You will soon get up to $7,500 EV tax credit at purchase rather than a return
The IRS has just released new guidelines to enable dealers to take the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit from the buyers and apply it directly to the purchase of new and used electric vehicles.
It should make the experience a bit easier.
When the EV tax credit reform was announced last year, it included a provision to introduce a new “point of sale” option after a year into the program – starting January 1, 2024.
Today, the IRS issued its guidelines to make it happen:
The Internal Revenue Service issued proposed regulations, Revenue Procedure 2023-33 (PDF) and frequently asked questions today for the transfer of new and previously owned clean vehicle credits from the taxpayer to an eligible entity for vehicles placed in service after Dec. 31, 2023.
What the IRS calls a “transfer” is the ability of a new EV buyer to give the tax credit to the dealer that is selling the electric vehicle to them. In exchange, the dealer can give the equivalent “in cash or in the form of a partial payment or down payment.”
In short, you will get the benefits of the tax credit, which is up to $7,500, directly at the purchase rather than waiting for tax season.
However, all the same eligibility criteria still apply even with a transfer, including the buyer having a federal tax burden.
The buyer must give the dealer all their tax information, which will then be submitted to the IRS. The dealer is not required to verify the information, and therefore, the disclosure falls on the buyer.
All the other vehicle requirements, like MSRP limits, and for the buyers, like income limit requirements, apply here.
The only requirement that this update allows you to avoid is your tax burden. If, for some reason, you can afford to buy a new car and yet you happen to have a tax burden smaller than the full amount of tax credit you are eligible for, the IRS says that it won’t “recapture” the difference.
Here’s a flow chart we put together to see if you and the electric car you want to buy are eligible for the tax credit:
Basically, if you arrive at an “Oh Yeah!” or a “Good News!” answer above, you will be eligible to transfer the tax credit to your dealer if you are buying the car after December 31, 2023.
The dealer will then be able to slash the price of your vehicle by the same amount rather than wait for next year’s tax season.
Is Tesla eligible?
This has been a recurring question since the point-of-sale credit was announced because Tesla doesn’t operate “dealers” in the traditional sense, and “dealers” were always mentioned as the only ones able to take advantage of this new provision.
Reading through the guidelines today, I don’t see anything that would prevent Tesla from offering this to customers.
While Tesla doesn’t operate third-party franchise dealers like legacy automakers, it is a licensed car dealer in most states that has enabled direct sales in the US.
The guideline doesn’t say anything about manufacturers not being able to get access to the program. It only says that dealers need to register with the IRS to take advantage of it.
The same goes for other EV startups using the same business, like Rivian and Lucid.
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Environment
Podcast: China reaches EV tipping point, Tesla retreats, some slack with tax credit, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss China reaching the EV tipping point, Tesla’s retreat in Europe, EV buyers receiving some tax credit relief, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.
Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:
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Cadillac is back and selling a surprising number of electric vehicles in the US. With a full lineup of electric SUVs, Cadillac now claims to be the leading luxury EV brand in the US. Can it keep it up even after the $7,500 federal tax credit expires?
After launching seven new electric vehicles this year, GM claimed that Cadillac became the leading luxury EV brand by market share. However, that doesn’t include Tesla due to its “pricing structure.”
Cadillac is coming off its best first-half sales since 2008, selling more vehicles across all 50 states. Nearly one in four Cadillacs sold in the US this year were EVs.
GM’s luxury brand is now selling more electric vehicles than some of its biggest rivals, including Porsche, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Rivian, and Volvo.
According to the latest data from Cox Automotive, Cadillac sold over 11,700 EVs in Q2, up 62% compared to last year. Through the first six months of the year, it has sold nearly 20,000 electric vehicles. In comparison, Porsche has sold almost 7,200 EVs in the US, Mercedes sold about 8,000, and Audi has sold just over 11,500.
With an electric SUV in nearly every segment, including the entry-level Optiq, a midsize Lyriq, a three-row Vistiq, and the even larger Escalade IQ and IQL models, Cadillac is seeing an influx of buyers from other brands.
Cadillac prepares for the EV tax credit to expire
Around 70% of Cadillac’s EV buyers are from other brands, according to GM, and about 10% are former Tesla drivers. With big policy changes coming under the Trump administration, Cadillac, like the entire industry, will likely face some hurdles.
The administration already raised tariffs on imported vehicles and other auto parts, and at the end of September, the $7,500 federal EV tax credit is set to expire.
In response to the changes, many automakers are shifting back to hybrid and gas-powered vehicles. Cadillac is no exception.
“They’ll have to have both for a number of years now,” according to Sam Fiorani, the vice president of AutoForecast Solutions. Fiorani explained (via The New York Times) that “The gas-powered vehicles make the money, and the EVs bring them a new market.”
Cadillac was initially expected to have an all-EV lineup by the end of the decade. Thanks to the policy changes, Cadillac could continue offering hybrid and ICE vehicles for several more years.
Fiorani said that although GM planned to retire the gas-powered Escalade, it’s now due for a refresh that will be sold “well into the next decade.”
Earlier this year, Cadillac’s global vice president, John Roth, said during a media briefing that the company was in a better position than most with the policy changes.
All Cadillac vehicles are built in the US, except the Optiq, which is built in Mexico. According to Roth, the policy changes will have “very limited impact, if you will, on the Cadillac brand.” If anything, Roth said, it could be an opportunity for the luxury automaker.
If you’re looking to get ahead of the $7,500 EV tax credit expiration, we can help you get started. Check out our links below to find Cadillac’s electric SUVs in your area.
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Australia Post is advancing its commitment to achieve Net Zero emissions across its operations by 2050 with the introduction of 36 new Mercedes-Benz eVito electric vans, expanding its existing fleet of over 5,000 EVs already in active service.
With an efficient 60 kWh battery and 85 kW (about 115 hp) electric motor, Mercedes’ eVito electric van is ideally suited to the sort of stop-and-go work of a delivery vehicle. What’s more the company’s factory upfit program, Merceds-Benz Vans Courier Solutions, makes it easier than ever for delivery and contractor fleets to spec out their vans exactly the way they need them.
And, even though the eVito’s 60 kWh battery is rated to “just” 261 km (162 miles), the sort of low-speed, high-regen duty cycle Australia Post is going to be putting it through should mean drivers see much better real world range than that — which is precisely the sort of information this 36 van pilot is meant to uncover.
“This is our largest electric van trial to date,” explains Australia Post Chief Sustainability Officer, Richard Pittard. “It’s a meaningful step forward as we continue building a modern, sustainable delivery network that meets the evolving needs of our customers while reducing our environmental impact.”
Australia Post currently operates more than 3,600 three-wheeled electric delivery vehicles (EDVs), 1,500 e-bikes, nearly 200 UBCO DUTY electric motorcycles, and several Mitsubishi eFUSO electric box vans at its larger logistics centers.
The new eVito vans, once deployed at scale, will operate primarily in highly populated metro areas, where their positive impact on local air quality will be felt by the greatest number of people, and their respiratory health, as well.
Electrek’s Take
This kind of deployment should be exciting to EV enthusiasts for a number of tried-and-true reasons, but this one is particularly exciting to Americans because we have an Administration actively pretending that electric postal vehicles aren’t ready for prime time. The success of programs like this one from Australia Post are just more egg in the face of these anti-EV clowns, and few things make me happier.
You can check out the official Mercedes-Benz Vans Australia eVito specs and measurements in the detailed brochure, below, then scroll on down to the comments and let us know what you think of MB’s baby Sprinter.
Mercedes eVito Specs
SOURCE | IMAGES: Australia Post.
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