Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled on Monday a proposal to give 8.6 million New Yorkers stimulus checks of between $300 and $500 to offset the strain of inflation in recent years.
Hochul, during a Dec. 9 press conference at the Bronx’s Co-Op City housing complex, said that under her proposal, a one-time $300 “Inflation Refund” would go to single New York taxpayers earning up to $150,000 annually and $500 to joint filers bringing in up to $300,000 a year. She said the total $3 billion in direct payments will come from surplus sales tax revenues driven by rising inflation.
“More sales tax is collected because the price of everything was up,” Hochul said. “Here’s my message: I’m on your side. I believe that this extra, inflation-driven sales tax revenue shouldn’t be spent by the state. It’s your money and it should be back in your pockets.”
Hochul said the checks could provide some relief to New Yorkers struggling to buy essential items or pay their monthly bills.
“For some families, that $500 can mean a month’s worth of groceries,” Hochul said. “For young persons starting out, they’ve got student loan debt or a month’s worth of rent, that can just help them out a little bit.”
The refund will be part of Hochul’s 2026 state budget proposal, which she is also expected to roll out next month and must pass the state legislature by an April 1 deadline. If the measure is approved as part of the budget, the state will begin making the payments next fall, according to the governor’s office.
Hochul framed the proposal as part of a broader affordability push she plans to make in the leadup to her annual State of the State address, which is scheduled for Jan. 14.
“I think a lot about working moms and dads in this state,” Hochul said. “I think about our health care workers, our bus drivers, the conductors, the laborers, the hotel workers, the first responders, the teachers. We all depend on them. And I want them to stay here.”
The governor appears to be doubling down on affordability after many New Yorkers who voted for President-elect Donald Trump last month cited the issue as the reason they supported the Republican firebrand. While Trump still lost New York State and City by healthy margins, he made significant gains in both areas.
However, Hochul’s announcement received swift backlash from US Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-Bronx), who is weighing a run against her in the 2026 Democratic primary. Torres criticized the move as pure politics and said it will not do enough to offset the rise in inflation.
“Haunted by the specter of a primary challenge, Gov. Hochul is proposing an ‘inflation refund,’” Torres said. “A one-time check will not compensate for the double-digit increases in inflation that New Yorkers have suffered during the Governorship of Kathy Hochul. For three years, the governor has ignored the millions of New York families crippled by the crushing cost of groceries and gasoline.”
Torres also criticized the announcement in light of Hochul re-starting the congestion pricing program that will charge drivers $9 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street, charging she “gives with one hand while taking with the other.”
