Colorado Tax credit for Nissan leaf lease

[Oliverovan]

We applied and got a substantial rebate. There is a schedule under alternative and renewable fuel vehicles on the state of Colorado website.

[dgpcolorado]

We applied and got a substantial rebate. There is a schedule under alternative and renewable fuel vehicles on the state of Colorado website.

As cgaydos mentioned upthread, the tax credit law was changed recently by the legislature and is quite different from the 2012 version. The discussion about the new EV related laws in Colorado is here:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.p ... 6&p=293036" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Swoosh]

Trying to file my 2013 taxes. My preparer says I need written documentation from Nissan stating that they are transferring the claim to the Colo rebate to me. (Lessor to lessee). Has anyone else done this? I guess the state needs to be sure Nissan and I are not both claiming the rebate.

[cgaydos]

Trying to file my 2013 taxes. My preparer says I need written documentation from Nissan stating that they are transferring the claim to the Colo rebate to me. (Lessor to lessee). Has anyone else done this? I guess the state needs to be sure Nissan and I are not both claiming the rebate.

I absolutely did NOT include this with my 2012 Colorado taxes and had no problems getting the credit for my LEAF lease. First time I've heard of this. Your tax preparer may be being overly cautious. In fact, I'd bet money on it. The current version of Colorado Tax Publication 67 (Google those terms) is very clear about leases (once you work through the formula details). Nissan's lease company (NMAC) is not claiming Colorado tax credits on their leased LEAFs.

[Swoosh]

Thanks for the info cgaydos!

[cgaydos]

Just saw a used LEAF advertisement on Craigslist that seemed unbelievable to me, so I went back to Publication 67 and verified. The advertisement was right. If you buy a used LEAF from out of state and register it in Colorado for the first time you get 24% of the car price as a state tax credit.

24%. For a $15k used car that would be a $3,600 tax credit. And unlike the Federal credit, you get all of it regardless of income and will get it as a refund the same year you file your taxes.

Needless to say, if I'm in Colorado and looking at LEAFs this gives me a very strong incentive to look at nearby states for used models. Shipping from, say, Houston to Denver is about $750. Of course, for a used LEAF I'd probably look at states with colder climates.

[dgpcolorado]

...Needless to say, if I'm in Colorado and looking at LEAFs this gives me a very strong incentive to look at nearby states for used models. Shipping from, say, Houston to Denver is about $750. Of course, for a used LEAF I'd probably look at states with colder climates.

I'm hoping that used Tesla prices come down in a few years (they are almost the same as new prices currently). With a Tesla one could buy it anywhere in the country and just drive it home. It would be impractical for me to qualify for the federal tax credit again, so that makes used EVs more attractive, especially with the Colorado tax credit applying to out-of-state used cars.

[cgaydos]

...Needless to say, if I'm in Colorado and looking at LEAFs this gives me a very strong incentive to look at nearby states for used models. Shipping from, say, Houston to Denver is about $750. Of course, for a used LEAF I'd probably look at states with colder climates.

I'm hoping that used Tesla prices come down in a few years (they are almost the same as new prices currently). With a Tesla one could buy it anywhere in the country and just drive it home. It would be impractical for me to qualify for the federal tax credit again, so that makes used EVs more attractive, especially with the Colorado tax credit applying to out-of-state used cars.

Good point. Occasionally I check used Tesla prices and those darn cars seem to retain value extremely well, but perhaps that will change now that so many are being sold.

Remember that the 24% credit hits the limit of $6k, though (not a factor on a used LEAF, but likely would be on a used Tesla).

[dgpcolorado]

...Remember that the 24% credit hits the limit of $6k, though (not a factor on a used LEAF, but likely would be on a used Tesla).

Yes. But that $6k will help with what would be a hugely expensive purchase! But the idea of going to only one car and having it be an EV — no more ICE car ever again! — is a mighty attractive prospect, if only I could figure out how to swing it. That's the holy grail of EV ownership, and not remotely possible with the LEAF, for rural folks like me.

I just hope that Tesla survives as a going concern. The supercharger network is a paradigm shift in EV utility IMHO.

[MikeinDenver]

Instead of starting a whole new thread I figured I would ask in here. Has anyone purchased the vehicle either during the lease or at lease end? If you did were you able to claim any additional tax credits? Reading the Income 67 document I don't see anything related to this. The document only mentions the inability to claim it if a prior owner has already claimed it. But in this case there would be no prior "owner" besides you that have claimed anything. Thoughts?