Governor Hochul Highlights $2.3 Billion in Tax Relief for Nearly 3 Million New Yorkers

STAR Program Delivers Tax Exemptions and Credits to Families and Seniors Statewide

STAR Digital Portal Allows New Yorkers To Get STAR Credits Via Direct Deposit

Direct Deposit Sign-Ups For this Year Still Available on Long Island

Governor Kathy Hochul highlighted New York State’s ongoing efforts to deliver $2.3 billion in tax relief to nearly three million New Yorkers under the State’s School Tax Relief program. More than two million New Yorkers have already received their STAR tax relief and nearly one million will receive their benefits in the coming weeks. The Governor also highlighted that New Yorkers on Long Island can still sign up for direct deposit before their STAR credits are issued in the coming weeks.

“Back-to-school season is also tax relief season for millions of New Yorkers,” Governor Hochul said. “From tax credits to child care assistance to summer food benefits, we’re continuing to put more money back in the pockets of working New Yorkers to address the cost of living and help families across our state.”

The STAR program provides property tax relief to eligible New York State homeowners and senior citizens throughout the State. The dollar amount of each STAR benefit depends on the resident’s income level and other factors.

For homeowners with incomes of $500,000 or less, STAR benefits are typically worth several hundred dollars. For seniors age 65 and older with incomes below $98,700, STAR benefits can exceed $1,000.

New Yorkers receive this benefit in one of two ways: as a STAR credit issued via check or direct deposit to the resident, or as a STAR exemption that reduces their annual school tax bill. Once a homeowner enrolls in the program, they do not need to take further action to continue receiving the credit or exemption. More information on the program can be found at the STAR resource center.

More than 2 million New Yorkers have already received their STAR tax relief, and the remaining relief will be delivered to nearly one million additional New Yorkers in the coming weeks. STAR credit delivery is generally based on timelines to meet the school tax due date. While September 30 is the most common school tax due date across the State, some parts of the State such as Long Island have later due dates this fall.

A breakdown of this year’s total $2.3 billion STAR benefits and nearly 3 million recipients by region is seen below:

REGION	STAR TAX RELIEF	RECIPIENTS
Long Island	$736.4 million	596,000
Mid-Hudson	$515.2 million	414,000
Finger Lakes	$216.4 million	286,000
Western New York	$188.2 million	328,000
New York City	$167.3 million	495,000
Capital Region	$152.3 million	248,000
Central New York	$138.3 million	180,000
Southern Tier	$115.6 million	160,000
Mohawk Valley	$69.9 million	103,000
North Country	$49.8 million	90,000
TOTAL	$2.3 billion	2.9 million

Governor Hochul and the State’s Tax Department launched the first-ever STAR digital portal earlier this year. This new portal allows New Yorkers who receive STAR credits to sign up to get their credit sent via direct deposit, rather than a physical check in the mail.

For this year’s payments, sign-ups for direct deposit are still available for New Yorkers on Long Island since their credits will be delivered in the coming weeks.

All New Yorkers who receive STAR credits can continue to utilize the digital portal to sign up for direct deposit for next year’s payments.

As part of these efforts, Governor Hochul is continuing her focus on addressing the cost of living for families throughout the State.

Helping More Families Pay for Child Care

This summer Governor Hochul launched ny.gov/childcare – a digital portal to help make free or low-cost child care more accessible to eligible families statewide through New York State’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). This new initiative follows a historic $1.8 billion state and federal investment in CCAP secured by Governor Hochul in the FY25 Enacted Budget. CCAP covers more than 90 percent of market rate child care costs for most eligible families, with most families of four paying no more than $15 per week for child care.

The Governor previously worked with the Legislature to overhaul the child care system and make historic, one-of-a-kind investments, including a four-year, $7 billion commitment to improving the child care assistance program; expanding income eligibility for child care assistance to more than half of young children in New York; increasing state reimbursement rates to providers to expand the number of programs from which families can choose; investing $50 million to establish a child care capital program; investing $343 million to stabilize programs at risk of closure and support the child care workforce; and investing $15.6 million to expand child care to all SUNY and CUNY campuses.

