Have you heard of the inflation refunds? Well, you must have been so far by now, at least, if you reside in New York State. These are basically one-time stimulus checks approved in New York’s state budget for 2025-2026.
The whole idea behind these stimulus payments is to help everyday folks offset the sting of higher sales taxes that’s come with all this inflation over the past few years. They’re sent out automatically to qualifying households, no extra paperwork required on your end.
We’re talking about over 8 million New Yorkers getting a piece of this pie, all based on your 2023 tax return. The checks come straight from the New York State Tax Department, clearly marked as an “inflation payment.”
NY inflation refund stimulus checks: How much do you get, and who qualifies?
Governor Kathy Hochul announced this back in the day, and it’s a pretty big deal—the first time the state’s done something like this on such a wide scale to ease the burden on middle- and low-income families.
The amount you pocket depends on your filing status from your 2023 taxes and your New York Adjusted Gross Income (that’s the number on line 33 of your IT-201 form). To even be in the running, you need to have filed that IT-201 for 2023, not been claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return, and kept your income under certain limits. Pretty straightforward, right?
Inflation refunds: Maximum amounts to expect
| Filing Status | NY Adjusted Gross Income (2023) | Refund Amount |
| Single | $75,000 or less | $200 |
| Single | Over $75,000, up to $150,000 | $150 |
| Married Filing Jointly | $150,000 or less | $400 |
| Married Filing Jointly | Over $150,000, up to $300,000 | $300 |
| Married Filing Separately | $75,000 or less | $200 |
| Married Filing Separately | Over $75,000, up to $150,000 | $150 |
| Head of Household | $75,000 or less | $200 |
| Head of Household | Over $75,000, up to $150,000 | $150 |
| Qualifying Surviving Spouse | $150,000 or less | $400 |
| Qualifying Surviving Spouse | Over $150,000, up to $300,000 | $300 |
The top payout is $400 for married couples with lower incomes. These aren’t hit with automatic federal tax withholding, but yeah, you’ll want to report them as income on your 2025 federal return. If you think you’re owed one but it hasn’t shown up, give the Tax Department a ring—though there’s no handy online checker yet.
When do payments go out: Who gets cash in November?
The rollout kicked off toward the end of September 2025—the first batch hit the mail on the 26th—and it’s happening in waves over a few weeks via good old USPS. No set schedule by zip code, last name, or anything like that; it’s more of a random draw from their processing queue. Most people should see theirs by mid-October, but it stretches into November to wrap everyone up.
Folks in the later batches will get their payments in November. maybe the last 20-30% of those 8.2 million checks. There’s no magic formula to predict it; if yours hasn’t arrived by late October, odds are it’s en route for early-to-mid November. Rural areas or spots with postal hiccups might push it even further.
Expect the final checks to drop around the week of November 25, 2025. Come December, if you’re still empty-handed, reach out to the Tax Department to double-check your eligibility or file a claim (it’s a two-step thing: update your address if needed, then request it). Nothing gets mailed out past December without you jumping through those hoops.
Keep an eye on your mailbox for an envelope from the “New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.” And if you’ve moved since filing in 2023, hop on the NY tax website to update your info—saves a headache.