolled in SNAP, TANF, or WIC, or report a federal adjusted gross income of $50,000 or less on your prior year’s tax return. AGI appears on line 11 of IRS Form 1040.1Internal Revenue Service. Adjusted Gross Income An E-ZPass account is required.
Crossing Credits for Tunnels and Bridges
Drivers who enter Manhattan through a tolled tunnel or bridge are not charged twice at the full rate. A crossing credit offsets part or all of the congestion toll. The credit applies only during peak periods and only to E-ZPass users. Drivers paying by mail or without a transponder do not receive it.
Covered routes include the Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel, Queens Midtown Tunnel, and Hugh Carey Tunnel, among others. Even where the highway connection runs through Manhattan streets before reaching the tunnel entrance, the credit still applies. The amount depends on the vehicle type and on whether the tunnel is tolled in one direction or both.
This is not a zero-out. For most passenger vehicles the credit reduces the congestion toll meaningfully but does not eliminate it. Check the toll schedule for your specific route and vehicle class before assuming a trip is free.
Tax Credit for Residents of the Zone
Residents who live inside the congestion pricing zone and earn below the income cap can recover their toll costs through a refundable state tax credit. The credit equals the total tolls paid during the calendar year, excluding any tolls claimed as a business expense. Your state adjusted gross income must be under $60,000 for the year, and your primary residence must be inside the zone.2New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Central Business District Toll Credit
Because the credit is refundable, it pays out even if you owe no state income tax. Someone who paid $1,200 in tolls over the year and owes $400 in state tax would receive the remaining $800 as a refund. Part-year residents can claim only the tolls paid while they lived in the zone. The credit is claimed on a dedicated form filed with your state return.
Keep toll receipts and E-ZPass statements. The tax authority may request proof after reviewing your return, and the burden of showing the credit is legitimate falls on you.
What Other Vehicles Pay
Searches for exemptions often come from drivers who really want to know what their vehicle costs. Motorcycles are not exempt, but they pay roughly half the passenger-vehicle rate: $4.50 at peak and $1.05 overnight. A motorcycle is charged only once per day no matter how many times it enters the zone.
Trucks and non-exempt buses pay more than passenger vehicles. Small single-unit trucks are charged $14.40 at peak and $3.60 overnight. Large multi-unit trucks and tour buses pay $21.60 at peak and $5.40 overnight. Taxis, green cabs, and black cars pay $0.75 per trip. High-volume for-hire vehicles pay $1.50 per trip. The per-trip charges for taxis and for-hire vehicles apply during both peak and overnight periods.
How to Apply
Every discount and exemption plan requires an active E-ZPass account. There is no path to a discount or exemption while paying tolls by mail. Applications generally run through the transportation authority’s online portal. You’ll upload a copy of your vehicle registration along with whatever documents prove eligibility: proof of paratransit enrollment, a benefits letter from SNAP, TANF, or WIC, a prior-year tax return showing income below the threshold, or a parking permit for people with disabilities.
You’ll receive a formal decision notice once the application is processed. A denial comes with instructions for filing an appeal. The sources do not specify a guaranteed processing timeline, so apply well before you need the exemption to take effect, not after a trip you expected to be free.
Annual Recertification
Exemptions and discounts are not permanent. Every plan requires annual recertification. About 90 days before enrollment expires, the toll authority sends a reminder by email or mail. If you miss recertification the exemption lapses and full tolls resume on your next trip. Recertifying early avoids a coverage gap, and the renewal is generally simpler than the initial application because the authority already has your baseline information.
If You Were Charged and Think You Shouldn’t Have Been
Drivers who pass through the zone without E-ZPass receive a toll bill by mail at a higher rate than the E-ZPass price. A bill unpaid for 30 or more days past the billing date triggers additional fees. License plate images captured at the gantry identify the registered owner, so passing through undetected isn’t an option.
If you believe you qualify for an exemption but were charged, apply for the relevant plan and contact the toll authority to dispute the specific charge. Retroactive exemptions are not guaranteed, so enrollment before you drive is far more reliable than cleanup afterward.
A Note on Other Cities
No other U.S. city has an active congestion pricing program as of 2026, though Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco have studied one. If a program launches elsewhere, exemption rules will be set program by program. Emergency vehicles and disability accommodations are likely to carry over, but income thresholds, discount structures, and vehicle classifications will not. Rules described here apply to New York only.