Getty Realty (GTY) S-3ASR Automatic shelf registration

Exhibit 8.1

DLA Piper LLP (US) 650 South Exeter Street Suite 1100 Baltimore, MD 21202 www.dlapiper.com   T  410.580.3000 F  410.580.3001

January 5, 2024

Getty Realty Corp.

292 Madison Avenue, 9th Floor

New York, New York 10017-6318

Re: Tax Opinion Regarding REIT Qualification of Getty Realty Corp.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as counsel for Getty Realty Corp., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), and have been requested to render this opinion in connection with the Registration Statement on Form S-3 of the Company (the “Registration Statement”), filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) January 5, 2024, including the preliminary prospectus included therein at the time the Registration Statement becomes effective (the “Prospectus”), under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), for registration by the Company of an unlimited amount of Securities (as defined below).

As used herein, the term “Securities” includes (i) shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”), (ii) shares of the Company’s preferred stock, $0.01 par value per share (the “Preferred Stock”), (iii) debt securities, consisting of debentures, notes, bonds and/or other evidences of indebtedness of the Company, to be issued in one or more series, which may include senior debt securities, subordinated debt securities and senior subordinated debt securities (the “Debt Securities”), (iv) warrants to purchase Debt Securities or shares of the Company’s Common Stock or Preferred Stock (the “Warrants”), (v) units consisting of any combination of Common Stock, Preferred Stock, Debt Securities and Warrants (the “Units”), and (vi) shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion or exercise as the case may be of the Preferred Stock, Debt Securities, and/or Warrants.

In connection with the Registration Statement, you have requested our opinion regarding:

1. Whether the Company has been organized in conformity with the requirements for qualification and taxation as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), commencing with the Company’s taxable year ending December 31, 2015, and whether the Company’s proposed method of operation will enable it to continue to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code.

2. Whether the discussion in the Registration Statement under the heading “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” that describes applicable U.S. federal income tax law is correct in all material respects as of the date hereof.

In rendering the opinion expressed herein, we have reviewed originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of the following documents (collectively, the “Reviewed Documents”):

1) the charter of the Company (the “Charter”), represented by the Articles of Incorporation filed of record with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation of the State of Maryland (the “SDAT”) on December 23, 1997, as amended and supplemented by the Articles Supplementary filed of record with the SDAT on January 21, 1998, the Articles of Amendment filed of record with the SDAT on January 30, 1998, the Articles of Amendment filed of record with the SDAT on August 1, 2001, the

Getty Realty Corp.

January 5, 2024

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Articles Supplementary filed of record with the SDAT on October 25, 2017, the Articles of Amendment filed with the SDAT on May 17, 2018, the Articles Supplementary filed of record with the SDAT on February 24, 2022 and the Articles Supplementary filed of record with the SDAT on April 26, 2022, and as in full force and effect on the date hereof;

2) the bylaws of the Company (the “Bylaws”), as amended to the date hereof and as in effect on the date hereof;

3) the Registration Statement; and

4) such other documents as may have been presented to us by the Company from time to time.

In addition, we have relied upon the factual representations contained in the Company’s certificate, dated as of the date hereof (the “Officer’s Certificate”), executed by a duly appointed officer of the Company, setting forth certain representations relating to the organization and operation of the Company and its subsidiaries.

For purposes of our opinion, we have not made an independent investigation of the facts set forth in the documents we reviewed. We consequently have assumed that the information presented in such documents or otherwise furnished to us accurately and completely describes all material facts relevant to our opinions. Any representation or statement in any document upon which we rely that is made “to the best of our knowledge” or otherwise similarly qualified is assumed to be correct. Any alteration of such facts may adversely affect our opinions.

In our review, we have assumed, with your consent, that all of the representations and statements of a factual nature set forth in the documents we reviewed are true and correct, and all of the obligations imposed by any such documents on the parties thereto have been and will be performed or satisfied in accordance with their terms. We have also assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the proper execution of all documents, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to originals of documents submitted to us as copies, and the authenticity of the originals from which any copies were made.

