30% Federal Tax Rebate on charger equipment and installation costs

[Zprime29]

It’s more complicated than that. My EVSE credit was only $300 and I had the extra liability but still didn’t get it. AMT is tricky.

AMT won't apply to me, I checked my 2022 return and had $7200 in liability. I had a decent pay bump and am fairly certain I'll be over $7500 for 2023, but not much more than that. I'm well within the income limit so no concern there. I was hoping the EVSE credit could be stacked in addition to the EV credit, oh well...it won't break the bank. Only spent $1k on install and since the FCSP can't be claimed I'm not really out that much.

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[WhipSticks]

Correct. Tax liability. Which for most is line 24. Which has no relationship to tax withholding, or tax owed after you do your tax return (which is liability minus taxes paid through withholding and estimated taxes). And you have to have income below the threshold.

Yes! Lots of folks get this wrong, so it is worth emphasizing. Your tax liability is what you would owe in federal taxes before withholding, tax credits or other prepayments. So if you had federal taxes that required, say $25k, and your biweekly paycheck included withholding of federal taxes over the year totaling $21k, your liability is still $25k, NOT $3k. So there is lots of headroom to apply for credits. Continuing this example, if you applied for $5000 in federal non-refundable tax credits, you would have a $1000 check from the feds (because you owed 25k, already payed 21k in withholdings, leaving 4k in remaining liability, and applying a 5k credit!) assuming no other issues affect the size of your refund.

Another subtle but important fact: Not all tax credits are "non-refundable" (i.e. only recoverable up to the limit of your tax liability). Some are "refundable" (i.e. you receive the full amount even if you exceed the liability limit.) The subtly is that the order in which various tax credits are applied can make a difference. Always apply the non-refundable credits first, and the refundable ones last, subject to the rules of each program, when calculating or estimating your refund/payment requirements. It is also possible in some cases to carry forward some amount of a non-refundable tax credit to a subsequent tax year. If you are in a position to apply for a mix of refundable and non-refundable credits, it might be worth consulting with a professional.

 

[chl]

I lost a good percentage of the tax credit when I bought my 2012 Leaf in 2011 due to income/tax liability limits.

But if one buys a Lightning after Jan 2024, the dealership can give you the tax credit up-front and even if you would not otherwise qualify for the whole $7500, the IRS has stated it will not penalize you, that is, you can keep the whole credit amount and won't have to pay any of it back.

With all the different provisions involved, it gets complicated. I have found, generally, the commercial tax programs are kept up to date on them. As well as, or sometimes better, than some tax prep companies, and/or CPAs.

Of course the result is only as good as your input so keeping complete and accurate records is important (duh?).

I already told my dealership I will not be buying until after Jan 1, 2024, and only from them if they provide the $7500 up front as a reduction in my bottom line price - they agree to do that.

The only snag is they are desperate to sell XLTs ('23MY prices are dropping fast around here) and they say the book on Pro's hasn't opened for ordering yet - I want a Pro though.

I'd really like to have the LFP battery tech, but that option has not been given a firm date of availability yet, last time I checked anyway.

So I may wait yet another year for Ford to come through and give this customer what he wants.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Correct. Tax liability. Which for most is line 24. Which has no relationship to tax withholding, or tax owed after you do your tax return (which is liability minus taxes paid through withholding and estimated taxes). And you have to have income below the threshold.

Not quite right, line 23 taxes can't be involved, the limitation clause is at line 22.

I like to use this example for our moderate net self employment income folks.

Also, let's not confuse home energy improvement credits with the vehicle credits, two distinct animals

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