Bill Text: NY S00298 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Provides a state income tax exemption for volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers who have qualifying service in the taxable year for which such exemption is sought.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 12-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - REFERRED TO BUDGET AND REVENUE [S00298 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-S00298-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           298

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  OBERACKER,  ASHBY,  BORRELLO,  GALLIVAN, MATTERA,
          MURRAY, PALUMBO, ROLISON, TEDISCO, WALCZYK, WEBER, WEIK -- read  twice
          and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
          on Budget and Revenue

        AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to providing a state income tax
          exemption for volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subsection (i) of section 601 of the tax law is  relettered
     2  subsection (j) and a new subsection (i) is added to read as follows:
     3    (i)   Volunteer  firefighters  and  volunteer  ambulance  workers.  1.
     4  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a), (b), (c) and  (d)  of
     5  this  section and any other provision of this article, for taxable years
     6  beginning after January first, two thousand twenty-six, the gross income
     7  shall be exempt from tax under this article regardless of  whether  such
     8  income  is  subject  to  federal income taxation to each resident of the
     9  state who has qualifying service in  the  taxable  year  for  which  the
    10  exemption  is  claimed as a volunteer firefighter as defined in subdivi-
    11  sion one of section three of the volunteer firefighters' benefit law  or
    12  a  volunteer  ambulance  worker as defined in subdivision one of section
    13  three of the volunteer ambulance workers' benefit law or as a member  of
    14  a volunteer emergency medical services personnel squad.
    15    2. For the purposes of this subsection "qualifying service" shall mean
    16  service  where  such  person  has  been a member in good standing with a
    17  volunteer fire department or volunteer ambulance service for  a  minimum
    18  of  one year, has completed all required training courses as required by
    19  the state of New York and is certified by the  chief  emergency  service
    20  coordinator  of  the  county  that  the volunteer fire department or the
    21  volunteer ambulance service serves and has attended at least  fifty-five

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01110-01-5
        S. 298                              2

     1  percent of the activities of the volunteer fire department or the volun-
     2  teer ambulance service that such person is a member of.
     3    §  2.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all
     4  taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.