The passage of the 25-26 New York State budget brought with it the largest expansion of the Empire State Child Credit since its creation 19 years ago. Schuyler Center led advocacy efforts on this win for New York’s children.
Schuyler Center has long championed a strong state child tax credit. We know it is a powerful and equitable tool to boost family economic security and reduce child poverty.
This year, we are celebrating a significant milestone on New York’s path to ensuring financial wellbeing for every family: the expansion of New York’s child tax credit.
The details of this expansion matter. Specifically:
- Children under age four now qualify for a maximum credit of $1,000 (previously $330);
- Next year, children 4-16 will qualify for up to $500 (previously $330);
- Children in the lowest income families qualify for the full credit (previously subject to a phase-in), and
- Children in immigrant families filing with an individual tax identification number, rather than a social security number, remain eligible for the credit.
All New York children should grow up free from the hardships of poverty.
Robust tax relief for New York’s families, especially those earning the lowest incomes, is among the most effective and equitable ways for the State to fulfill its commitment to reduce child poverty and support economic security for all families.
With the enacted 2025-26 New York State budget, we’re making significant progress toward those goals.
Why are child tax credits so important?
Powerful evidence confirms the effectiveness of child tax credits, especially when targeted toward those with low incomes: the 2021 pandemic expansion of the federal Child Tax Credit dramatically and quickly cut child poverty nearly in half nationally and across New York State. When congress allowed the expanded federal child tax credit to expire, child poverty rates quickly surpassed pre-pandemic levels, plunging thousands of children and families back into poverty.
From an implementation standpoint, tax credits are easy to deliver to families through the tax system, provide flexible support, and can be targeted to help those most in need of assistance. The credit provides breathing room within a family’s budget, making it a little easier to afford groceries, rent, and the “extras” like youth sports and music lessons.
What makes a child tax credit impactful?
Well-designed tax credits enable families to meet immediate needs and deliver long-term benefits. Research shows that cash and near-cash benefits (including tax credits) improve children’s health and educational outcomes, increase future earnings, and decrease costs in the realms of health care, child protection, and criminal justice.
Schuyler Center has been tenacious in analysis and advocacy efforts toward a stronger state child tax credit.
Tax credit design matters. The most powerful child tax credits are targeted toward those with the lowest incomes, are refundable, inclusive, and substantial enough to give families a meaningful boost.
While New York State was among the first states in the nation to offer a child tax credit in 2006, the Empire State Child Credit (ESCC) had significant, fundamental flaws from the start: it did not provide a credit to babies and young children (under age 4) and its phase-in structure prohibited children in families experiencing deep poverty from getting the full credit.
For many years, Schuyler Center’s policy analysis and advocacy work focused on addressing the structural issues preventing the ESCC from doing more to address child poverty. Schuyler Center’s policy analysts led efforts – that have finally borne fruit — to include babies and toddlers in the tax credit, eliminate the income phase-in, and increase the credit amount.
2025 Expansion of the Empire State Child Credit: A Victory for NYS Children and Families
In December 2024, the NYS Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council (CPRAC) released its recommendations to cut New York’s child poverty rate in half, including a robust and inclusive child tax credit. A month later, Governor Hochul announced a budget proposal to expand eligibility and increase the value of the ESCC, with a focus on children in low-income families. The governor’s proposal was not as robust as CPRAC’s recommendations, but still a significant expansion.
While one-house budget proposals pushed the tax credit expansion closer to the CPRAC recommendation, the Governor’s original proposal was ultimately included in the enacted state budget.
The 2025 ESCC expansion addresses some of the biggest shortcomings of New York’s child tax credit. Up until now, the structure of the Empire State Child Credit has included an income phase-in, meaning that families with the lowest incomes were excluded from receiving the full credit amount. By removing the income phase-in, the 2025 expansion gives even greater poverty-fighting power to New York’s child tax credit.
The increased amount of the credit means that families struggling to afford the basics while raising children will have more cash for groceries, clothing, transportation, and extracurricular activities.
With this expansion, New York’s state child tax credit will be one of the strongest in the nation – a claim that we should all be proud of.
Schuyler Center celebrates this win for New York families and will continue to advocate for a child tax credit that fully matches the CPRAC recommendations.
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