Gov. Kathy Hochul's budget plan touches a wide range of NYers, from students to farmers to subway riders

ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed a $260 billion budget for the state Senate and Assembly to consider, amend and adopt for New York’s 2026-27 fiscal year, touching on a whole range of activities and programs for state residents.

Parents and children, subway riders, college students and adult students returning to college, cigarette quitters, farmers and servers are among those who could be impacted by the decisions the governor and state legislators make. The budget is supposed to be adopted by April 1.

Here are some highlights of what it means to you, under Hochul’s proposals:

Income tax rates frozen

Hochul refrained from suggesting any changes in the state’s income-tax rates, despite pressure from progressive Democrats. Tax brackets also won’t change under the governor’s plan.

A previously enacted tax cut — affecting joint filers with less than $323,000 annual income — stays untouched and will reduce qualifiers’ tax burden this April.

No taxes on tips

If you’re a server, bartender, cab driver or other service worker, there would be no taxes on up to $25,000 in tips per year under the governor’s proposal. This would match a federal tax deduction enacted last year. But it is limited to individuals with $150,000 or less in annual income, $300,000 for joint filers.

The state estimates about 340,000 New Yorkers have tip-earning jobs and could benefit.

More help for child care, prekindergarten

If you need child care or prekindergarten for your little ones, you could get a bigger, better tax credit to cover your costs and your school district could get more money to expand available seats.

One of the key proposals is to increase the state child tax credit for children four to 16 years old from $330 per child to $500.

No college tuition hike

If you are an in-state student at a State University of New York four-year college, your tuition is frozen.

After pushing through tuition hikes three years ago, lawmakers have resisted further increases. Hochul says her plan would allocate $90 million to keep tuition stable.

Costs can vary per campus, but SUNY says the average tuition at its four-year colleges is $8,740.

Help to resume higher education

Thinking of returning to school to get a degree?

Through what’s called the Opportunity Promise Scholarship, the state will waive your tuition if you attend a community college to pursue a first-time associate degree in high-demand occupations, including nursing, teaching, cybersecurity, engineering and green and renewable energy.

Also, existing-degree holders could go free if pursuing a nursing diploma.

The initiative began last year and Hochul proposed earmarking an additional $12.5 million this year to expand participation.

Tariff help for certain farmers

If you are a livestock or dairy farmer and took a financial hit from the Trump tariffs, you might get up to $3,000 in direct tariff aid payments.

The Hochul administration said the grants also would be available to certain crop producers but has yet to release a list.

Bigger taxes on nicotine pouches

Trying to quit cigarettes by using nicotine pouches? You might pay more for your substitute.

This fairly new product is having a sales boom, with tobacco insiders saying more than 1 billion units sold in 2025. But the Hochul administration calls cigarettes and nicotine pouches a "distinction without a difference"; each having addictive qualities. It wants to raise the price to encourage quitting.

Therefore, Hochul wants to apply the state’s 75% excise tax on cigarettes to nicotine pouches. This could mean a $5 can of Zyn could see a $3.75 add-on in excise tax

More cops and barriers in the subway

Hochul says she would commit an additional $77 million to increase police presence on subway platforms and trains "by temporarily surging patrol levels." The governor says the initiative helped push subway crime levels last year to the lowest in more than a decade.

Meanwhile, the state would continue to add platform barriers at stations. The barriers reduce the chance of someone falling or getting shoved on the tracks. The state has installed 115 since 2024 and plans to add 85 this year.

Rent freeze for seniors in rent control

Seniors who live in rent-controlled apartments in the villages of Hempstead and Great Neck Plaza, city of Glen Cove and town of North Hempstead (the 4 Long Island municipalities that participate in this low-income, senior program) will see their rents frozen for the year.

Newsday’s Steve Hughes and Keshia Clukey contributed to this story.

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy