The fact that buyers of new electric cars in the United States can benefit from the $7,500 tax credit at the point of sale seems to be a pretty big hit among customers.
According to the U.S. Treasury, the government reimbursed car dealers for more than $580 million in advance point-of-sale EV tax credit payments so far this year, with the Internal Revenue Service receiving roughly 100,000 time-of-sale EV reports since January 1.
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The point-of-sale EV tax credit is a pretty big hit, it seems
Wit roughly 100,000 time-of-sale EV reports received by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) so far this year, it seems that American EV shoppers are enjoying the fact that they can benefit from the EV tax credits at the point of sale.
Until the end of last year, people who were eligible for a new EV tax credit of up to $7,500 or the $4,000 used EV credit could benefit from them only when they filed their tax returns the next year.
The rules changed at the beginning of 2024, however, allowing buyers to transfer the credits to a car dealer at the time of sale, which effectively lowers the purchase price of the car and eliminates the hassle of worrying about filing tax returns in the year following the purchase.
That said, customers need to attest they meet certain income limits to qualify for the tax credit when they buy the EV. Otherwise, they will need to repay the government when filing their taxes, so the worries aren’t completely gone–a little caution is needed, that’s all. For new EVs, the adjusted gross income limit is $300,000 for married couples and $150,000 for individuals.
“Demand is high four months into implementation of this new provision,” said Treasury spokesperson Haris Talwar last week.
Introduced in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the EV tax credits can be applied to eligible vehicles that are assembled in North America. At the beginning of 2024, the rules were changed to exclude battery-powered vehicles that include battery components from so-called “foreign entities of concern” (FEOC) like China, Iran and Russia.
When the changes went into effect, no fewer than 24 models were disqualified from receiving the $7,500 tax credit, leaving just 19 EVs on the list. Since then, some battery-powered cars, including the Volkswagen ID.4, Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Blazer EV and Cadilac Lyriq have regained eligibility.
