Am I eligible for both a rebate and a tax credit?

[howardbc]

When I bought my 2013 Ford Fusion Energi last month, the dealer gave me a $1500 "rebate" which was immediately deducted from the price of the car. Yeay. 

 

Now I understand that I may also be eligible for a $3751 federal tax credit on my 2013 taxes. Does anyone know if I can I get both? 

 

I don't want to get my hopes up, even though my income is very modest and the tax credit may not be even helpful. I'll check with a tax person too of course, but I find that there is general misinformation about alternative cars and I wonder if the tax professionals are up on all this. 

 

Any advice is appreciated but won't be accepted as tax "gospel." Thanks. 

 

 

[Russael]

Yes, you get both.  The 1500 was a gift from Ford and the Federal tax rebate is something you need to claim for your 2013 tax year.  There is also a charging station credit worth up to 1000 dollars from Uncle Sam.

 

Had you leased the car, the Dealership would've claimed the 3751 tax credit since they still own the vehicle, but they're letting you borrow it for a monthly fee. :)

[jeff_h]

Yes, you get both.  The 1500 was a gift from Ford and the Federal tax rebate is something you need to claim for your 2013 tax year.  There is also a charging station credit worth up to 1000 dollars from Uncle Sam.

 

Yes, go to the IRS site and get the forms and instructions for Forms 8910 and 8911.

[howardbc]

You all are awesome! Before I bought my Energi, I spoke to 3 different Ford salesmen at 3 different Ford dealers. Not one mentioned all these rebates and/or credits! You'd think that $4951-$5951 in rebates and tax credits would have been used as a selling tool, so I am very surprised that not one of them mentioned it. I saw the $1500 on my sales contract and asked the sales person about it because I was suspicious and thought it might be some kind of add-on, but no, it was the $1500 rebate taken off the price.

 

I didn't even know about the garage charger rebate! I hadn't planned to buy one but now may do it if I can get a $1000 tax credit.

 

I also read on-line that there is a $1500 state tax credit but won't consider that a done-deal until I talk to a tax person.

 

Thanks again for making my day!

[Russael]

The charger rebate is up to 1000 dollars, but you won't get that unless you get an insanely expensive charger.  In reality, it's worth about 30% of your investment, so if you spent something like 850, you'd get 255 from Uncle Sam.  One grand is just the cap.

 

And lucky you for having a state that give credits too.  Michigan doesn't have squat, which is ironic since this state is the nation's automotive capital.

Edited April 29, 2013 at 12:41 PM by Russael

[murphy]

Check with your power company.

Mine says they will give me $50 just for notifying them that I have a plug-in hybrid vehicle.

[jeff_h]

Check with your power company.

Mine says they will give me $50 just for notifying them that I have a plug-in hybrid vehicle.

 

And to tag onto that, the power company may have a different program for EV charging, might want to check that out too to see which benefits you best.  My power company has one of 3 options:

 

1) No change to your program, rates about 11¢ per kWh throughout the house and EV charger uses that rate too

 

2) Create new account (and add meter) for just the EV charger, which then goes on a rates schedule according to time of day, so cheapest is between 1-5am and rate is 5¢ per kWh, peak is 4-10pm and rate is 16¢ per kWh, other times are 11¢

 

3) Transition whole house to the #2 rate structure, so you can save big time by doing heavy-load activities during the off-peak times.

[murphy]

Unfortunately my power company only has two options, regular and residential heating.

 

They haven't installed the new smart meter at my house yet although they announced it over a year ago.

 

I do get a $30 per month credit for June through September for allowing them to cycle the power to my A/C compressor when they are approaching system overload.

[shaggy314]

Austin Electric offers 50% of the charger and installation this year. With the 30% federal tax CREDIT (not just a deduction) for a L2 charger as well, it makes it cheaper than an extra L1 charger as was my original plan.

