The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance is promoting the state’s recently expanded child tax credit. Families can get up to $1,000 per child under age four and up to $330 per child ages four-16 from the Empire State Child Credit. There is no income required to get the credit, but households must file a New York State income tax return by April 15.
“The expanded Empire State Child Credit will provide a much-needed boost to household budgets for millions of families across New York State and will be especially impactful for families with young children who have little or no income,” OTDA Commissioner Barbara C. Guinn said.
“But it’s important that those families know they need to file a New York State income tax return to receive the money and that doing so will not impact other benefits they may receive, including SNAP and Medicaid,” she continued.
Families can get money from the Empire State Child Credit if they are a full-year resident of the state, have at least one qualifying child under 17, file a New York State income tax return and provide a valid Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number for themselves and each child. The total amount of money they receive will depend on income, family size and the age of the children.
In addition to the expanded Empire State Child Credit, New Yorkers could be eligible for numerous federal and state tax credits that could provide thousands of dollars directly to low-income households.
These include the state Earned Income Tax Credit, the federal Child Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit and federal and state child and dependent care credits, among others. To get money from federal credits, households must also file a federal income tax return by April 15.
Receiving these tax credits will not impact families’ Medicaid, SNAP, SSI, cash assistance, or housing assistance.
Last year, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul and the state legislature took action to enact the largest expansion of the ESCC in New York State history, increasing the value of the credit and making it available to more families:
– for the 2026 tax filing season, eligible families can now receive up to $1,000 per child under age four and $330 per qualifying child age four through 16 years-old.
– New York eliminated a longstanding provision that restricted New York’s poorest families from accessing the full credit so that these families can now access the full value of the credit as a refund.
– New York also adjusted the credit phase-out, so more middle-class families whose incomes were previously too high to qualify for the credit can receive the credit.
The full credit remains available to jointly filing households up to $110,000, but now the expanded credit combined with its gradual rate of phaseout means even a family of four with a child under four-years-old and a child over four-years-old with household income of $170,000 – who would not have qualified for any credit under the prior program – can now receive over $500 per year.
These major reforms – which double the size of the average credit for families from $472 to $943 – will drive significant assistance to families with the youngest children and help families across the income spectrum.
Next year, the credit for children ages four through 16 will also increase to up to $500 per child, and households with eligible children under age four will still be able to claim up to $1,000 per child.
For more information, visit: otda.ny.gov/ChildCredit.