Commercial Motor Vehicle Tax

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For New York City business taxes must file your tax return or a form NYC-EXT and pay any tax due by July 15, 2020.

These include:

  • General corporation tax
  • Banking corporation tax
  • Business corporation tax
  • Unincorporated business tax
  • Commercial Rent Tax
  • Hotel Room Occupancy Tax
  • Commercial Motor Vehicle Tax
  • Retail Beer, Wine, and Liquor Tax
  • Utility Tax
  • E-911 Surcharge

If your filing or payment was due between March 16, 2020 and June 25, 2020 you can request a wavier of any late filing and late payment penalties. Interest will still accrue at the appropriate underpayment rate on all tax payments received after the original due date, calculated from the original due date to the date of payment. Quarterly estimated payments must still be made by the June 15, 2020 deadline.

If you are filing online, enter the special condition code “CV” in the space indicated near the top right of the online form.

If you are filing a paper return or NYC-EXT, please write “COVID-19” on the top center of the front page.

Eligible business tax filers submitting form NYC-EXT by July 15 will have an additional six months from the original due date to file their returns.

Penalties on late filings and payments will resume after July 15, 2020.

Need something else?

  • Business Tax Assistance for help with payment issues, copies of filed returns, audits, and notices of unpaid taxes.

The Commercial Motor Vehicle Tax (CMVT) must be paid every year by owners or long-term lessees of commercial vehicles that regularly operate in New York City.

Vehicles are subject to the CMVT if they are: 

  • Non-passenger commercial vehicles that are used mostly in New York City (50% or more of their mileage during the year is within the City) or in connection with a business carried on in the City
  • For-hire vehicles regularly used in the City for the transportation of passengers, regardless of the mileage within the City

Non-passenger, commercial motor vehicles include the following:

  • Trucks
  • Tractor-trailers and semi-trailers
  • Auto trucks
  • Light delivery cars
  • Traction engines
  • Road rollers
  • Tractor cranes
  • Truck cranes
  • Power shovels
  • Road-building machines
  • Snowplows
  • Road sweepers
  • Sand spreaders
  • Well drillers and servicing rigs
  • Any earth-moving equipment
  • Pick-up and panel trucks
  • Fork lifts (if operated on public streets)
  • Camper trucks and station wagons (if they require commercial registrations)

Motor vehicles used to transport passengers include any vehicle licensed as a taxicab or a livery that carries passengers for a fee, and any omnibus having a seating capacity of more than seven people (except those that operate under a franchise or a contract with the Port Authority of New York and pay a percentage of gross earnings or receipts to them or the City).

The owner of the vehicle pays the Commercial Motor Vehicle Tax. The term "owner" includes a purchaser under a conditional sale agreement, reserve agreement, or vendor's lien agreement.  It also includes a lessee, licensee, or bailee, who has the exclusive use of the vehicle for a period of 30 or more days under a lease or otherwise. In the case of a vehicle that is leased for fewer than 30 days, the owner, not the lessee, must pay the tax.

Learn more about the Commercial Motor Vehicle Tax (CMVT).

Owners of commercial motor vehicles are exempt from paying the Commercial Motor Vehicle Tax if the vehicles are: 

  • Used exclusively for transportation of persons in connection with funerals 
  • Used principally for the transportation of children to or from schools or day camps operated by non-profit organizations
  • Owned, operated, or leased for the exclusive use of: 
    • Any non-profit organization organized and operated only for religious, charitable, or educational purposes or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals
    • Dealers in new or used motor vehicles where the vehicle is used only to demonstrate to prospective buyers or delivery
    • A foreign nation or representative of a foreign nation who is exempt from paying a motor vehicle registration fee under New York State law
    • New York State government or any public corporation, improvement district, or other political subdivision 
    • The United Nations or other worldwide international organization that the U.S. is a member of such NATO and OAS
    • The United States government

If you received notification from Finance that you must pay the CMVT, but believe your business should be exempt from paying this tax, submit a notarized CMVT Exemption Affidavit to the Department of Finance.

Get a Commercial Motor Vehicle Tax (CMVT) Exemption Affidavit.

The Department of Finance mails the Motor Vehicle Tax Return by June 1 each year to owners of non-passenger commercial motor vehicles. Finance mails the return to owners of medallion taxicabs by June 1 and December 1.

Forms

If you do not receive the forms, you are still responsible for getting a copy. 

You can get a copy:

By Email

Contact the Department of Finance.

