‘Inflation Refund’ Checks Coming to New Yorkers’ Mailboxes As Soon as Next Week

The check is in the mail for millions of New York state tax filers — or at least it will be soon.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration began mailing out more than 8 million “inflation refund” checks on Friday ranging from $150 to $400. The checks, which will cost the state $2 billion total, will be sent out in batches through the end of November. The first batch will hit mailboxes next week, according to the governor.

“That could help with groceries for a week or two,” Hochul said at an Albany community center Friday. “It could help with a basket of clothes they have to buy, the sneakers, the backpack.”

Hochul made the checks a centerpiece of her affordability agenda as she seeks re-election in 2026. But they’ve garnered criticism from some progressive Democrats, who say the checks are fiscally irresponsible now that federal cuts have added $3 billion to the state’s deficit for the coming fiscal year.

New York state residents who filed a state income tax return for 2023 are set to receive a check, provided they had an adjusted gross income of less than $300,000 (for joint filers) or $150,000 (for single filers). The checks will show up automatically, according to the governor’s office. There is no application process.

Anyone claimed as a dependent for the 2023 tax year will not receive a check.

Hochul said there will be cases where people receive checks before their neighbors do. She said that’s not a reason for concern, since the checks will be trickling out over several weeks.

“ If your neighbor gets it and you don't, don't start calling us,” she said. “Give us October and November, OK?”

This is a New York Public News Network story originally published on Gothamist.