ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The deadline is fast approaching for filing your taxes, and that means claiming your New York Empire State Child Credit.

Tax preparers and other agencies are helping people in these final days file for those credits.

“We really want households to know about this, and it’s really important that families file their state income tax so that they can receive this credit,” said Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Commissioner Barbara Guinn.

What You Need To Know

Parents must file taxes in order to claim the new and improved New York Empire State Child Credit
More than 2.7 million New York children are eligible to receive support through the child tax credit
Households with children under four years of age can receive a payment of up to $1,000
For children ages four through 16, the value of the payment is $500

This time around, there’s a new and improved child tax credit for New Yorkers.

“I just filed last week,” said working single mother Gloria Shepard, who says it’s a relief to know there’s something extra coming this year. “Oh, absolutely. So instead of just like, ‘OK, I know I get paid this day’ or ‘I got this extra because I worked overtime,’ knowing that you have a nice chunk of lump sum coming back. It’s definitely a relief.”

Shepard works two jobs and is thankful for any additional tax credit.

“The credit is designed so that it will provide the largest benefit for households with very young children. So, households with children under four years of age can receive a payment of up to $1,000. And for children ages four through 16, the value of the payment is $500, and it is structured so that it does support both low, very low-income households as well as middle-income households,” said Guinn.

She adds, “The fact that they’re able to now access the maximum credit is a huge policy change in New York State, and one that’s very positive. It certainly benefits families throughout our state.”

Guinn says more than 2.7 million children are eligible to receive support through this assistance in New York state.

“We are an initiative of the Empire Justice Center. And what we do is, we help individuals understand the tax preparation process in a way that’s easy to understand. And they’re provided with guidance from IRS-certified volunteers and staff to make sure that they are claiming every single credit that they deserve,” said Empire Justice Center’s Yversha Roman.

She is the director of the program CASH, Creating Assets Savings & Hope, which helps people file their taxes for free and obtain all of their credits, including the child tax credit.

“One of the things we like to say is that everyone’s tax situation changes from year to year. So, they should stop at a place like CASH and ensure that they are receiving every credit they do deserve,” she said.

“I think it’s a wonderful thing, especially with what’s going on with the economy and things like that. So, any type of boost you can get back from, you know, just as simple as filing taxes when you have children, it’s a win,” said Shepard.

Getting money from the Empire State Child Credit will not impact your Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), cash assistance or housing assistance. But the key is, you must file your taxes in order to get the credits.

“If you don’t owe taxes, you can still get money back. And so that’s a big deal for us to have that. And this is something that the changes that the governor introduced and that were passed by the legislature is something that was really important for New York state in our effort to reduce child poverty,” said Guinn.

“I’m glad it’s done, because it was a weight on my shoulders, because every week I’m like, ‘every day I got to get my taxes done. I got to get my taxes done. I got to get my taxes done.’ But being that it’s done and it’s over, it’s just one more strain lifted off your shoulders,” said Shepard.