Plz help EV newbie

[carnutfan]

Hi to all:

Gathering courage to abandon the ICE so need some help with numbers, as I've leased cars for years now and contemplate buying. I'm interested in a S75 with MSRP of 82k. I'm a California resident. Other than the low hanging fruit of the 1k referral, are there any other discounts for a car I'm ordering? I've heard from some that the owner/sellers will discount the $1,200 delivery fee as well. But I've heard of other discounts as well. Any real-world suggestions would be helpful. (I'm in SoCal). Also, I'm wondering about the tax credit and California rebate. Are those still in effect? Are there deadlines? Any suggestions regarding leasing vs. buying would be appreciated. I am getting a number of 71k plus tax at about 2% after the 10k expected offsets.

BTW I was on the bubble to order AP, and now that choice is made easier by its now 10k price tag. Any thoughts and suggestions are really appreciated.

 

[acarlos1000]

In terms of discounts beyond the referral discount( here is my referral link: http://ts.la/antonio2709) , you can find discounted inventory cars, that includes showroom and demo vehicles that are considered new and are eligible to all the federal and state tax benefits.

When I put my order a few days back, I visited a Tesla Store and they have access to a lot more options in terms of inventory than what you can find on the tesla website. The discounts that I saw were in range of $300 to $600. Depending on the location of the car, they could also discount the Delivery fee ($1200), for instance, if you want to have the delivery at the Fremont Factory and the car is already there.

About it the CA rebate, you can find more details here: Clean Vehicle Rebate Project
Now the CA rebate is based on total income as you find in your tax returns, it is way more limited before, if you fill up the information on the site, they will tell you if you are eligible or not.

 

[xborg]

Hi,
If you are willing to wait a little more, you may grab some good end of year deals from inventory cars.
Also, spending $3000 extra on full autonomy may be unnecessary, as it may not be delivered with this hardware at all.
Thanks.

 

[Gig103]

Welcome aboard! I wanted to reassure you that the full $7500 tax credit is available for the Model S. You can save money by purchasing an inventory car instead of a custom build because they count as "new" for tax purposes. They still qualify for the $1000 referral credit (my link is http://ts.la/michael6989).

 

[tga]

I wanted to reassure you that the full $7500 tax credit is available for the Model S.

You forgot to add "provided your taxes are high enough to take the credit."

Like most credits, the EV tax credit is "not refundable", meaning it can't reduce your taxes to less than 0 (a few, like the earned income credit, can). Unused amounts cannot be carried forward to subsequent years.

"High enough" taxes refers the the total amount owed throughout the year. The amount due on 4/15 or the size of your refund is irrelevant.

 

[wesley888]

Interesting point, but I kind of doubt that anyone getting a Model S would have less than $7500 income tax. Not an argument, just a thought.

By the way, if you order online with deposit down, you'll be less likely to get any extra discount. Try go to the store or talk to some representative first.

 

[Buster1]

Interesting point, but I kind of doubt that anyone getting a Model S would have less than $7500 income tax. Not an argument, just a thought. .

That's an interesting comment. I personally know three guys who are in the military that have or are ordering a Tesla. All of them have far far less that $7500 in taxes every year. Even when I retired from the Mil making well over 6 figures, my tax every year was low...and sometimes I got money back too.

I think that even for a wealthy individual, proper tax shelters, 401Ks and setting exemptions correctly can hugely impact how much tax is owed at the end of the year.

A blanket statement such as yours above is just flat wrong, and possibly naïve. Sorry.

 

[wesley888]

Getting money back means you have more tax withholding than your tax liability. It has nothing to do with tax liability that you can use the tax credit for.

Don't confuse with tax you owe (against the tax withholding) versus total tax from your taxable income.

I create automations to optimize international tax calculation for a living. I can certainly create many scenarios that the tax benefit cannot be realized, but that is not the point. It was just a thought that went through my mind. Not trying to argue anything.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Hi to all:

Gathering courage to abandon the ICE so need some help with numbers, as I've leased cars for years now and contemplate buying. I'm interested in a S75 with MSRP of 82k. I'm a California resident. Other than the low hanging fruit of the 1k referral, are there any other discounts for a car I'm ordering? I've heard from some that the owner/sellers will discount the $1,200 delivery fee as well. But I've heard of other discounts as well.

If you don't need the latest AP hardware, there are plenty of S75 inventory cars with discounts from $1700 to $3900. There will probably be a lot more added this quarter as they try to clear out older AP hardware inventory.

 

[Chopr147]

I don't know if you test drove or what your range requirements are but if you are ordering new look into the difference of a 60kwh and the 75kwh. You may decide 60kwh is good enough and that will leave some money for other options.
There are threads here talking about the 100% charge and 90% charge which basically come down to 15 more miles daily for the 75kwh. This argument was beaten like a dead horse but worth checking out.
Some exciting observations about the new Model S60 (software limited 75 kWh)

 

[Gig103]

You forgot to add "provided your taxes are high enough to take the credit."

Like most credits, the EV tax credit is "not refundable", meaning it can't reduce your taxes to less than 0 (a few, like the earned income credit, can). Unused amounts cannot be carried forward to subsequent years.

"High enough" taxes refers the the total amount owed throughout the year. The amount due on 4/15 or the size of your refund is irrelevant.

I almost put that caveat in, actually, so I will address it further now. For OP or anyone interested, the 2015 IRS tax tables say that your "Taxable Income" (Adjusted gross minus standard or itemized deduction) must be greater than or equal to the following to have a $7,500 tax bill.
Single = $46,800
Married-joint = $56,150
Married-separately = $46,800
Head of Household = $52,700

If you have less than that, the tax credit for your Tesla is capped at your taxable income, no carry-over.