Federal tax credits may be available to help offset your cost to purchase certain clean vehicles (including electric, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell vehicles).
The new clean vehicle tax credit can be either a personal or a general business tax credit, depending on whether the vehicle is used in a trade or business. If the vehicle is used 50% or more for business, the credit is treated as a general business tax credit; otherwise, the credit is allocated between personal and business use. The qualified commercial clean vehicles tax credit is a general business tax credit. Both credits are nonrefundable if they exceed your tax liability. An unused general business tax credit can be carried forward to a later year.
New Clean Vehicle Tax Credit
A personal or a general business tax credit of up to $7,500 is available for the purchase of a new clean vehicle meeting certain requirements (including weighing less than 14,000 pounds).
A credit of $3,750 is available if a critical minerals requirement is met, and a credit of $3,750 is available if a battery components requirement is met. Fuel cell vehicles that have final assembly within North America can qualify for the $7,500 credit without regard to these two requirements. The credit is not available for vehicles with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price higher than $80,000 for vans, sports utility vehicles, and pickups, or $55,000 for other vehicles. You can check the eligibility of vehicles for the credit at fueleconomy.gov.
The credit is generally not available if the purchaser’s modified adjusted gross income for the taxable year or the preceding taxable year (whichever is less) exceeds $150,000 ($300,000 for joint filers and surviving spouses, $225,000 for heads of households). The income limitation does not apply to corporations subject to the corporate income tax. In the case of a partnership or S corporation, the credit is allocated to the partners or shareholders, respectively, and the income limitation is applied to those individuals.
Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicles Tax Credit
A general business tax credit of up to $7,500 ($40,000 if the vehicle weighs 14,000 or more pounds) is available for the purchase of a qualified commercial clean vehicle meeting certain requirements.
The credit is equal to the lesser of (a) 15% of the tax basis (generally, the purchase price) of the vehicle (30% if the vehicle is not powered by a gasoline or diesel internal combustion engine), or (b) the incremental cost of the vehicle (the excess of the purchase price of the clean vehicle over the price of a comparable vehicle that is powered solely by a gasoline or diesel internal combustion engine).
