ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Come this fall, keep an eye out for a refund check from the state, as Gov. Kathy Hochul is sending inflation refund checks to New Yorkers.

What You Need To Know

  • Come this fall, keep an eye out for a refund check from New York state
  • The amount depends on your income
  • Gov. Kathy Hochul's office says it’s all part of a larger affordability plan that’s part of the 2026 fiscal year budget

To offset the high cost of living in New York state, the governor says she is honoring her promise to put more money in people's pockets.

“I see what families are going through right now. I just want to do everything I have at my disposal [and] in my power to be able to acknowledge it, but also do something about it,” Hochul said while addressing a crowd downstate on Tuesday about affordability.  

“The impetus for the inflation refund checks, which will be coming out this fall, are that New Yorkers across the state faced higher prices between 2021 and current day due to inflation, and those higher prices meant that they paid more in sales tax, and New York received more in sales tax than it had expected. So, we're distributing $2 billion back into the pockets of 8.2 million New Yorkers,” said New York State Division of Revenue and Budget Chief of Economics Laura Schultz.

Here’s how it will work.

Joint tax filers with income up to $150,000 will receive a $400 check, over $150,000 but no greater than $300,000 will receive a $300 check. Single tax filers with income up to $75,000 will receive a $200 check. Single filers with incomes between $75,000 and $150,000 will receive a $150 check.

There is also a significant increase in the child tax credit.

“We are increasing it in two phases. Families with children 0 to 3 are going to be receiving a $1,000 in the upcoming tax year. So, for tax year 2025, when they file their return, they'll get $1,000 instead of $330. In tax year 2026, that expanded benefit is going to go for children 4 to 16. And those families are going to receive $500 a child instead of $330,” said Schultz.

Free School Meals will be offered to all children. The governor’s office says that it will save families about $1,600 per child.  

“I mean, getting some money back is always nice," said taxpayer Dominic Payne. "Less taxes is always good. I may have only paid taxes two years now. It’s still nice all the same."

“Well, I’m thinking as long as it doesn’t make the status of the whole state worse by giving back money, it’s OK," said taxpayer Bonnie Keller. "[It's] always nice to get a little extra change in your pocket."

Hochul's office says it is all part of a larger affordability plan that’s part of the 2026 fiscal year budget.

“I think, all told, it's a $4 billion affordability agenda," said the governor’s office Public Information Director Tim Ruffinen. "When you combine the school meals with the middle tax cut, with the child tax credit expansion as well as the inflation refund, she's taking $4 billion and putting it back in the pockets of all New Yorkers for the most part."

“Right now, there’s so many New Yorkers who just want to have more money in their pockets,” said Hochul.