Expanding Access to Child Tax Credit Payments

Governor Hochul also previously announced that New York State delivered approximately $350 million in supplemental payments to low- and moderate-income families statewide through the Empire State Child Credit program. More than 1 million families received this financial assistance without any need to apply, as each eligible family received a direct payment of up to $330 per child.

The Empire State Child Credit is a refundable tax credit for income-qualified New Yorkers with children. In 2023, Governor 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 received hundreds of millions of dollars in tax credits based on their 2023 tax filings.

Delivering Food Assistance

Governor Kathy Hochul also previously announced that New York has issued nearly $200 million in food assistance to more than 1.5 million low-income children as part of the new Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (Summer EBT) program. New York is sending $120 per child to eligible families to help pay for healthy meals. Many eligible families have already begun to receive this assistance and the benefits will continue to be sent in the coming weeks.

Summer EBT is a new federally funded program that supports efforts to address food insecurity among children from low-income families. Each state electing to opt into the Summer EBT program is responsible for distributing the $120-per-child benefits to eligible families, as well as covering half of the administrative costs involved in distributing the funds. Governor Hochul ensured that New York would participate in this program and secured $13 million in the State’s FY 2025 Enacted Budget to support Summer EBT distribution efforts throughout the State.

DEC Seeks Participants for New Online Survey About Winter Rock Salt Use

 

Property Owners and Managers Encouraged to Provide Feedback on Use of Rock Salt to Remove Snow and Ice

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar is encouraging participation in a new survey to help better understand typical rock salt use by New Yorkers and public awareness regarding the potential environmental and health impacts of salt overuse. Results of the survey will help DEC tailor future outreach and education to help reduce overuse of rock salt on roads, parking lots, and sidewalks.

“DEC is working with State and local partners to implement the Adirondack Road Salt Task Force’s recommendations and explore ways to balance safety with the protection of public health and sensitive ecosystems,” Interim Commissioner Mahar said. “This short survey will help DEC learn more about how New Yorkers use rock salt at their homes, businesses, municipal buildings, and other properties to help target effective outreach and meet salt reduction goals to protect lands and waters.”

State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said, “The application of road salt is a delicate balance between keeping our roadways safe and protecting the environment, and the Department of Transportation is always refining its approach.  We appreciate our partners at the Department of Environmental Conservation for assessing the use of salt beyond the state highway system, the results of which will help further educate all New Yorkers on how we can work to further protect our environment and our state’s natural resources.”

State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, “We encourage New Yorkers to take this survey so that we can better understand how rock salt is being used which will help further inform us on future educational efforts and reduce the use of rock salt.” The Department of Health looks forward to continuing our work with DEC and other State partners as climate change continues to push us to explore new ways to help protect the health of our communities and the environment.”

Although applying rock salt on roadways, parking lots, and sidewalks helps to ensure the safety of those traveling by vehicle or foot, overuse of salt can degrade infrastructure and contaminate runoff that enters streams and waterbodies.

In 2023, the Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force completed a comprehensive review of rock salt contamination and road salt application best management practices within the Adirondack Park. The findings and recommendations of the Task Force, while originally focused on the Adirondacks, are applicable statewide.

The survey launched today is helping fulfill one of the Task Force report’s recommendations to develop a public education and outreach campaign that encourages New Yorkers to manage rock salt use effectively and safely. Survey responses can help DEC better understand perceptions surrounding rock salt usage and make appropriate recommendations for reduction strategies that can be applied throughout New York.

The public can submit feedback through this link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WinterRockSalt. The survey can be filled out on a smartphone, tablet, or computer and will remain open until Nov. 1, 2024.

DEC is committed to protecting New York’s waters and recently pledged up to $15 million to help protect water quality by promoting proper salt storage and application, fulfilling another recommendation of the Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force. The funding is part of up to $215 million in grant funding made available through the Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) program, a competitive, statewide reimbursement grant program that supports implementation projects that directly improve water quality or habitat, promote flood risk reduction, restoration, enhanced flood and climate resiliency, or protect a drinking water source.

For additional information and resources, visit DEC’s Rock Salt Reduction webpage: https://dec.ny.gov/environmental-protection/water/rock-salt-reduction.