Over the past 48 months I have purchased two Tesla Model S vehicles. The two purchases were in two different calendar/tax years. On my tax returns for each year I was able to claim the full $7,500 tax credit - in other words, the federal taxes I owed/paid were reduced by $7,500, for each of those two tax years. For each of these two years my federal tax bill exceeded $7,500, so I was able to make use of all of the $7,500 credit, each year.
As a retire person, my annual income is modest. However, transactions in my investment account generated taxable capital gains which bumped up my taxable income, thus bumping up my federal tax bill. So a strategy for some owners may be to direct their investment advisors to execute investment transactions that generate taxable capital gains, in order to create a larger tax liability (so as to take advantage of the $7,500 credit). You would take the capital gains tax hit now, rather than later, to make better/full use of the EV tax credit. Be sure your vehicle purchase and the investment transactions happen in the same calendar/tax year. We do not have a state income tax in Washington, to complicate the calculation. Of course, consult the person who prepares your tax return(s) to be sure it pencils out.
My plan is to purchase a Model 3 near the end of the year (or more likely in 2018) and we'll do this little tap dance again.
