New York State mailed a first round of supplemental checks Monday through the state’s child tax credit program, providing 1 million families with up to $330 per child before school resumes.
It’s part of a recent budget deal between Gov. Hochul and lawmakers to use $350 million in state funding to strengthen the Empire State Child Credit, the governor’s office said.
“As New Yorkers get started with back-to-school shopping for their kids, we’re putting some money back in their pockets,” Hochul said in a statement.
The one-time payments are expected to provide some much-needed relief this year. According to a new survey, New York parents spend the most of families across the nation on back-to-school shopping, from clothing to class supplies — forking over an average of $1,123 per child, analysts at Coupon Birds found.
Checks are being sent automatically to low and moderate-income households, who qualified for an Empire State Child Credit of at least $100 on their 2023 state tax returns, according to a press release. The supplements range from 25% to 100% of the amount of the credit.
Families where a single filer or head of household earns $75,000 or less each year should check their mailboxes, while two parents who file together can make up to $110,000 to qualify for the credit.
“My team is making sure these supplemental payments reach every eligible New Yorker — and I’m going to keep working every day to address the cost of living for working parents across our state,” Hochul said.
The program takes aim at an intractable problem in New York, where nearly one in five children live in poverty, according to a May report by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The state’s child poverty rate is among the worst, ranking 41st in the nation.
Last year, Hochul and lawmakers expanded the Empire State Child Credit to include children under 4 years old, adding an estimated 600,000 more children to the program each year, the news release said. In recent months, families received hundreds of millions of dollars in tax credits based on their 2023 tax filings.
The payments will continue to be mailed over the next two weeks, at a rate of over 100,000 checks per day.