State and Local Officials Highlight Expanded Child Tax Credit for New York Families and Free Income Tax Assistance in Rochester
Empire State Child Credit Can Provide Up to $1,000 Per Child Under Age Four
Free Tax Assistance Available to Help New Yorkers File a Tax Return by April 15 to Receive the Money
The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) joined with Empire Justice Center and Rochester area elected officials today to highlight the State’s recently expanded child tax credit and remind those eligible that there is still time to get free income tax assistance in Rochester and Monroe County. Families can get up to $1,000 per child under age 4 and up to $330 per child ages 4-16 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,” said OTDA Commissioner Barbara C. Guinn. “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. Empire Justice Center’s CASH program makes it easy for Rochester families to complete and file their taxes for free while making sure they get all the tax credits they qualify for.”
Families can get money from the Empire State Child Credit (ESCC) 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.
Empire Justice Center’s Creating Assets, Savings, and Hope (CASH) Program provides free and trusted assistance to households with income less than $69,000, and less than $39,000 for households without dependents. Trained CASH program volunteers provide free income tax preparation and filing assistance, ensuring tax filers receive all of the tax credits they are eligible for.
State Senator Jeremy Cooney said, “As a city where nearly 50% of our children live below the federal poverty line, I have long-championed the expansion to the Child Tax Credit that our families can now take advantage of. The best way we can combat poverty in our community is by investing in our youth and working families, and that’s why I want to thank OTDA and Empire Justice Center for ensuring Rochesterians get the assistance they need to take advantage of these credits and for promoting equity throughout our community.”
Monroe County Executive Adam Bello said, “The expanded child tax credit is not just financial relief—it’s an investment in the stability and future of our families. This support helps parents cover essential costs, reduce stress and create more opportunities for their children to thrive. I’m grateful to Governor Hochul, our state delegation, and OTDA for recognizing that strong families are the foundation of strong communities.”
Rochester Mayor Malik Evans said, “Now that Gov. Kathy Hochul’s increased Empire State Child Tax Credits are in place, it is even more important for qualified families to file their taxes on time and receive every refund dollar they have coming to them. I am grateful to the Empire Justice Center for offering free tax-preparation assistance through its CASH program, and I encourage all qualified families to take full advantage of this invaluable service. I also want to thank Commissioner Barbara Guinn and the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance for raising awareness of this important new tax benefit for Rochester’s taxpayers.”
Empire Justice Center CASH Director Yversha Roman said, “Tax credits like the Empire State Child Tax Credit are designed to put money back into the pockets of families who need it most, but those benefits only matter if families are able to claim them. That’s why free tax preparation sites like Empire Justice Center’s VITA initiative, CASH (Creating Assets, Savings, and Hope), are so important. VITA sites help ensure that working families receive the full value of the credits they’ve earned. When families claim every tax credit available to them, it means more money for groceries, rent, childcare, and other everyday expenses that help keep households stable. It’s critical that families know these credits exist and can access safe, free tax preparation so these dollars go where they belong—in the pockets of hardworking families, not in the fees of often predatory tax preparation services.”
Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative (RMAPI) Executive Director Aqua Y. Porter said, “Tax credits like the Empire State Child Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit are some of the most powerful tools we have to reduce child poverty and strengthen financial stability for everyone in our community, especially our most vulnerable members. Nearly 40% of children in Rochester live in poverty, and research shows refundable tax credits can dramatically reduce those numbers. When the federal Child Tax Credit was expanded in 2021, child poverty was cut nearly in half nationwide. These are critical tools to expand upward mobility, but families can’t benefit from credits they don’t claim, which is why free tax preparation services like VITA are so important to help community members access the support they’ve earned."
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, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), 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, Governor 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 4 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 4 and a child over 4 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.
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