Exempts a portion of poll workers' income earned on an election day from state income tax; requires the board of elections, in conjunction with the department of taxation and finance, to conduct a public awareness campaign to inform poll workers of such tax exemption; requires the department of taxation and finance to issue guidelines on how poll worker income should be reported on tax returns.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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7020
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 28, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. GONZALEZ -- 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 exempting a portion of poll
workers' income earned on an election day from state income tax
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) Poll workers working on election day. (1) Notwithstanding the
4 provisions of subsections (a), (b), (c) and (d) of this section and any
5 other provision of this article, for taxable years beginning after
6 December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-five:
7 (A) The first one thousand dollars of income earned by a resident
8 individual while working as a poll worker on an election day shall be
9 exempt from tax under this article, regardless of whether such income is
10 subject to federal income taxation. Income earned in excess of such
11 amount shall be subject to state income tax at such individual's normal
12 tax rate.
13 (B) For resident individuals whose total annual income is below three
14 hundred percent of the federal poverty level, all income earned while
15 working as a poll worker on an election day shall be fully exempt from
16 tax under this article.
17 (2) The exemptions provided in paragraph one of this subsection shall
18 also apply to income earned by a resident individual while participating
19 in mandatory training days required for poll workers.
20 (3) Beginning in the taxable year two thousand twenty-six, the
21 exemption amount specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph one of this
22 subsection shall be adjusted annually for inflation, as determined by
23 the consumer price index published by the United States Bureau of Labor
24 Statistics.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08200-02-5
S. 7020 2
1 (4) Nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted to diminish taxes
2 on income otherwise owed under federal law.
3 § 2. The board of elections, in conjunction with the department of
4 taxation and finance, shall conduct a public awareness campaign to
5 inform poll workers of the tax exemption provided by this act. The
6 department of taxation and finance shall issue clear guidelines on how
7 poll worker income should be reported on tax returns, including any
8 necessary documentation.
9 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
