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US Federal $7,500 Electric Vehicle Credit Expiry Date By Automaker

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Sorry if this has been answered in this thread already (I coulnd't really figure out how to search for this question). How is the tax credit eligibility calculated? I file the tax form next year for this tax year and they make a decision on the credit amount based on my purchase date, is that correct? ie. I don't have to worry about rushing to fill in some paperwork before a deadline to avoid missing out. I took delivery last weekend. Also, and again this is probably a dumb question. The tax credit will lower my tax paid by $7500, right? ie. if the total tax I am due to pay is $10k for the year (wishful thinking) then I would end up only paying $3500 (or get a check for $7500 if I had already paid the 10k in withholding) Does this sound correct?
 
I agree that is likely how it happened. Some June deliveries were properly applied to July for tax credit purposes.

Nah, I think it much more likely some of the 200k sold in the US were not qualifying cars (government or export sales).
Look at the Tesla page: Electric Vehicle Incentives

The following federal income tax credits are available to anyone who purchases a new Tesla Model S, Model X or Model 3:

Federal Tax Credit For Vehicles Delivered
$7,500 On or before December 31, 2018
$3,750 January 1 to June 30, 2019
$1,875 July 1 to December 31, 2019
 
Sorry if this has been answered in this thread already (I coulnd't really figure out how to search for this question). How is the tax credit eligibility calculated? I file the tax form next year for this tax year and they make a decision on the credit amount based on my purchase date, is that correct? ie. I don't have to worry about rushing to fill in some paperwork before a deadline to avoid missing out. I took delivery last weekend. Also, and again this is probably a dumb question. The tax credit will lower my tax paid by $7500, right? ie. if the total tax I am due to pay is $10k for the year (wishful thinking) then I would end up only paying $3500 (or get a check for $7500 if I had already paid the 10k in withholding) Does this sound correct?

You don't need to do anything now, file your taxes when you normally would add 1 more form to the mix (let the tax program or accountant do it for you if you like).

You can lower your withholdings now to get the money back sooner or just wait and get a big refund later.

The only major mistake in your post is that $3500 + $7500 = $11,000 not $10,000. So if you had $10,000 in tax liability and take $7,500 credit, you have $2,500 left over to pay not $3,500.
 
Sorry if this has been answered in this thread already (I coulnd't really figure out how to search for this question). How is the tax credit eligibility calculated? I file the tax form next year for this tax year and they make a decision on the credit amount based on my purchase date, is that correct? ie. I don't have to worry about rushing to fill in some paperwork before a deadline to avoid missing out. I took delivery last weekend. Also, and again this is probably a dumb question. The tax credit will lower my tax paid by $7500, right? ie. if the total tax I am due to pay is $10k for the year (wishful thinking) then I would end up only paying $3500 (or get a check for $7500 if I had already paid the 10k in withholding) Does this sound correct?

The date you pay for the car and drive it off the lot is your 'in service'; date. That is what you put on the IRS EV form https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8936.pdf to claim the credit. Tesla will give you documentation stating the credit, and the amount in also available at: Electric Vehicle Incentives
 
Specifically they say:

FINAL UPDATE 7/12/2018: Tesla never gave us an answer either way, however there is good news. In our follow up post we came to the conclusion that it was likely Tesla passed 200k deliveries but that due to IRS rules, they may not have passed the 200k threshold for tax credit purposes. Now Tesla has posted on their U.S. Website that the tax rebate will be available through the end of December! Why We Believe Tesla Passed 200k U.S. Deliveries in June

I agree that is likely how it happened. Some June deliveries were properly applied to July for tax credit purposes.

They changed that after I posted about it. It's better now than it was this morning.
 
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Nah, I think it much more likely some of the 200k sold in the US were not qualifying cars (government or export sales).
Look at the Tesla page: Electric Vehicle Incentives
It was also very clear they had no idea how many were being sold in Canada, and that was pretty critical to Tesla keeping under 200K in the US while blunting the pain of delaying booking sales past Q2. They appeared to me to be heavily under-estimating based on what we knew about Toronto deliveries, alone.
 
You don't need to do anything now, file your taxes when you normally would add 1 more form to the mix (let the tax program or accountant do it for you if you like).

