How Much Does a CDPAP Caregiver Get Paid in New York?

A CDPAP caregiver in New York gets paid at least $19.65 per hour in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester, or $18.65 per hour in the rest of the state as of January 1, 2026. Downstate caregivers also receive a wage parity supplement on top of that base rate, and what actually lands in your bank account depends on overtime, deductions, and whether you qualify for a federal tax exclusion available to live-in caregivers.

2026 Base Hourly Rates by Region

New York sets a special minimum wage for home care aides that runs higher than the general state minimum. Effective January 1, 2026:

New York City, Long Island, and Westchester: $19.65 per hour
Rest of the state: $18.65 per hour

These rates come from Public Health Law Section 3614-f and represent a floor, not a ceiling.¹ Your fiscal intermediary can pay more, but not less. The home care aide minimum is scheduled to rise annually, so expect another bump in January 2027.

Since April 1, 2025, all CDPAP payroll runs through a single statewide fiscal intermediary, Public Partnerships LLC (PPL). Every consumer and personal assistant must be registered with PPL to receive services and paychecks.² The base rate does not change based on how medically complex the consumer’s needs are; the state controls total authorized hours instead of adjusting the hourly rate.

Wage Parity Adds to Downstate Pay

If you provide CDPAP services in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, or Westchester counties, the Home Care Worker Wage Parity Law requires a supplemental benefit on top of the base wage. The current supplement is $4.09 per hour in New York City and $3.22 per hour in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties.³

The intermediary can satisfy the requirement through additional cash wages, benefits like health insurance, or a combination. In practice, minimum total compensation for a New York City caregiver comes to $23.74 per hour ($19.65 base plus $4.09). In Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester, it’s $22.87 ($19.65 plus $3.22). Upstate caregivers do not fall under the wage parity law, so their compensation is typically limited to the base hourly rate.³

Overtime and Spread of Hours

Personal assistants who work more than 40 hours in a seven-day workweek are entitled to overtime at 1.5 times their regular hourly rate under the Fair Labor Standards Act.⁴ At a $19.65 base rate, that works out to $29.48 an hour. Watch the 40-hour line, because the consumer’s authorized care plan sets total hours and overtime uses them up faster.

Federal law exempts some live-in domestic workers from overtime, but third-party employers cannot claim the exemption. Because PPL is the employer of record for payroll, CDPAP personal assistants generally qualify for overtime regardless of where they sleep.⁴

New York’s spread-of-hours rule adds one extra hour of pay at the applicable minimum wage when your workday runs longer than 10 hours from start to finish. This applies to home care aides.⁵ New York does not require premium pay for working on holidays. Domestic workers are entitled to at least one 24-hour rest day per week; if you agree to work that day, those hours count toward overtime.

What Gets Deducted From Your Check

Your gross rate and your take-home pay are different numbers. A few standard deductions apply.

FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare) come out at 7.65% of gross wages once you earn $3,000 or more in a calendar year from the job. A key family exception: FICA does not apply to wages paid to a spouse, or to a child under 21 caring for a parent.⁶

Federal income tax withholding is not automatic. It only happens if you submit a Form W-4 and the fiscal intermediary agrees to withhold. If you don’t arrange withholding, you still owe the tax when you file, so set money aside during the year.⁷

New York Paid Family Leave contributions run 0.432% of gross wages in 2026, capped at $411.91 for the year. Once eligible, you can draw up to $1,228.53 per week in PFL benefits.⁸

Beyond taxes and legally required contributions, New York Labor Law Section 193 limits what an employer can deduct. Extra deductions require your written authorization and must benefit you (insurance premiums, pension contributions, charitable donations, and the like).⁹ Nobody can pull money out of your check for administrative fees or similar charges without your consent.

The Tax Exclusion That Can Zero Out Your Income Tax

Many CDPAP caregivers miss this one. Under IRS Notice 2014-7, Medicaid waiver payments made to a caregiver who lives in the same home as the care recipient can be excluded from gross income entirely on the federal return.¹⁰ For a caregiver earning $20 an hour full time, the exclusion can save thousands in federal taxes each year.

The requirement is strict. “The provider’s home” means the place where you actually live, share meals, and spend holidays. Caring for your mother in her apartment where you also live full time with no separate residence qualifies. Driving to a client’s home five days a week and returning to your own apartment does not.¹⁰ If you think you qualify, talk to a tax preparer who knows Notice 2014-7 rather than guessing.

Paid Sick Leave and Family Leave

New York’s statewide Paid Sick Leave law covers CDPAP personal assistants. You accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employers with 100 or more employees must provide up to 56 hours per year; employers with 5 to 99 employees must provide up to 40 hours.¹¹ Because PPL now employs tens of thousands of personal assistants statewide, the 56-hour cap likely applies to most CDPAP caregivers. Sick leave can be used for your own illness, medical appointments, or to care for a sick family member.

CDPAP caregivers working 20 or more hours per week become eligible for Paid Family Leave after 26 consecutive weeks of employment.¹²

How and When Payment Arrives

PPL issues wages on a regular schedule, with direct deposit or paper check as options. Direct deposit is faster and avoids mail delays.

Every shift has to be verified through Electronic Visit Verification before it can be paid. You clock in and out using a mobile app or phone system at the care recipient’s home, and EVV sends the date, time, location, and service type to PPL for payroll.¹³ Missed clock-ins, location mismatches, and discrepancies with the care plan will hold up your check. Report errors to PPL right away rather than hoping they’ll clean up on the next cycle. Keep your own log of every shift and hold on to your pay stubs so you have records if a dispute comes up.

The switch to PPL as sole fiscal intermediary produced payment delays for some caregivers, especially during the early 2025 rollover. If your wages arrive late, the Wage Theft Prevention Act lets the state Department of Labor order all unpaid wages plus liquidated damages equal to 100% of the amount owed. If the employer still doesn’t pay within 90 days of a final order, an additional 15% in damages applies.¹⁴ Filing a wage complaint with the Department of Labor is free and doesn’t require a lawyer.

1
Department of Labor. Minimum Wage for Home Care Aides (FARE Grant)
2
Department of Health. Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP)
3
Department of Labor. Home Health Care Aides and Wage Parity
4
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 79B – Live-in Domestic Service Workers Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
5
Department of Labor. Attention Home Care Aide Employees (LS207.4)
6
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 756, Employment Taxes for Household Employees
7
Internal Revenue Service. Household Employer’s Tax Guide
8
Paid Family Leave. New York Paid Family Leave Updates for 2026
9
New York State Senate. New York Labor Law 193 – Deductions From Wages
10
Internal Revenue Service. Certain Medicaid Waiver Payments May Be Excludable From Income
11
New York State. New York Paid Sick Leave
12
Paid Family Leave. Eligibility
13
Health.ny.gov. NY Medicaid Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) – FAQs
14
Department of Labor. P715 – Wage Theft Prevention Act