Volunteers Shortchanged by Hochul Tax Credit

A year late and hundreds of dollars short is how local emergency volunteers described Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan to give firefighters and ambulance personnel a tax break for their services.

The governor signed legislation increasing the annual state income tax credit from $200 to $800 for individual volunteers and from $400 to $1,600 for married couples. The increase takes effect for the 2027 tax year, meaning volunteers cannot claim it until filing their returns in 2028.

“It should have been $2,500 like the bill was supposed to be,” said Mastic Beach Fire Commissioner Bill Biondi. “Why couldn't she do it effective January 1 this year? Why did she have to wait a whole another year?”

Biondi said departments are struggling to recruit and retain volunteers as training demands increase and working families juggle multiple jobs, childcare and rising expenses. “We need people. People are dropping out like crazy,” he noted.

His department has approximately 68 members, many older volunteers, and handles 600 to 700 calls annually. Biondi, 78, still responds to daytime alarms, when staffing shortages can leave trucks operating with just two or three firefighters.

Biondi warned that continued shortages could force departments to hire paid firefighters, substantially increasing property taxes in communities already struggling with affordability.

Assemblyman Joe DeStefano, a Medford Fire Department volunteer for more than 40 years, criticized the delayed increase.

“These volunteers are saving taxpayers millions of dollars while sacrificing time with their families and paying their own expenses. They deserve more than a token acknowledgment,” he said.

“Albany should be doing everything possible to recruit and retain firefighters and ambulance personnel,” DeStefano added. “If we lose our volunteer system, taxpayers will face an enormous bill for paid emergency services.”

Biondi said the credit also fails to recognize volunteers’ gasoline costs and demanding training requirements. “The men and women in the fire service right now, they put their lives on the line every day,” he said. “They're getting little tidbits as a reward.”