You can lower your withholdings now to get the money back sooner or just wait and get a big refund later.

The only major mistake in your post is that $3500 + $7500 = $11,000 not $10,000. So if you had $10,000 in tax liability and take $7,500 credit, you have $2,500 left over to pay not $3,500.


Haha with maths like that I don't deserve a rebate.. or a Tesla... me = idiot.. maybe I can claim it as a typo :)

thanks for the confirmation.. that's what I thought.. just wanted to check
 
Yeah, IRS doesn't take kindly to claiming you had the car before it was built...
Why is yours being prepaid? Founder's Roadster????
Texas (and I assume some other States with dealership rent-seeking laws). Vehicle is built first but must be sold before entering the State. I have to turn over all the cash before they'll even put it on a carrier to start shipping it, so a week or even two before I sit in the seat.
 
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Nah, I think it much more likely some of the 200k sold in the US were not qualifying cars (government or export sales).
Look at the Tesla page: Electric Vehicle Incentives

Even if some sales counted as government (never heard of any) or export sales, it is also consistent with some June deliveries being counted in July for purposes of adding up to the appropriate 200k sales as explained above.
 
Even if some sales counted as government (never heard of any) or export sales, it is also consistent with some June deliveries being counted in July for purposes of adding up to the appropriate 200k sales as explained above.
Well something dropped the US number, possibly more cars being sold in Canada then estimated.

I'm not seeing how Tesla would/ could claim one number for cars sold in the quarter on their numbers/ financial disclosure, and a different number to the IRS for their cars sold in the quarter. Esp when the delivery date is being used for the phase out step down qualification.

Doesn't really matter though. T'was a good debate.
 
Some great news if the bill passes:

Tesla buyers eye new EV bill that extends $7500 tax credit and removes 200k cap
Tesla buyers eye new EV bill that extends $7500 tax credit and removes 200k cap
GM’s and Nissan’s US customers have a stake in it too. Soon they’ll also be at a disadvantage to under-200k EV-Come-Lately manufacturers.

I mean, it was the Chevy Volt Enablement Act (written to fit the battery kWh requirements and credit cap to the Volt battery size) after all. GM is going to come out pro-extension, right? Or let it continue to be colored as the Tesla Owners Relief Extension and benefit along with Tesla & Nissan if it passes...
 
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GM’s and Nissan’s US customers have a stake in it too. Soon they’ll also be at a disadvantage to under-200k EV-Come-Lately manufacturers.

I mean, it was the Chevy Volt Enablement Act (written to fit the battery kWh requirements and credit cap to the Volt battery size) after all. GM is going to come out pro-extension, right? Or let it continue to be colored as the Tesla Owners Relief Extension and benefit along with Tesla & Nissan if it passes...
True but GM does not care. Nissan does but they have such a command of Europe and Asia it will not hurt them too much.
 
GM’s and Nissan’s US customers have a stake in it too. Soon they’ll also be at a disadvantage to under-200k EV-Come-Lately manufacturers.

I mean, it was the Chevy Volt Enablement Act (written to fit the battery kWh requirements and credit cap to the Volt battery size) after all. GM is going to come out pro-extension, right? Or let it continue to be colored as the Tesla Owners Relief Extension and benefit along with Tesla & Nissan if it passes...

I think extending the $7500 tax credit is not the best way to go. The tax credit helps higher income earners better and as EVs move down from a rich person's thing to the mainstream, a better incentive would be a straight up rebate. Come April of next year we will be hearing some Model 3 buyers complain they didn't get the full $7500 credit.

True but GM does not care. Nissan does but they have such a command of Europe and Asia it will not hurt them too much.

Mary Barra is an Electrical Engineer and has a pretty good idea EVs are the future. There are other people in GM management who want to double down on ICE and don't care about advancing EVs.
 
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Reactions: SW2Fiddler
I think extending the $7500 tax credit is not the best way to go. The tax credit helps higher income earners better and as EVs move down from a rich person's thing to the mainstream, a better incentive would be a straight up rebate. Come April of next year we will be hearing some Model 3 buyers complain they didn't get the full $7500 credit.

The latest proposal has it as a 7,500 rebate at time of purchase, no need for tax liability.
 
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Reactions: SW2Fiddler