By Staff Reporter
ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul on Saturday signed a bill quadrupling New York’s income tax credit for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers, the first increase since the credit was created nearly two decades ago. But her office’s description of the new law differs from the bill text lawmakers passed in two ways that matter to volunteers’ wallets: when the bigger credit starts, and whether volunteers can keep their local property tax break at the same time.
The measure, A.6790-A/S.6233-A, raises the credit from $200 to $800 for an eligible individual and from $400 to $1,600 for a married couple who both qualify. Its Assembly sponsor is Karen McMahon, an Amherst Democrat who represents the 146th District. The Senate sponsor is Sen. Monica R. Martinez of Long Island.
“Keeping New York safe and affordable is my highest priority. Today, I’m proud to sign into law a bill that recognizes the sacrifices that all volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers make,” Ms. Hochul said in a statement. “This tax credit puts more money back in their pockets and shows our appreciation for the lifesaving services they provide every day.”
Two versions of the fine print
The governor’s office says the higher credit applies beginning in tax year 2027, so volunteers will first claim it when they file in 2028. It also says volunteers “may claim either the increased state income tax credit or a qualifying local property tax exemption.”
The bill text posted by the Assembly reads differently. It sets the $800 credit “for taxable years beginning on and after January first, two thousand twenty-six.” It also says that starting that year, “a taxpayer is eligible for this credit even if they receive a real property tax exemption relating to such service.” In other words, volunteers could get both.
The Assembly majority said the same thing when the bill passed in May. Its May 14 release said the bill “will now allow eligible recipients to receive this personal income tax credit and the existing partial real property tax exemption for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers concurrently, instead of having to choose one or the other.”
That difference matters most in towns that offer the local exemption, which Albany lets municipalities grant at up to 10 percent of assessed value. Under the pre-2026 law, a volunteer receiving that exemption generally could not take the state credit. If the either-or rule survives, many of those volunteers will have to weigh the larger state credit against their local exemption rather than collecting both.
Governors often sign bills on the condition that lawmakers pass agreed changes, known as chapter amendments, the following session. The governor’s release did not mention one or explain the differences. The bill itself takes effect on the April 1 after it becomes law. The Buffalo Chronicle has asked the governor’s office and Ms. McMahon which version volunteers should plan around.
Why lawmakers say it’s needed
The credit was set at $200 in 2007 and never raised, according to the sponsor’s memo. The memo cites a Firemen’s Association of the State of New York study estimating that volunteer firefighters save the state more than $4.7 billion a year. It says there are 20,000 fewer volunteer firefighters than two decades ago, and that raising the credit was a recommendation of a state recruitment and retention task force convened in 2022.
“Our volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers dedicate themselves to keeping New Yorkers safe, but that commitment has not been adequately reflected in an income tax credit that has remained unchanged for nearly two decades,” Ms. Martinez said.
“With volunteer fire departments across New York facing declining membership, increasing the income tax credit for the first time in nearly two decades is a critical step toward strengthening recruitment and retention while recognizing the extraordinary sacrifices these individuals make,” Ms. McMahon said. She called it “a fiscally responsible investment.”
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said in May that “the Assembly Majority will always have the backs of our volunteer firefighters.”
Donald Farrell, president of the Firefighters Association of the State of New York, credited the governor directly. “Volunteer firefighters across New York show up at 3 a.m. without asking why. They leave their families, their jobs and their beds to answer the call, and they do it for free,” he said. “When a young person is deciding whether to join their local firehouse, this tells them the state has their back.”
Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Terry O’Leary said volunteer departments “are often a part of the fabric of their communities.” The administration also pointed to its training stipends, which it says have supported more than 5,500 firefighters, and its V-FIRE equipment grants.
What it means in Western New York
Western New York leans heavily on volunteers. Erie County’s Fire Safety Division says it coordinates 97 fire departments and trains more than 5,000 firefighters, and it serves as the recruitment clearinghouse for more than 100 volunteer emergency services agencies. Area co-sponsors of the Assembly bill included Angelo Morinello of Niagara Falls, Bill Conrad of Kenmore, David DiPietro of East Aurora and Pat Burke of Buffalo.
The credit remains refundable under existing law: a volunteer whose credit is larger than his or her tax bill gets the difference back. The bill text requires a volunteer to have been active for the entire tax year to qualify.
What’s still missing
Two things would help volunteers and fire company officers plan. The first is a clear public statement, or the text of any chapter amendment, settling the start year and whether the property tax exemption can be combined with the credit. The second is a cost estimate: the sponsor’s memo lists the fiscal impact on state and local governments as “TBD.”
Local governments have a role too. Towns, villages and fire districts that never adopted the property tax exemption, or set it below the 10 percent cap, can revisit it. That would matter most if Albany holds to the either-or reading.
The Buffalo Chronicle has asked the governor’s office, Ms. McMahon and FASNY to clarify the final terms. Any responses will be added to this story.
Featured photo: Pine Hill Hose No. 5 Fire Company in Cheektowaga. Photo by Andre Carrotflower via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped.
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