The NY Working Families Tax Credit

New Yorkers are struggling with the high cost of living. Currently, the wealthiest New Yorkers and corporations are paying less in taxes than hard-working poor, working, and middle class New Yorkers. By making some changes to our tax code, we can give economically burdened workers and families cash to pay for what they need – food, rent, utilities, child care, and more.

The Working Families Tax Credit (S277B/A4022B) makes our tax code more fair and ensures families can make ends meet.

What is the WFTC?

The Working Families Tax Credit (S277A/A4022A) is an expanded, improved refundable tax credit that combines the Empire State Child Credit (ESCC), the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and the dependent exemption (DE) into one bigger, better credit!

Last year, the WFTC Coalition won the expansion of the ESCC to children under 4, including over 800K formerly excluded children!

For more information about our campaign, download our one pager.

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How would the WFTC help my family?

  • The WFTC removes the harmful minimum income requirements that result in our poorest families receiving the smallest supports. Currently existing credits lock out our poorest families.
  • The WFTC expands coverage of all tax credits to include immigrant tax filers who file with Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs). The existing Earned Income Tax Credit does not include ITIN filers.
  • The WFTC introduces a quarterly payment system that gets families the money they need when they need it. The current system is paid out once per year.
  • The WFTC Increases the maximum credit to $1,600 per child, indexed to inflation. A single parent with four children who makes $10K a year would receive only $1,750 under the current credits; with the WFTC, that family would get $7,200.
  • The WFTC provides a $500 credit per child regardless of income. Families under the current system could receive as little as $400 total for four children together.
  • The WFTC eliminates the cap on the number of children. Currently, the EITC does not cover more than 3 children.
  • The WFTC includes 17 year olds. The current EITC and ESCC only apply to children under 17.

Want to know what your taxes could look like? Try our Working Families Tax Credit Calculator!

How to Use:
Just input your estimated annual income, marital status, number of children, and whether you file your taxes with a social security number or tax identification number, and the calculator will work its magic!

You will see three results:

  • Estimated Current Tax Benefit (2023): This is how much we expect you will receive as a refund this year, under existing tax benefits and exemptions.
  • Estimated WFTC Tax Refund (2024): This is how much you would get the first year of the Working Families Tax Credit! The WFTC has a five year phase-in, which means that each year you will receive more until the benefit is fully implemented in year 5.
  • Estimated WFTC Tax Refund (2027): This is how much you would get in year 5, once the WFTC is fully implemented!