Personal Income Tax Checkoffs: Disbursements Increasing but Fund Balances Still High
When filing their annual personal income tax (PIT) returns, New Yorkers have the option to make contributions to 36 different “checkoff” funds supporting a variety of causes. As the Office of the State Comptroller has reported for over a decade, while the number of checkoffs has grown over time, funds have not been disbursed in a timely or robust manner, often leading to large balances that sit in State coffers instead of being directed to the causes New Yorkers support. In State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2026, disbursements for many funds increased, but fund balances remained high across many of the programs.
Disbursements Made From More Funds
For tax year 2024, two new checkoffs were added, the Diabetes Research and Education Fund and the Cure Child Cancer and Research Fund, increasing the total number of checkoffs to 36. Through SFY 2025, the most recent year for which checkoff contribution data are available, contributions to checkoffs grew to $3.8 million from $2.6 million in SFY 2024.
Some funds receive revenues from additional sources beyond tax checkoffs. Of the 36 funds, 28 have disbursements that are largely made from tax checkoff contributions.1 From SFY 2025 to SFY 2026 disbursements from these funds increased from $3.7 million to $4.5 million, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 – Total Disbursements from New York PIT Checkoff Funds, SFY 2018 – SFY 2026
- Figure 1 Data Table
Year Disbursements 2018 $3,755,877 2019 $3,208,218 2020 $2,475,018 2021 $2,994,874 2022 $2,484,201 2023 $3,207,947 2024 $4,242,996 2025 $3,713,950 2026 $4,515,784
Note: Total disbursements shown are only for the 28 funds whose disbursements are largely funded with PIT checkoff contributions. Six funds are excluded from the reporting of disbursements because they have broader receipts than just tax checkoffs. Three other funds are excluded because they exist as sole custody accounts, meaning that their receipts and disbursements are not included in the State’s financial accounting system.
Source: Office of the State Comptroller
Figure 2 – Annual Disbursements, by Tax Checkoff Fund, SFY 2023 – SFY 2026
| Fund | SFY 2023 | SFY 2024 | SFY 2025 | SFY 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alzheimer’s Disease Assistance | $682,890 | $565,724 | $514,600 | $505,352 |
| Breast Cancer Research and Education | $1,446,077 | $1,620,000 | $745,585 | $457,262 |
| Prostate and Testicular Cancer Research and Education | $57,854 | $372,223 | $144,980 | $834,777 |
| Missing and Exploited Children Clearinghouse | $0 | $0 | $292,497 | $171,214 |
| Veterans Remembrance and Cemetery Maintenance and Operations | $0 | $0 | $276,451 | $430,641 |
| Homeless Veterans Assistance | $0 | $0 | $454,335 | $1,237,873 |
| Mental Illness Anti-Stigma | $0 | $0 | $195,909 | $31,290 |
| Women’s Cancers Education and Prevention | $0 | $0 | $91,006 | $100,000 |
| Life Pass it on | $0 | $0 | $623,944 | $118,513 |
| NYS Teen Health Education | $0 | $0 | $0 | $166,844 |
| Veterans’ Home Assistance | $0 | $0 | $0 | $380,000 |
| Military Family Relief | $0 | $0 | $0 | $68,019 |
| School Based Health Centers | $0 | $0 | $0 | $14,000 |
| Love Your Library | $0 | $150,000 | $100,000 | $0 |
| Autism Awareness and Research | $0 | $0 | $274,642 | $0 |
| Gifts for Food Banks | $211,000 | $500,000 | $0 | $0 |
| Volunteer Firefighting and Emergency Services Recruitment and Retention | $86,698 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Lake Placid Olympic Training Center | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Lupus Research and Education | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| ALS Research and Education | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Senior Wellness in Nutrition | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma Research, Education and Treatment | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Substance Use Disorder Education and Recovery | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Firearm Violence Research | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Education, Research, and Prevention | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| State Library System | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Diabetes Research and Education | NA | NA | NA | $0 |
| Cure Child Cancer Research | NA | NA | NA | $0 |
Note: Funds are primarily funded by tax checkoff contributions. Since the checkoffs for Cure Child Cancer Research and Diabetes Research and Education checkoffs went into effect in the 2024 tax year, they would not have had disbursements in SFY 2025 or previous years.
In SFY 2026, of the 28 funds that are largely supported by PIT checkoff contributions and were eligible for disbursement, 13 had disbursements. While this is less than half, it is an improvement from 19 percent in both SFY 2023 and SFY 2024 and 42 percent in SFY 2025. Figure 2 shows disbursements from these funds since SFY 2023.
Fund Balances Remain High
With disbursements lagging contributions, many fund balances have steadily increased over time. In SFY 2026, fund balances associated with the 28 PIT checkoff funds totaled $17.5 million, up from $16.7 million in SFY 2025, $16.8 million in SFY 2024, and $16.1 million in SFY 2023.2
No disbursements were made from seven of the ten funds with the highest balances in SFY 2026. The Gift for Food Banks Fund and the Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment and Retention Fund had among the highest fund balances, $1.1 million and $2.3 million, respectively. These funds have not had any disbursements since SFY 2024.
In contrast, with over $1.2 million in disbursements, the balance in the Homeless Veterans Assistance Fund declined to $130,641, a decrease of 90.8 percent, from SFY 2025 to SFY 2026.
