$4000 tax credit for purchase of used electric cars

I seldom post but I thought this might be of interest . New law effective jan1, 2023 grants a lesser or $4000 tax credit or 30 % of purchase price for used Electric cars, must be first resale and purchased through a dealer. I'm sure there is more fine print but this may be of interest to anyone thinking about buying an ev

Remember back in the old days when we were encouraged to turn off lights in rooms we were not using, because the amount of electricity available was finite?  Ahh, the good old days...

Considering how little old Leafs are worth due to their crappy batteries, they should just buy them for us outright.

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

I vaguely remember that (I think.) It baffles me that adults need to be encouraged to turn off lights. In rooms they no longer occupy.

Is this gonna be the next thunder dome thread?

Probably not. Not enough berserker mouth foaming fodder to attract the usual sharks. Electric car conspiracies are so pre-Covid.

gearheadmb said:

Is this gonna be the next thunder dome thread?

I don't think either side can help themselves. 

Appleseed said:

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

I vaguely remember that (I think.) It baffles me that adults need to be encouraged to turn off lights. In rooms they no longer occupy.

You say that, but my wife will walk into a dark room just to turn on the lights, then leave.
She really doesn't like the dark.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I'll go into the room a few minutes later then turn them off.

At least they're almost all LED lights so they don't use much power. 

In reply to 03Panther :

The berserker fodder I speak of are the select few that can take a seemingly normal thread sideways and get it locked. They won't care about an electric car thread.

There are a few other caveats to the used purchase, yes. I believe the car has to be under $25,000 purchase price and the income limit is $75k for single filers and $150k for married joint filers. The EV has to be at least 2 model years old. As mentioned by OP you have to buy it from a dealership, and it has to be the first time it's sold as a used car (edit-first time sold as used since Jan 1 2023).

That leaves out a lot of EVs. Basically you're looking for a lease turn-in that costs less than $25k and with the way used EV prices have been lately that's not an easy find. Carvana has a very few cars that might meet those criteria, right now it's just Nissan LEAFs with the smaller range pack, or smart fortwo. 

You'd be better off getting the tax credit on a new Chevy Bolt (again, if you can find one)

My friend is a used car dealer and I've been meaning to pick his brain on how I can take advantage of $4k on the hood for an EV. I know he'll tell me to just keep driving my 2002 Camry, but if I get hit by some moron in Atlanta traffic I'd like a backup plan.

I'm guessing the used value of most electrics just wen up $3700. 

But If I can get a Bolt for $4K less then the value that was already pretty enticing this may be a no brainer.  

nocones said:

I'm guessing the used value of most electrics just wen up $3700.

Bingo, that's my worry. Every Mitsubishi i-MiEV just doubled in value.

slefain said:

nocones said:

I'm guessing the used value of most electrics just wen up $3700.

Bingo, that's my worry. Every Mitsubishi i-MiEV just doubled in value.

I think it was last sold here ~5 years ago, meaning they are all ineligible.

used EV values have been cooling a little since rising a bunch in late 2021. I bought our 5 year old BMW i3 from CarMax for $16k early last spring, at the height of the insanity Carvana was offering me $26k for it - it's now down to about $22k. 

As I said, buying a first-used-sale (edit - this isn't true, see next post) EV for under $25k is tough, so unless the market cools I'd be willing to bet you see all the eligible EVs selling for exactly $24,999.99.

edit: here are the complete rules for the confused folks

Ok ok, apologies all, but I went to the actual bill and I'm gonna amend my previous statements.

I'd wait until the IRS guidance is released to make any purchasing decisions - IANAL - but TO ME it looks like the first sale of an EV once the rules go into effect is the one which qualifies for the $4000. "Since the date of enactment of this section" are the magic words. So basically any EV might be able to qualify for the used credit once in its lifetime. Plug-in hybrids with batteries of at least 7 kwh count too. 

So, for example, a 2013 Mitsubishi i-MiEV might actually qualify, provided you can find one for sale at a dealer. (Probably don't buy one anyways tho)

does motor vehicle, mean motorcycle like it does in most tax laws. 

If so I am going out to buy a livewire. 

In reply to wearymicrobe :

Oh, that's a good question. I did like the Zero that I rode. Too bad I think both of us are well above the gross income cap. 

Sadly this doesn't apply to my recent purchase.

In reply to wearymicrobe :

If it applies to motorcycles, that means you could snag a Sondor's Metacycle right now for only ~$1,500 new. An electric motorcycle that's "cheaper" (assuming you can play with said taxes) than some eBikes. Kickass.

Appleseed said:

In reply to 03Panther :

The berserker fodder I speak of are the select few that can take a seemingly normal thread sideways and get it locked. They won't care about an electric car thread.

I mean with comments like this I can't understand why people get riled up. 

I had heard that the EV6 and Ioniq 5 didn't qualify for the new credits but I see them on the list. Is there more than the $7500 new credit out there?

And I just learned about these: Kandi for adults?

bobzilla said:

I had heard that the EV6 and Ioniq 5 didn't qualify for the new credits but I see them on the list. Is there more than the $7500 new credit out there?

which list? Used cars have no country of origin requirements. New purchased EVs do - so unless they are built in North America, they don't qualify anymore, effective immediately when the bill was passed a few months ago. There are also a ton of weird rules and percentages about battery and mineral sourcing, and it changes by year. It looks like perhaps no new cars will qualify for the full $7500 next year. 

edit: and for the Kandi, that looks like a "Neighborhood Electric Vehicle" or basically a golf cart. We have had those off and on for years, like the Th!nk City

In reply to Erich :

So we want everyone to go to electric cars but we are going to remove the incentives. Sounds about right.

Don't see many golf-cart-esque electric cars where I live. County roads are 45mph so 25-35 would be a road hazzard. 

In reply to bobzilla :

I think the bill congress passed really is less about encouraging consumers to buy EVs, no matter what the press says, and more about incentivizing car companies to build them here rather than overseas. If the only ones that are eligible for the incentive are built here, then the logic is car companies will bring production of the EV and batteries here.