New York (CNN/Money) - The $350 billion in federal tax cuts pushed through in late May promise immediate gratification for many of us, in the form of child tax credits, lower income-tax rates and lower dividend tax rates.

Individual tax situations are as distinct as snowflakes, of course. But according to estimates by the Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center, a household with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $75,000 to $100,000 will save about $1,700 this year.

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Before you run out and spend your tax windfall, though, you might want to think about this: at the same time Uncle Sam is giving us a break, cash-strapped state and local governments are raising taxes and rolling out new fees.

When all is said and done, in fact, you may have less money in the bank.

To say that state and local governments are in a budget crisis is a whopper of an understatement. At the same time they are collecting less revenue, their expenses are rising -- in part because of costly new programs many instituted during the late 1990s. In addition, states have been hit with the bill for new, federally mandated programs, such as homeland security.

Desperate Times... A sampling of proposed state-tax increases. State  Tax proposals under consideration  Alaska  Motor fuel and seasonal sales  Arkansas  Tobacco and income taxes  California  Sales, cigarette and income  Delaware  Income and sales  Montana  Tobacco, rental cars, sales  Nebraska  Cigarette, sales, income  Nevada  Cigarette, liquor, gaming, property  New Jersey  Cigarette, hotel, casino, cellular svc.  Pennsylvania  Income, malt beverage, reckless driver surcharges  South Carolina  Cigarette   Source:  National Conference of State Legislatures

Unlike the federal government, which can run huge budget deficits, every state, with the exception of Vermont, is required by law to balance its budget. With a projected combined shortfall $75 billion to $80 billion for the 2004 fiscal year, or about 15 percent of their total budgets, state legislatures are struggling to make ends meet.

Initially, states relied heavily on "funky" budgetary mechanisms, such as shifting pay dates or tapping into tobacco settlement money, explained Nik Johnson, director of the state fiscal project for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The state of Illinois, for example, is trying to sell its glassy Chicago Loop landmark, the James R. Thompson Center, to help fill its budget gaps.

Raising sin taxes on cigarettes, alcohol and gambling was the next line of defense. Spending cuts followed, with states slashing education budgets, postponing prison construction, imposing hiring freezes and scaling back on healthcare programs, among other measures.

Next in what Johnson described as the "hierarchy of pain" are fees and other "revenue enhancements."

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Alaska is looking to raise money via studded tire surcharges, wildlife conservation passes and other fees. Georgia is considering discontinuing an exemption on driver's license fees for organ donors. Massachusetts wants to increase to court-related fees and title registration fees. Delaware, Kansas, Nebraska and more than a dozen other states, meanwhile, are planning to raise tuition at state colleges.

"They've done everything they could to not raise taxes," said John Logan, a tax analyst for CCH Incorporated. "Now they seem to have exhausted the alternatives."

Indeed, roughly 30 to 35 states have raised taxes this year or are seriously considering it, said Johnson.

"New York has already raised taxes by about $2 billion and in California something like $8 billion in tax increases has been proposed," said Scott Moody, senior economist for the Tax Foundation. "Right there you have $10 billion offsetting what the federal government has done, which amounts to 20 percent of the (federal) tax cuts for this year."

That's just the states. Individual counties, cities and school districts have taken similar steps. (See "Taxes: The bane of the housing boom.")

"You're seeing user fees that are supposed to cover the cost of a specific service but increasingly they are used for general revenue," said Bruce Katz, director of the Center on Urban and Metro Policy at the Brookings Institution, describing the situation in many cities. "In L.A. the mayor was thinking of hiring 350 new police officers by raising fees at the zoo. That just gives you a sense of how out of whack the system is."

Whether or not your personal budget will end up in the black or at a deficit depends. This year, married filers with adjusted gross incomes (AGI) of more than $1 million will save $91,000, according to the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. If that's you, increases on the state and local level may seem a drop in the bucket.

Now, let's say you're a married couple with an adjusted gross income of $50,000 to $75,000. The Urban-Brookings center estimates that households like yours will save an average of $767 in federal taxes this year.

If you live in Troy, N.Y., the school district's share of property taxes alone could add $600 to your taxes this year, on average. If you're planning to send your child to one of the City University of New York schools, you can expect to pay $800 more for in-state tuition.

Then, if you go ahead and spend your federal tax savings -- you run into more taxes. Not only did New York just raise its sales tax by one-quarter of a percentage point, it suspended its exemption on clothing purchases under $110. In your county, the tax on clothes under $110 just jumped from nothing to 8.25 percent.