St. Lawrence County residents eligible for New York energy rebate checks

Eligible households in St. Lawrence County are among New Yorkers receiving energy rebate checks of up to $200 through New York’s Protecting Our Wallets Energy Rebate program. The state began mailing the checks Sept. 21, and deliveries are expected to continue through December.

The governor’s office said 3 million checks had been delivered as of Oct. 15, with another 5.2 million expected in the coming weeks. About 8.2 million New York households are eligible.

The program was funded through a $1 billion appropriation in the 2026-27 state budget. The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance says the payment amount is based on 2024 income and filing status: joint filers earning $150,000 or less receive $200; joint filers earning more than $150,000 and up to $300,000 receive $150; and eligible single, head-of-household or married-filing-separately filers earning $150,000 or less receive $100.

Eligibility generally requires a timely filed 2024 New York resident income-tax return, full-year New York residency in 2024, income within the applicable threshold and not being claimed as a dependent.

Residents do not need to apply, register or submit utility bills. The Tax Department is mailing checks automatically. Payments are mailed rather than deposited directly, and the state says they are not reduced to cover debts.

Mailings are not organized by ZIP code or region, so households in the North Country may receive checks at different times. Residents who moved after filing their 2024 return should update their address through the Tax Department’s Online Services account. The department cannot provide a delivery schedule for an individual household or check the status of a specific payment.

The POWER checks are separate from New York’s 2025 inflation refund payments, which provided up to $400 based on 2023 tax returns. More information about eligibility and the program is available on the New York State Tax Department’s energy rebate page.