Form IT-245: Claim for Volunteer Firefighters’ and Ambulance Workers’ Credit (Tax Year 2025)

Form IT-245 is the document New York State uses to let volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers claim a small but meaningful state income tax credit. If you spent part of your year responding to calls, training, or supporting your local fire department or ambulance corps without pay, this form is how the state recognizes that service on your tax return.

The credit itself is issued by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and applies to residents who were active, unpaid volunteer firefighters or volunteer ambulance workers for the entire tax year. It’s a flat credit amount, not a percentage-based calculation, which makes the form relatively short compared to other state tax credit claims like the one described in our Form IT-246 guide for the Empire State Commercial Production Credit.

Who Needs to File Form IT-245

You need this form if you meet all of the following conditions for the 2025 tax year:

• You were an active volunteer firefighter or volunteer ambulance worker for the full year.
• You did not receive a salary or other compensation for that volunteer service (nominal stipends or length-of-service awards may still be allowed, but check the current instructions).
• You are a New York State resident filing Form IT-201, or a part-year resident filing Form IT-203.

If you and your spouse are filing a joint return and both of you qualify as volunteer firefighters or ambulance workers, you can each claim the credit, effectively doubling the benefit on a joint filing.

One detail that trips people up: if you already receive a real property tax exemption from your locality for your volunteer service, you generally cannot also claim this income tax credit for the same period. The form includes a specific line to indicate whether you’re receiving that exemption, so read that section carefully before submitting.

When and How to Use It

Form IT-245 is filed alongside your regular New York State income tax return, not separately. You attach it to Form IT-201 or IT-203 when you submit your annual filing, typically by the mid-April deadline unless you’ve requested an extension. The credit reduces your New York tax liability dollar for dollar, and if the credit exceeds what you owe, any unused portion is generally not refundable, so it’s worth confirming the current-year rules on refundability before assuming you’ll get cash back.

The form itself asks for basic identifying information, confirmation of your volunteer status, the name of the fire department or ambulance service you volunteered with, and a certification statement. There’s no complicated worksheet involved, which makes this one of the more straightforward credit forms compared to something like the documentation required for California’s Form FTB 4197 tax expenditure reporting.

Getting and Filling Out the Form

The 2025 version of Form IT-245 is available as a fillable PDF directly from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Because it’s an AcroForm, you can type your information directly into the fields on your computer before printing or attaching it to an electronic filing, rather than filling it out by hand. This reduces errors and makes the form easier to read when it’s processed.

Before you start, have your prior year’s return handy for reference, along with written confirmation from your fire company or ambulance corps stating your active volunteer status for the year. Some tax preparers ask for this documentation even though it isn’t submitted with the form itself, just to keep on file in case of an audit or review.

If you’re also dealing with health coverage documentation from an employer or marketplace plan alongside your state return, it’s worth understanding how that paperwork fits into your overall filing, similar to how our overview of the Form FTB 3895 health insurance statement breaks down a different but related documentation requirement.

Once completed, Form IT-245 gets submitted with your regular state tax filing, either through your e-file software or by mail if you’re filing on paper. Keep a copy for your records, since local assessors or state auditors occasionally request proof of your volunteer status years after the original filing.