 

The 'barely a downside' to the $3751 tax credit is you have to wait until you file next year to get it. It does offset more than a simple deduction would, likely offsetting $10,000 or more of income...

[howardbc]

Thanks, Shaggy. I'm in Arizona and will try to find someone who will install a 240V portable garage charger if I can justify the cost. It would be nice but I am doing fine with the 120V so far.

[larryh]

Austin Electric offers 50% of the charger and installation this year. With the 30% federal tax CREDIT (not just a deduction) for a L2 charger as well, it makes it cheaper than an extra L1 charger as was my original plan.

 

The 'barely a downside' to the $3751 tax credit is you have to wait until you file next year to get it. It does offset more than a simple deduction would, likely offsetting $10,000 or more of income...

I think you can file an updated W4 form to claim additional witholding allowances now for the $3751 tax credit on your 2013 tax form.  You will have to go through the instructions to determine how many additional allowances you can claim.

[47Minutes]

Here is a link to some AZ (state) tax incentives too:   http://www.afdc.energy.gov/laws/laws/AZ/user/3260

 

I wasn't sure if you'd looked into more than Federal incentives since AZ has a state income tax as well.

[meyersnole]

The charger rebate is up to 1000 dollars, but you won't get that unless you get an insanely expensive charger.  In reality, it's worth about 30% of your investment, so if you spent something like 850, you'd get 255 from Uncle Sam.  One grand is just the cap.

 

And lucky you for having a state that give credits too.  Michigan doesn't have squat, which is ironic since this state is the nation's automotive capital.

 

Pretty sure it includes the installation charges as well, not just the cost of the charger. Most of us don't like playing with 240v current and pay someone to do it for us.

[Russael]

I re-checked the instructions on that form and it doesn't say installation costs are included or excluded, so I'd claim those too if you had it professionally installed.  So, the credit is worth 30% of the total investment of having your charging station installed (device and installation labor).

[shaggy314]

I think you can file an updated W4 form to claim additional witholding allowances now for the $3751 tax credit on your 2013 tax form. You will have to go through the instructions to determine how many additional allowances you can claim.

Yeah, you could, but I hate playing with withholding for a single year occurrence. I have equity profits that I don't withhold for, so there will be a better balance. I would absolutely do it if I could still claim mortgage interest and it may be worth trying to figure out the withholding.

 

Last year I put in solar attic fans, and the federal tax credit covered installation fees as well in the fans' cost, so I'd assume it covers installation of the charger. It was the same for the on-demand gas water heater too (install + purchase).

 

Save those receipts!

Edited May 1, 2013 at 10:35 PM by shaggy314

[jeff_h]

Last year I put in solar attic fans, and the federal tax credit covered installation fees as well in the fans' cost, so I'd assume it covers installation of the charger. It was the same for the on-demand gas water heater too (install + purchase).

 

I remember getting a credit for installing an energy-efficient heating system, and as part of filling out that form there were fields regarding what OTHER energy-efficient credits you were also claiming or had claimed in the past x years... so for Shaggy (and others, and me) who have already gotten some credits, just a reminder to read the form and instructions and not try to take more credit than is allowed, and thus avoid any hassle.  Hopefully it's all separate and we can get full credit on this (I haven't read the specifics yet), we shall see.

[shaggy314]

I remember getting a credit for installing an energy-efficient heating system, and as part of filling out that form there were fields regarding what OTHER energy-efficient credits you were also claiming or had claimed in the past x years... so for Shaggy (and others, and me) who have already gotten some credits, just a reminder to read the form and instructions and not try to take more credit than is allowed, and thus avoid any hassle.  Hopefully it's all separate and we can get full credit on this (I haven't read the specifics yet), we shall see.

 

Oh, good point. I had run power up to two of the fans so they could still work after sundown and/or to eliminate humidity, but wasn't able to deduct it as I had hit the max rebate that year. I'll have to double check that as I was thinking this is a different credit. It may not be.

Edited May 1, 2013 at 10:38 PM by shaggy314