EV tax credit

[balthazar]

I recently posted 'how the EV tax credit works', but I had it wrong. Want to correct the gist of it here.

I was under the incorrect impression that the credit offset the amount you owed when you FILED. My wife [who was an economics major, has worked for a major investment house for a few decades, does our taxes and is one smart cookie] explained to me the credit goes against the TOTAL fiscal tax liability. This would include any check you write at filing time AND your taxes paid during the year, most of which came out of your salary.

The bottom line as explained to me by this smart cookie is, anyone who is remotely fiscally sane (income high enough to get financing I guess) and buys an EV is likely to get the tax credit.

A single filer who's Adjusted Gross Income is $100K pays $18,713 according to Google, which is comfortably in excess of $7500.

I formally retract my accusation that advertising a EV with the tax credit modifying the MSRP is "borderline criminal".

[Drew Dowdell]

2 hours ago, balthazar said:

I recently posted 'how the EV tax credit works', but I had it wrong. Want to correct the gist of it here.

I was under the incorrect impression that the credit offset the amount you owed when you FILED. My wife [who was an economics major, has worked for a major investment house for a few decades, does our taxes and is one smart cookie] explained to me the credit goes against the TOTAL fiscal tax liability. This would include any check you write at filing time AND your taxes paid during the year, most of which came out of your salary.

The bottom line as explained to me by this smart cookie is, anyone who is remotely fiscally sane (income high enough to get financing I guess) and buys an EV is likely to get the tax credit.

A single filer who's Adjusted Gross Income is $100K pays $18,713 according to Google, which is comfortably in excess of $7500.

I formally retract my accusation that advertising a EV with the tax credit modifying the MSRP is "borderline criminal".

What's the minimum AGI someone would need to make to get the whole thing?

[balthazar]

Looked at an online calculator.
$75,000 salary, filing single, deduction of $22,000 ($12K personal, $10K property tax) = taxable income of $53,000.
Tax on those numbers would be $7,518.

Not sure a person with a home getting taxed at at least $10K and taking home $53K should be buying a $50+K Model 3, but I know people do it.

Edited November 19, 2019 by balthazar