Colorado Tax credit for Nissan leaf lease

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MikeinDenver said:
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?
My take on this is that it won't work. You will (likely) have claimed a small tax credit when you leased the car. Going back to the well when you buy out the lease seems very unlikely to work. Perhaps you can persuade the Department of Revenue to allow it, but there doesn't seem to be any language in the actual law that would allow you to double-dip when buying out a lease.

Nice idea, but I don't think it will fly... Would be nice though: lease to get benefit of the federal tax credit then buy out lease to get a larger Colorado tax credit. Perhaps if you don't claim the credit on leasing but claim it later you could use the "used car" rules instead.
 
dgpcolorado said:
MikeinDenver said:
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?
My take on this is that it won't work. You will (likely) have claimed a small tax credit when you leased the car. Going back to the well when you buy out the lease seems very unlikely to work. Perhaps you can persuade the Department of Revenue to allow it, but there doesn't seem to be any language in the actual law that would allow you to double-dip when buying out a lease.

Nice idea, but I don't think it will fly... Would be nice though: lease to get benefit of the federal tax credit then buy out lease to get a larger Colorado tax credit. Perhaps if you don't claim the credit on leasing but claim it later you could use the "used car" rules instead.


Ahh your last idea might work. As it would technically meet the requirement. I was just doing some numbers because I'm crazy like that. If I bought it out , took the tax credit from CO and cashed out the hail damage I would owe ~$12k on a 2013 Leaf with 5k miles...and I have only made 5 monthly payments.
 
MikeinDenver said:
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?

The previous law had language that talked about claiming the remaining unclaimed credit from a leased EV that was purchased used. But you can imagine the complicated paperwork involved. First, you'd have to document what was claimed previously and then have to demonstrate that no other claims had been made. So, in last year's revision they simplified the rule to allow only a single claim the first time the car is registered in Colorado.

Of course what this means in Colorado is that you are better to buy the equivalent used from another state (in order to get the used EV tax credit of 24% of the purchase price) than to buy out your lease. Given that the residual on our 2012 leased LEAF is over $21k there is no way I was buying it anyway, but this fact really made that decision easy. So, I'm extending our lease for a while then I'll likely buy a used 2013 (with all of the improvements) to replace it from out-of-state after this winter.
 
Has anyone else found CO to be slacking on getting out the refund checks this year? I filed mine and the website says it has been processed but no refund issued. It was processed almost a month ago on Feb 12.
 
Perhaps folks can help me out on this one -

I am looking to move to Colorado. My Leaf is about 1 year old (or will be by that time). I wonder if it may be better for me to sell my Leaf here and buy another in Colorado.. or sell it to my wife when she moves there (ha!).

Anyone done numbers along this line? Seems that shipping it to CO will cost me about 1K, I did receive Federal and State rebates when I bought this one so my net cost was about $15K..

How much does the actual rebate work out to if buying a new 2015 S model (with QC) in Colorado?
 
Slow1 said:
Perhaps folks can help me out on this one -

I am looking to move to Colorado. My Leaf is about 1 year old (or will be by that time). I wonder if it may be better for me to sell my Leaf here and buy another in Colorado.. or sell it to my wife when she moves there (ha!).

Anyone done numbers along this line? Seems that shipping it to CO will cost me about 1K, I did receive Federal and State rebates when I bought this one so my net cost was about $15K..

How much does the actual rebate work out to if buying a new 2015 S model (with QC) in Colorado?
The document you want is Income 67 Innovative Motor Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Vehicle Credits, beginning on page 6.

Although it doesn't list the 2015 LEAF (page 17) you can assume that the numbers will be the same as the 2014 LEAF.

The table on page 6 works out as follows:

$28,980 - $7500 = $21,480
$21,480 x 0.24 = $5155.20

So, $5155 would be your approximate state tax credit for a purchase of a new LEAF. Unlike the federal tax credit, the Colorado state tax credit is fully refundable (no need to owe $5155 in state income taxes). If you qualify for the full $7500 federal tax credit then you would get $7500 + $5155 = $12,655 off the purchase of a new LEAF.

The credit for a lease is different and quite a bit less, the last time I checked. If you were to lease you would lose a substantial part of the state tax credit. The credit for a used LEAF purchase (from out of state) uses a different formula than a new purchase. Selling the LEAF to a spouse doesn't sound like it would fly — seems like an abuse of the tax code — but I'm not a legal expert.

Be aware that a new car purchase is subject to sales tax (how much depends on location I think) and the annual registration fee is higher for new cars than for older cars. I paid a bit over $1000 in sales tax (2.9% state sales tax only in my rural county, don't know about urban areas) and around $750 in registration fee in my first year (it was down to $400 in this, the fourth, year). So, shipping the older LEAF would save a bit in sales tax and slightly lower annual registration fee. FWIW.

