EVSE tax credit reinstated

[planet4ever]

Great news from Plug In America for anyone who installed an EVSE in 2012 or plans to this year!

Finally, if you paid for the installation of a charging station at your home or business in 2012, I have some good news for you. There was a 30% tax credit for installing charging stations that expired at the end of 2011. Plug In America has been working to get that reinstated, and I'm pleased to tell you our efforts paid off and the credit was reinstated retroactively for all of 2012 as part of the "fiscal cliff" legislation. If you paid for a charging station or installation in 2012, you'll want to check out IRS Form 8911 when you file your taxes.

Tom Saxton
Vice President, Plug In America
We Drive Electric. You Can Too.

Way to go guys!

Ray

 

[planet4ever]

P.S. I probably should tone that down a bit. I haven't seen the wording, but there is a good chance it may still have the same catch as the old credit. Basically, most people couldn't take it in the same year as you took the $7,500 EV credit. If you leased, though, that wouldn't be a problem.

Ray

 

[planet4ever]

Amazing! No one seems to be interested in this now. It was a very hot topic a year ago when the credit disappeared. In case some of you don't know what this is, if you bought a charging dock during 2012, and/or you had one installed, you may be able to deduct 30% of your total out-of-pocket expenses from the final accounting this coming spring of income taxes owed or add it to refunds you are entitled to. The same will apply if you are considering getting one in 2013 (but with the credit taken a year from now, of course).

So, say you bought an EVSE for $1000 and paid an electrician $500 to run wiring and install it. The IRS may give you an extra $450 on top of any refund you were expecting. Or you qualified for the EV Project, but they had to run wires 100 feet from your panel to your garage, and because of that you ended up paying $700 for the installation. The IRS may have a $210 bonus for you.

There are two important IFs:

1. They won't give you more money back than the total of all income taxes you paid, including payroll deductions, etc., minus other credits such as the $7,500 EV credit.
2. If you bought (not leased) your LEAF in 2012 and made more than somewhere around $60,000 (if a joint return, though your mileage may vary), there is a quirk in the law that ends up phasing AMT in early, and could well eat up part or all of that money. Note that that's a problem only if you try to take both credits in the same year (but neither allows a carryover).

I did check the law as passed and signed this week, and it made only one very simple change to the old credit. They scratched out the expiration date of December 31, 2011 and replaced it with December 31, 2013. So it is exactly the same credit as before. It's just that by a stroke of a pen they magically made it as if it had never expired. They also made the AMT adjustment permanent, and indexed for inflation, so the whole thing will work just like it used to, and I expect the IRS will use a Form 8911 which is essentially the same as last year.

Ray

 

[mig]

Nice. What if I installed the NEMA 14-50 outlet for the EVSE myself, but paid no other out-of-pocket expenses for the EVSE install?
Can I claim the materials cost for the outlet install? Also, does anyone know if evseupgrade counts for this credit?j

 

[mikeEmike]

Amazing! No one seems to be interested in this now. It was a very hot topic a year ago when the credit disappeared.

I'm interested! Thanks for pointing this out!

 

[Stanton]

Since I STILL haven't bought a second EVSE (still using the modified Nissan/Panasonic L2), I might actually use this credit. My long-term plan was to buy a Leviton L2 and keep the Nissan as a back-up, but they still haven't "come to their senses" on pricing for (what will eventually become) an outdated 3.3kWh unit.

 

[planet4ever]

Nice. What if I installed the NEMA 14-50 outlet for the EVSE myself, but paid no other out-of-pocket expenses for the EVSE install?Can I claim the materials cost for the outlet install? Also, does anyone know if evseupgrade counts for this credit?j

I claimed all that in 2011, and certainly felt it was justified. I bought electrical parts at Home Depot (conduit, wire, subpanel, breakers, outlet box, outlet) and installed them myself. I didn't actually have my EVSE upgraded, instead buying an upgraded EVSE from Phil, but the principle should be the same.

Ray

 

[planet4ever]

My long-term plan was to buy a Leviton L2 and keep the Nissan as a back-up, but they still haven't "come to their senses" on pricing for (what will eventually become) an outdated 3.3kWh unit.

Obviously you meant 3.3kW, not kWh, but I'll take that as a typo. Actually, the correct terminology is that it is a 16A unit which, at 240v, will supply 16 x 240 = 3840 watts, or 3.84kW. The charger in the car is 3.3kW because that's how much of the 3.84kW coming into the charger makes it out to the battery.

But the real reason for this post is to object to your "outdated" assertion. If your car sits in the garage for 10 hours at night, a 3.3kW charge rate can give you up to 33kWh per night. That's enough to go 100 miles/day at a very conservative 3 m/kWh. Even if you were to get a Tesla you probably wouldn't average more than 100 miles/day (36,000 miles/yr!). In fact, especially if you get a Tesla or some other EV with a huge battery capacity, you don't need to recharge completely in one night, just average the charge out over time.

