As the calendar flipped to 2026, a slew of new state laws took effect in New York, including benefits for cancer patients, parents of young children and minimum wage workers. There are also notable changes to child abuse reporting laws, designed to prevent vindictive false claims, and new rules for who can and cannot make an organ donation on behalf of someone who has died.
Here are five highlights.
Toddler Tax Break
New York state will now offer a $1,000 tax credit for each child under 4 to families who meet income requirements.
The credit is the first phase in an expansion of the New York State Child Tax Credit and can be claimed on 2025 taxes.
Parents whose income is over a certain income level ($75,000 for single people; $110,000 for couples filing jointly) will receive a smaller credit. Credits for families at higher income levels will be reduced in steps.
The law provides a smaller credit for families with older children — $330 per child between the ages of 4-17 years old. That credit will rise to $500 per older child the following year.
Minimum Wage Ticks Up
Amid a wider discussion about the affordability crisis, the minimum wage in New York City and across the state has been a topic of intense debate. The mayoral primary included multiple candidates who wanted it increased to varying heights. Zohran Mamdani, the mayoral elect, has advocated raising the city’s minimum wage to $30 by 2030.
In 2026, the minimum wage will rise by 50 cents to $17 an hour in New York City, Long Island and Westchester. Across the rest of the state, the rate will jump to $16 from $15.50.
The increase is part of a broader plan to link the minimum wage to broader market conditions. After falling behind other states, the rate will start increasing in 2027 based on a three-year average of the region’s Consumer Price Index.
Coverage for Cool Caps
For cancer patients going through chemotherapy, going bald can feel like adding insult to injury.
There is a simple and noninvasive treatment to prevent hair loss which works by cooling the scalp to minimize the effect of chemotherapy on hair follicles. These “cool caps” have become popular among cancer patients, many of whom have paid out of pocket to protect their hair.
No longer: A new law requires large insurance companies to cover the treatment. Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, who sponsored the bill, calls the measure a small but meaningful help for people suffering from serious illness.
“If you walk around without hair, people know you’re sick,” she said. “It changes how you feel about yourself.”
An Incentive to Train at Lake Placid
Aspiring Winter Olympians, take note. Lake Placid has not hosted the quadrennial event since 1980 but still serves as a hub for elite athletes training in everything from Nordic skiing to speedskating. More than $1 billion has been invested in upgrading the facilities in recent years.
Starting in July, there will new inducement for elite athletes to train in the North Country.
Team USA members training at Lake Placid will be eligible for in-state tuition at higher educational institutions that are part of the State University of New York or City University of New York. The goal of this legislation was to keep New York competitive with California, Colorado, and Utah, which already offer this benefit.
Donating a Friend’s Organs
Across the country, there are tens of thousands of people in need of organ transplants. In 2019, New York aimed to address that shortage by streamlining the process by which people could designate themselves as organ donors.
But what if a person passed away suddenly without having made a decision? The 2019 law allowed immediate family members or legal guardians serving as the health care agent of the deceased person to make an anatomical gift on their behalf.
An update passed this year will expand the list to include friends. The change will bring New York in line with 43 states and Washington D.C.
Changes to Child Abuse Reporting
For years, New York State accepted anonymous complaints of child abuse, under the belief that people should be able to report without fear or personal retribution.
But recent reporting in ProPublica and elsewhere revealed that the way that system has been weaponized by a flood of baseless allegations.
In New York City in 2023, 93 percent of anonymous calls were unsubstantiated, according to the New York City Family Policy Project, compared to 77 percent of calls in which the reporter identified themselves. This risk is especially significant for Black and Hispanic children, who are seven times more likely to be the subjects of investigations, according to state data.
Under new state rules, anyone reporting child abuse or neglect will need to identify themselves.
New York will also still require a lengthy list of professionals — including doctors, day care workers, school officials, social workers and members of law enforcement — to report suspicions of child abuse or maltreatment to the state.
These mandated reporters will continue to be protected from liability if their claims are found to be baseless, so long as they are deemed to be acting in good faith.
Grace Ashford covers New York government and politics for The Times.
The post Five Laws Going Into Effect for New York in 2026 appeared first on New York Times.