Figure 3 – PIT Checkoff Fund Balances, SFY 2026
| Program | Fund Balance |
|---|---|
| Prostate and Testicular Cancer Research and Education | 2,810,933 |
| Breast Cancer Research and Education | 2,764,568 |
| Volunteer Firefighting and Emergency Services Recruitment and Retention | 2,343,831 |
| Veterans Remembrance and Cemetery Maintenance and Operations | 1,316,838 |
| Gifts for Food Banks | 1,144,552 |
| Autism Awareness and Research | 1,093,768 |
| Alzheimer's Disease Assistance | 962,817 |
| Senior Wellness in Nutrition | 620,952 |
| Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma Research, Education and Treatment | 498,493 |
| Cure Child Cancer Research | 479,537 |
| Lupus Research and Education | 448,198 |
| ALS Research and Education | 357,704 |
| Military Family Relief | 349,414 |
| Missing and Exploited Children Clearinghouse | 282,946 |
| Veterans' Home Assistance | 225,997 |
| Substance Use Disorder Education and Recovery | 214,367 |
| Life Pass it on | 199,380 |
| Diabetes Research and Education | 180,509 |
| School Based Health Centers | 177,959 |
| Mental Illness Anti-Stigma | 160,048 |
| Women's Cancers Education and Prevention | 152,731 |
| Lake Placid Olympic Training Center | 148,041 |
| Love Your Library | 138,708 |
| State Library System | 133,814 |
| Homeless Veterans Assistance | 130,641 |
| Firearm Violence Research | 114,089 |
| Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Education, Research, and Prevention | 90,735 |
| NYS Teen Health Education | 14,992 |
Note: Does not include funds that have receipts from other sources beyond tax checkoffs or funds that exist as sole custody accounts, meaning that their receipts and disbursements are not included in the State’s financial accounting system. The Cure Child Cancer Research Fund checkoff went into effect in tax year 2024; the SFY 2025 fund balance is largely related to receipts from fees that were in effect prior to the checkoff.
Figure 4 – Change in PIT Checkoff Fund Balances from SFY 2025 to SFY 2026
- Figure 4 Data Table
Fund Balances Program SFY 2026 SFY 2025 Homeless Veterans Assistance $130,641 $1,206,667 Prostate Cancer Research and Education $2,810,933 $3,298,533 Veterans' Home Assistance $225,997 $527,741 Veterans Remembrance and Cemetery Maintenance $1,316,838 $1,543,456 NYS Teen Health Education $14,992 $148,332 Missing Children $282,946 $322,988 Women's Cancer Education and Prevention $152,731 $174,121 Military Family Relief $349,414 $363,755 Lake Placid Train $148,041 $135,301 School Based Health Centers $177,959 $162,814 Gift Firearm Violence Research $114,089 $93,834 Gifts for Lyme and Tick-Borne Illness $90,735 $66,651 Life Pass it on Trust $199,380 $163,117 Gifts for the State Library System $133,814 $93,312 Substance Use Disorder Education and Recovery $214,367 $173,446 Mental Illness Anti-Stigma $160,048 $112,783 Lupus Research and Education $448,198 $397,333 Love Your Library $138,708 $73,925 NYS ALS Research and Education $357,704 $290,819 Diabetes Research and Education $180,509 $108,176 Senior Wellness in Nutrition $620,952 $528,250 Leukemia Lymphoma Myeloma $498,493 $388,885 Alzheimer's Disease Assistance $962,817 $848,697 Autism Awareness and Research $1,093,768 $879,672 Cure Child Cancer Research $479,537 $178,574 Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment and Retention $2,343,831 $2,030,748 Gifts for Food Banks $1,144,552 $819,843 Breast Cancer Research $2,764,568 $2,078,780
Note: Does not include funds that have receipts from other sources beyond tax checkoffs or funds that exist as sole custody accounts, meaning that their receipts and disbursements are not included in the State’s financial accounting system.
Conclusion
While there have been disbursements from a greater number of funds, there were no disbursements in SFY 2026 for more than half of New York’s tax checkoff funds. As a result, fund balances grew, rather than being used for their taxpayer-intended purposes. In 2015, legislation proposed by Comptroller DiNapoli was enacted to standardize reporting requirements and improve the pace at which tax check-off contributions are put to use, requiring that donations be disbursed within the year they are received to the extent possible. Agencies should continue to improve compliance with reporting requirements to provide greater clarity on why spending from the PIT checkoff funds may be delayed, but more importantly, they should redouble their efforts to increase spending from the funds to serve the purposes that New Yorkers directed them to.
Related References
As Personal Income Tax Checkoffs Increase in Numbers, Disbursements Lag for Most Funds, January 2024
New York State’s Personal Income Tax Checkoff Programs, February 2021
New York State’s Personal Income Tax Checkoff Programs, April 2018
Comptroller’s Program Bill to Establish Reporting Requirements for Tax Checkoffs, 2015
New York's Tax Checkoff Funds - Good Intentions on Hold, January 2014
Endnotes
1 The Conservation Fund (which receives contributions to the Return a Gift to Wildlife Fund), the CUNY Construction Fund (Gift to the City University of New York), the Council on the Arts (Gift to the Arts Fund), the New York State Campaign Finance Fund, and the William B. Hoyt Memorial Fund are excluded due to the broader scope of receipts and disbursements to these funds. The World Trade Center 9/11 Memorial Fund, Retired and Rescued Thoroughbred Race Horse Aftercare, and Retired and Rescued Standardbred Race Horse Aftercare exist as sole custody accounts in the Department of Taxation and Finance, the New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund Corporation, and the Agriculture and New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund and their receipts and disbursements are not included in the State’s accounting system.
2 Six funds are excluded from the reporting of disbursements and total PIT checkoff fund balances because they may have broader receipts and disbursements. Three other funds are excluded because they exist as sole custody accounts, meaning that their receipts and disbursements are not included in the State’s financial accounting system.