In Person

Get a copy in person at the DOF Business Center in Manhattan at 66 John Street, 2nd Floor.

Paying

Online

You can file and pay the tax through Business Tax e-Services.

You can pay by:

  • Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) withdrawn directly from your bank
  • E-check
  • Credit card (American Express, Master Card, VISA, and Discover)
  • Debit card (VISA and Master Card debit cards that don’t require the entry of a PIN number to complete a transaction)

There is a 2% convenience fee for paying by credit or debit card. There is no convenience fee for paying by EFT or e-check.

To pay online, you will need the notice number from your bill (first 13 digits) plus the billing zip code.

If there is a debit block on the bank account and you wish to pay online or by using software, the number needed to release the block is 6136400434.

Access Business Tax e-Services.

By Mail

Finance recommends that you pay the CMVT electronically to reduce chance of error and ensure faster processing. You will also receive confirmation of your payment if you pay online.

If you cannot pay online, you can mail your bill coupon with a check or money order to:

NYC Department of Finance
CMVT
P.O. Box 3644
NY, NY 10008-3644

For private delivery carriers that require a physical address, such as FedEx and UPS, you can mail your bill coupon with a check or money order to:

NYC Department of Finance
NYC Bill Processing Center
711 Executive Drive, Suite H
Valley Cottage, NY 10989

Your canceled check is proof of payment. Keep copies of everything you send. To have a record of when you sent your payment, you should mail it with a return receipt.

CMVT is a flat tax.

Non-Passenger Vehicles

The amount you must pay depends on the maximum gross weight of the vehicle.

For vehicles weighing:

  • 10,000 pounds or less, the tax is $40 per year
  • Over 10,000 pounds but no more than 12,500 pounds, the tax is $200
  • Over 12,500 pounds but no more than 15,000 pounds, the tax is $275
  • Over 15,000 pounds, the tax is $300

For-Hire Passenger Vehicles

  • Owners of medallion taxis must pay a total of $1,000 each year, with $500 due June 1st and $500 due December 1st.
  • Owners of for-hire passenger transportation vehicles, except medallion taxis, must pay $400 a year.

CMVT is an annual tax for the tax year that runs June 1 to May 31. You must file your return by June 20, unless you acquire a vehicle subject to CMVT after the beginning of a tax year, in which case you must file a tax return within 2 days of acquiring the vehicle.

If your vehicle is subject to the tax on or after March 1, you pay one-fourth of the yearly tax amount. If your vehicle is subject to the tax on or after December 1 and before March 1, you pay one-half the yearly tax amount.

If you don't file your return or pay the tax by the deadline, you will be charged interest.

From July 1, 2019 through September 30, 2019, the interest rate is 9%.

The Department of Finance collects the CMVT for: 

  • Medallion taxis licensed by the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission
  • Non-passenger commercial vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds that are registered in NYC
  • Non-passenger commercial vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less that are registered outside NYC, but used within NYC
  • Vehicles used for the transportation of passengers that are registered outside NYC but used within NYC

The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles collects the CMVT for:

  • "TLC" license plates (those vehicles licensed by the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission) that are registered within New York State
  • Non-passenger commercial motor vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less that are registered within New York City
  • Motor vehicles used for transportation of passengers that are registered within New York City

Medallion Taxis

In 2012, the Department of Finance began collecting the CMVT for taxis because of a change in local law. Finance provides the Taxi and Limousine Commission with data on outstanding payments and TLC enforces any taxi or taxi company owner who has not paid the tax.

You no longer need to display CMVT tax stamps on your medallion taxi cab. Finance will not send out these stamps.

Other Commercial Vehicles

Commercial and for-hire passenger vehicles, except medallion taxis, are required to display the commercial motor vehicle tax stamp.

You must file a claim for a Commercial Motor Vehicle Tax (CMVT) refund or credit within one year from the date of payment.

The owner of the vehicle can request a refund or credit by writing a letter.

With your letter, attach a copy of the cancelled check (front and back), showing payment and any other important information. Attach proof of payment if tax was paid by money order.

Mail to:
NYC Department of Finance
Commercial Motor Vehicle Tax Section
66 John Street, 2nd floor
New York, NY 10038

No interest is paid by the Department of Finance on Commercial Motor Vehicle Tax refunds or credits.

You can get answers to questions about the tax or help with filing and paying.

If you need a copy of the tax return form or need help filing or paying the tax, you can email the Department of Finance.

Contact the Department of Finance.

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