Sure, there are exceptions, but for many people a 16A EVSE is the most they will ever need at home. Having a car that can charge at 6.6kW or 10kW is a definite advantage away from home, but it will always be able to use your 16A EVSE when sitting in your garage, so don't insult it by calling it "outdated".

Ray

 

[surfingslovak]

Amazing! No one seems to be interested in this now. It was a very hot topic a year ago when the credit disappeared.

This is great! Finally some evangelism of lobbying of the right kind

 

[smkettner]

Most would call this more pork.

 

[willk55]

If I do Phil's EVSE upgrade is this eligible?

 

[thankyouOB]

If I do Phil's EVSE upgrade is this eligible?

I would say yes, just as additional wiring to support a blink is eligible.
you should read the form that has to be filed and draw your own conclusions, however. it is listed above

 

[willk55]

If I do Phil's EVSE upgrade is this eligible?

I would say yes, just as additional wiring to support a blink is eligible.
you should read the form that has to be filed and draw your own conclusions, however. it is listed above

Thanks but I don't see "it listed above"?

 

[planet4ever]

If I do Phil's EVSE upgrade is this eligible?

I would say yes, just as additional wiring to support a blink is eligible. you should read the form that has to be filed and draw your own conclusions, however. it is listed above

Thanks but I don't see "it listed above"?

In my post in response to mig on the previous page of this thread I said that I took credit for it last year.

Ray

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

so did i

 

[thankyouOB]

Most would call this more pork.

not really, but maybe in OC any govt spending is pork.

Pork barrel is the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district....Typically, "pork" involves funding for government programs whose economic or service benefits are concentrated in a particular area but whose costs are spread among all taxpayers. Public works projects, certain national defense spending projects, and agricultural subsidies are the most commonly cited examples.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork_barrel" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Thanks for sharing! I had no idea they reinstated this credit (although I trust Turbo Tax would have caught it for me)! I purchased a 15A unit despite the credit drying up. I will definitely welcome the extra returns.

My long-term plan was to buy a Leviton L2 and keep the Nissan as a back-up, but they still haven't "come to their senses" on pricing for (what will eventually become) an outdated 3.3kWh unit.

Obviously you meant 3.3kW, not kWh, but I'll take that as a typo. Actually, the correct terminology is that it is a 16A unit which, at 240v, will supply 16 x 240 = 3840 watts, or 3.84kW. The charger in the car is 3.3kW because that's how much of the 3.84kW coming into the charger makes it out to the battery.

But the real reason for this post is to object to your "outdated" assertion. If your car sits in the garage for 10 hours at night, a 3.3kW charge rate can give you up to 33kWh per night. That's enough to go 100 miles/day at a very conservative 3 m/kWh. Even if you were to get a Tesla you probably wouldn't average more than 100 miles/day (36,000 miles/yr!). In fact, especially if you get a Tesla or some other EV with a huge battery capacity, you don't need to recharge completely in one night, just average the charge out over time.

Sure, there are exceptions, but for many people a 16A EVSE is the most they will ever need at home. Having a car that can charge at 6.6kW or 10kW is a definite advantage away from home, but it will always be able to use your 16A EVSE when sitting in your garage, so don't insult it by calling it "outdated".

Ray

Hear hear! This is what I've been trying to convince people of as well.

 

[greenleaf]

If I remember correctly, you won't get the credit if you are in AMT land.

Can anyone clarify if one can get the tax credit benefit if one is paying AMT?

Thanks.

 

[planet4ever]

If I remember correctly, you won't get the credit if you are in AMT land. Can anyone clarify if one can get the tax credit benefit if one is paying AMT?

I believe you are unlikely to get both the EV credit and the EVSE credit in the same tax year if you are subject to AMT, but individual tax situations could differ. Note that neither credit can be carried over, so the problem occurs if you put the EVSE in service and the LEAF in service during the same tax year. It should be obvious that this is not a problem if you lease, as you won't apply for the EV credit in that case.

Also, you must calculate your AMT when applying for the EVSE credit even if you are not currently paying at that rate. Due to some odd differences in allowed credits you might still get caught in the AMT trap. See this thread: EVSE - credit ... seems to be more complex than simply AMT

Ray

 

[greenleaf]

If I remember correctly, you won't get the credit if you are in AMT land. Can anyone clarify if one can get the tax credit benefit if one is paying AMT?

I believe you are unlikely to get both the EV credit and the EVSE credit in the same tax year if you are subject to AMT, but individual tax situations could differ. Note that neither credit can be carried over, so the problem occurs if you put the EVSE in service and the LEAF in service during the same tax year. It should be obvious that this is not a problem if you lease, as you won't apply for the EV credit in that case.

Also, you must calculate your AMT when applying for the EVSE credit even if you are not currently paying at that rate. Due to some odd differences in allowed credits you might still get caught in the AMT trap. See this thread: EVSE - credit ... seems to be more complex than simply AMT

Ray

I bought my Leaf in 2011 and I am currently using Blink.

But I am thinking of getting another L2 EVSE this year -- for my Prius Plug-in and as a spare, if the tax credit checks out.

Does this make any difference as to whether I can get the credit? I'm deeply in AMT land.