What's happening
This bill creates a tiered state income tax credit for volunteer emergency service personnel based on years of consecutive qualifying service.
Why it matters
Provides a direct financial incentive for long-term volunteer emergency service. the tax credit increases with each year of consecutive qualifying service, potentially making sustained volunteerism much more attractive and rewarding.
Encourages retention and recruitment of critical community responders. by offering higher credits the longer someone serves, the bill addresses ongoing challenges in keeping volunteer fire, EMS, auxiliary police, and reserve force departments staffed.
Sets specific, standardized criteria for qualifying service. credit eligibility requires not just membership, but also completion of state-mandated training and participation in at least 40% of department activities, ensuring recipients are actively engaged and well-trained.
Creates a reset for interrupted service. if a volunteer misses a year of qualifying service, they can start again and still be eligible for the basic credit, which maintains an incentive for those who may have breaks in their service due to life circumstances.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Tax Credit for Volunteers
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to ways and means
- Referred to ways and means
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
28
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
Introduced by M. of A. BURDICK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to providing tax credits to volunteer firefighters, volunteer ambulance workers, volunteer reserve forces officers, auxiliary police officers and volunteer emergency medical personnel under certain circumstances
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subsection (h-1) to read as follows:
(h-1) Volunteer firefighters', volunteer ambulance workers', volunteer reserve force officers', auxiliary police officers' and volunteer emergency medical service personnel credit. For taxable years beginning on and after January first, two thousand twenty-seven, a credit, in the amounts of:
(1) two hundred fifty dollars for one year of qualifying service;
(2) five hundred dollars for two years of consecutive qualifying service;
(3) six hundred dollars for three years of consecutive qualifying service;
(4) seven hundred dollars for four years of consecutive qualifying service;
(5) eight hundred dollars for five years of consecutive qualifying service;
(6) nine hundred dollars for six years of consecutive qualifying service;
(7) one thousand dollars for seven years of consecutive qualifying service;
(8) one thousand five hundred dollars for eight years of consecutive qualifying service;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00023-01-5
(9) two thousand dollars for nine years of consecutive qualifying service; or
(10) two thousand five hundred dollars for ten or more years of consecutive qualifying service; shall be allowed against the tax imposed by section six hundred one of this part, to each resident of the state who serves as a volunteer firefighter as defined in subdivision one of section three of the volunteer firefighters' benefit law or a volunteer ambulance worker as defined in subdivision one of section three of the volunteer ambulance workers' benefit law or as a member of a volunteer reserve force or as a member of an auxiliary police department or as a member of a volunteer emergency medical services personnel squad. If a volunteer department member has a year where the qualifying service level is not met, then such volunteer department member shall receive the credit provided for in paragraph one of this subsection the next time such volunteer department member has a qualifying service year.
For the purposes of this subsection "qualifying service" shall mean service where such person has been a member in good standing with a volunteer department for a minimum of one year, has completed all required training courses as required by the state of New York and is certified by the chief emergency service coordinator of the county that the volunteer department serves to have attended at least forty percent of the activities of the volunteer department that such volunteer department member is a member of.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.