The opinion set forth in this letter is based on relevant provisions of the Code, the regulations promulgated thereunder by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Regulations”) (including proposed and temporary Regulations), and interpretations of the foregoing as expressed in court decisions, the legislative history and existing administrative rulings and practices of the Internal Revenue Service (including its practices and policies in issuing private letter rulings, which are not binding on the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) except with respect to a taxpayer that receives such a ruling), all as of the date hereof.

In rendering the opinion, we have assumed that the transactions contemplated by the Reviewed Documents will be consummated in accordance with the terms and provisions of such Reviewed Documents, and that such Reviewed Documents accurately reflect the material facts of such transactions. In addition, this opinion is based on the correctness of the following specific assumptions:

1) The Company and its subsidiaries will each be operated in the manner described in the Charter, the Bylaws and the other organizational documents of each of its subsidiaries and all terms and provisions of such documents will be complied with by all parties thereto.

2) The Company qualified as a REIT under the Code at all times from January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2012.

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January 5, 2024

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3) If the Company discovers that the Company did not satisfy one or more of the REIT income, asset, distribution, or other requirements for any taxable year, or there is a final determination by the IRS that the Company did not satisfy one of those requirements, the Company will, to the extent possible, take all actions contemplated or required by sections 856(c)(6), (c)(7), and (g)(5) and 860 of the Code, as the case may be, in order to maintain the Company’s status as a REIT for such year and all succeeding years.

4) The Company will not make any amendments to its organizational documents after the date of this opinion that would affect the Company’s qualification as a REIT for any taxable year.

5) The Company will take no action after the date hereof that would have the effect of altering the facts upon which the opinion set forth below is based.

It should be noted that the Code and other statutes, regulations, judicial decisions, and administrative interpretations are subject to change at any time and, in some circumstances, with retroactive effect. A material change that is made after the date hereof in any of the foregoing bases for our opinion could affect our conclusions. Furthermore, if the facts vary from those relied upon (including any representations, warranties, covenants or assumptions upon which we have relied are inaccurate, incomplete, breached or ineffective), our opinion contained herein could be inapplicable. As noted in the Registration Statement, the Company’s qualification and taxation as a REIT depend upon its ability to meet, through actual operating results, certain requirements relating to the sources of its income, the nature of its assets, its distribution levels and diversity of stock ownership, and various other qualification tests imposed under the Code, the results of which are not reviewed by us. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that the actual results of the operations of the Company for any one taxable year will satisfy all requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code.

Based upon and subject to the foregoing, it is our opinion that:

1. Since the commencement of the taxable year which began January 1, 2015 through the taxable year ended December 31, 2023, the Company has been organized and has operated in conformity with the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code, and its actual method of operation has enabled, and its proposed method of organization and operation will enable, it to continue to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT for its current and subsequent taxable years.

2. The discussion in the Registration Statement under the heading “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” constitutes a fair and accurate summary under current law of the material United States federal income tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of the Common Stock of the Company, subject to the qualifications set forth therein.

This opinion is limited to the matters specifically discussed herein, which are the only matters to which you have requested our opinion. Other than as expressly stated above, we express no opinion on any issue relating to the Company or to any investment therein.

We assume no obligation to advise you of any changes in the foregoing subsequent to the date of this opinion letter, and we are not undertaking to update this opinion letter from time to time. You should be aware that an opinion of counsel represents only counsel’s best legal judgment, and has no binding effect or official status of any kind, and that no assurance can be given that contrary positions may not be taken by the IRS or that a court considering the issues would not hold otherwise.

Getty Realty Corp.

January 5, 2024

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This opinion is rendered by us at the request of the Company in connection with the offering of the Shares. We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, and to the reference to this firm under the caption “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” and “Legal Matters” in the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

Very truly yours,

DLA PIPER LLP (US)

/s/ DLA Piper LLP (US)