New York State child credit tip of the iceberg in tax credits

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - This week, New York State announced a child credit for eligible residents. That's prompting some to ask what other tax credits are available in New York.

The Empire State Child Credit is a refundable tax credit for income-qualified New Yorkers with children. In 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature expanded the Empire State Child Credit to include children under four, benefitting an estimated 600,000 additional children per-year.

Earlier this year, the more than 1 million families eligible for the Empire State Child Credit began to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax credits based on their 2023 tax filings.

The Tax Lady, Esther Gulyas of EG Tax, says that means you could get up to $330 per-child, and you don't have to do anything.

"It's just really like pennies from heaven. This is not going to affect your tax return. You don't have to file anything. This is just a gift from New York State," said Gulyas with WBEN.

The maximum income to be eligible is $110,000 for married couples, and $75,000 for single filers.

Gulyas says there are numerous tax credits available in New York.

"The Child Care Credit, where you have to pay somebody to watch your kids in order for you to work, that's a refundable credit. It's not refundable on the federal, but it is on New York State. The other thing is, let's say that you're a dad, usually it's dads that are paying for child support, and you would have qualified for the earned income credit. There's also a refundable noncustodial child tax credit in New York State. So New York State has a lot of credit that people may not be aware of. And if you miss the credit, you missed the money," Gulyas said.

She says there are other credits to look over, and now is the time to check with your tax preparer.

This Saturday, Guylas says she'll bring this topic up on her show "Ask the Tax Lady" at 3 p.m. ET.