Updated October 24, 2026. Quick answer: Line 40 of the New York Form IT-201 is the state household credit. Whether you can use it turns on your answer at item C on the front of the form, and the amount comes from one of three tables printed in the booklet. The result is added with lines 41 and 42 on line 43 of the form.
What this line does
On the form, line 40 is labelled “NYS household credit”, and it sits in the tax calculation block on page 3 of the IT-201, under the line 39 state tax. The booklet’s heading for the instruction is “Line 40: New York State household credit”. It is one of the lines walked through on New York Form IT-201 line by line.
The booklet does not state the dollar amounts in its own sentences. They sit in tables 1, 2 and 3 printed in the booklet, and this page does not read or copy them. Open your own booklet to the table the instruction points you to.
Who it applies to
The booklet gates the credit on item C: “If you marked the Yes box at item C on the front of Form IT-201, you do not qualify for this credit. Continue with line 41.” Otherwise, “If you marked No, use the appropriate table (1, 2, or 3) and the notes below to determine the amount to enter on line 40.”
The three tables are titled “New York State household credit table 1” and so on. Which table applies depends on filing status, and the instruction names the single filer and the married filing separate return filer by their printed labels in the table rows below.
What the instructions say
| Line | What the form says |
|---|---|
| Item C answer Yes | “If you marked the Yes box at item C on the front of Form IT-201, you do not qualify for this credit. Continue with line 41.” |
| Item C answer No | “If you marked No, use the appropriate table (1, 2, or 3) and the notes below to determine the amount to enter on line 40.” |
| Table 1 | “(Single): Use New York State household credit table 1.” |
| Table 2 | “Use New York State household credit table 2.” The booklet lists this table after the filing status numbers printed in the instruction, which this page does not copy. |
| Table 3 | “(Married filing separate return): Use New York State household credit table 3.” |
| Notes heading | “Use these notes for New York State household credit tables 1 through 3” |
| Note 1, first sentence | “For most taxpayers, federal adjusted gross income is the amount from Form IT-201, line 19.” |
| Note 1, special condition code A6 | “However, if on Form IT-201 you entered special condition code A6 (for Build America Bond interest), your federal adjusted gross income is the line 19 amount minus any Build America Bond interest that was included in the line 19 amount.” |
| Note 2 | “This amount could be 0 or a negative amount.” |
| Note 3 | “For each individual over 7, add the amount in this column to the column 7 amount.” |
| Note 4, special condition code A6 | “However, if on your NYS returns you or your spouse entered special condition code A6 (for Build America Bond interest), federal adjusted gross income is the line 19 amount minus any Build America Bond interest that was included in the line 19 amount.” |
| Note 4, spouse not required to file | “If your spouse was not required to file a New York State return, use your spouse’s federal adjusted gross income as reported on their federal return (minus any Build America Bond interest included in that amount).” |
| Note 5 | “The credit amounts have been rounded.” |
The figures the form prints
The notes carry one count in a running sentence. Note 3 says “For each individual over 7, add the amount in this column to the column 7 amount.” Every other dollar amount for this line sits inside a table, so check your own booklet for them.
Where the result goes next
The form’s next credit line is line 41, and line 43 then reads “Add lines 40, 41, and 42”. The result is subtracted from the state tax: “Subtract line 43 from line 39 (if line 43 is more than line 39, enter 0)”. Because Notes 1 and 4 build on the federal adjusted gross income on line 19, the federal side is covered in Form 1040 lines 9, 10 and 11, and the broader state picture is in New York retirement taxes and whether New York taxes Social Security.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads Form IT-201-I, Instructions for Form IT-201, Resident Income Tax Return (2025), New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, and Form IT-201, Resident Income Tax Return (2025), New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, for tax year 2025, the current file the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance served on 2026-10-24. Check the edition printed on your own form and use that edition’s line numbers.
Common mistakes
- Entering a credit after marking Yes at item C. The booklet says “you do not qualify for this credit. Continue with line 41.”
- Using the plain line 19 amount when special condition code A6 was entered. Note 1 says “However, if on Form IT-201 you entered special condition code A6 (for Build America Bond interest), your federal adjusted gross income is the line 19 amount minus any Build America Bond interest that was included in the line 19 amount.”
- Assuming the income figure cannot be zero or less. Note 2 says “This amount could be 0 or a negative amount.”
Related: Form 1040 lines 9, 10 and 11, New York retirement taxes, and whether New York taxes Social Security.
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Answer againSources
- Form IT-201-I, Instructions for Form IT-201, Resident Income Tax Return (2025), New York State Department of Taxation and Finance: www.tax.ny.gov
- Form IT-201, Resident Income Tax Return (2025), New York State Department of Taxation and Finance: www.tax.ny.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, personal income tax forms and instructions page: www.tax.ny.gov
Read from the state revenue documents linked above on October 24, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer or the state revenue department is the right place to confirm anything consequential.