These numbers are my estimates and are certainly not guaranteed to be accurate. YMMV.
 
dgpcolorado said:
Slow1 said:
Perhaps folks can help me out on this one -

I am looking to move to Colorado. My Leaf is about 1 year old (or will be by that time). I wonder if it may be better for me to sell my Leaf here and buy another in Colorado.. or sell it to my wife when she moves there (ha!).

Anyone done numbers along this line? Seems that shipping it to CO will cost me about 1K, I did receive Federal and State rebates when I bought this one so my net cost was about $15K..

How much does the actual rebate work out to if buying a new 2015 S model (with QC) in Colorado?
The document you want is Income 67 Innovative Motor Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Vehicle Credits, beginning on page 6.

Although it doesn't list the 2015 LEAF (page 17) you can assume that the numbers will be the same as the 2014 LEAF.

The table on page 6 works out as follows:

$28,980 - $7500 = $21,480
$21,480 x 0.24 = $5155.20

So, $5155 would be your approximate state tax credit for a purchase of a new LEAF. Unlike the federal tax credit, the Colorado state tax credit is fully refundable (no need to owe $5155 in state income taxes). If you qualify for the full $7500 federal tax credit then you would get $7500 + $5155 = $12,655 off the purchase of a new LEAF.

The credit for a lease is different and quite a bit less, the last time I checked. If you were to lease you would lose a substantial part of the state tax credit. The credit for a used LEAF purchase (from out of state) uses a different formula than a new purchase. Selling the LEAF to a spouse doesn't sound like it would fly — seems like an abuse of the tax code — but I'm not a legal expert.

Be aware that a new car purchase is subject to sales tax (how much depends on location I think) and the annual registration fee is higher for new cars than for older cars. I paid a bit over $1000 in sales tax (2.9% state sales tax only in my rural county, don't know about urban areas) and around $750 in registration fee in my first year (it was down to $400 in this, the fourth, year). So, shipping the older LEAF would save a bit in sales tax and slightly lower annual registration fee. FWIW.

These numbers are my estimates and are certainly not guaranteed to be accurate. YMMV.

Thanks for the numbers - so assuming the same sales price you listed it looks like my cost would be about $28,980 - 12,665 = $16,315 + sales tax and 'other' fees. I wonder how much lower I could get it with some negotiations... hmm, might be worth it, but sure seems 'on the line'. Then again, I'd still have to sell my current model which might be a tad difficult.
 
Sorry for reviving an old thread.

Currently, NMAC is offering a $5000 customer cash rebate. Does this count as a "rebate" when figuring out the CO credit? Which one is the correct equation assuming $30000MSRP to make the math easier?

1. ($30000 MSRP - $7500 federal credit (although I only qualify for $4000 of that) - $5000NMAC cash) *.24 = 4200
OR
2. ($30000 MSRP - $7500 federal credit) *.24 = 5400

It's $1200 difference so pretty important to me! :)
 
gafortiby said:
Sorry for reviving an old thread.

Currently, NMAC is offering a $5000 customer cash rebate. Does this count as a "rebate" when figuring out the CO credit? Which one is the correct equation assuming $30000MSRP to make the math easier?

1. ($30000 MSRP - $7500 federal credit (although I only qualify for $4000 of that) - $5000NMAC cash) *.24 = 4200
OR
2. ($30000 MSRP - $7500 federal credit) *.24 = 5400

It's $1200 difference so pretty important to me! :)

I think this answers my own question: it appears to only apply to those credits that appear on those websites, so NMAC cash would not be part of the equation.
Credit calculation when the qualifying vehicle is eligible for other grants, credits, or rebates
If a qualifying motor vehicle purchase, lease, or conversion also qualifies for any other grants, credits, or rebates, the other grants, credits, or rebates must be deducted in calculating the Colorado credit, regardless of whether any such grants, credits, or rebates are actually claimed or received. Other grants, credits, or rebates that must be deducted include any available federal grants, credits, or rebates. Information regarding alternative fuel vehicle grants, credits, and rebates can be found online at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/taxcenter.shtml and www.afdc.energy.gov/laws/fed_summary
 
gafortiby said:
I think this answers my own question: it appears to only apply to those credits that appear on those websites, so NMAC cash would not be part of the equation.
You might want to check the actual tax form:
https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/DR0617.pdf

Line 9 Any other grants, credits, or rebates for which the purchaser, lessor,
or lessee is eligible
. The instructions for Line 9 say "Enter any other grants, credits or rebates (including any manufacturer’s rebates) for which the purchaser, lessor or lessee is eligible."
 
Thanks!

That line 9 instruction is the only place where the description is explicit. So that settles the question very clearly.

For the SL trim it doesn't matter since you hit the $6000 ceiling either way, but it does matter for the S trim.
 
Yeah, I forgot to include my 3500 NMAC cash on my form and it delayed my rebate and they ended up correcting the form for me to include that as a rebate when calculating my credit.

Also, keep in mind the MSRP to use on the form is for the base trim level regardless of whether you get the S, SV, or SL.
 
Nfuzzy said:
Yeah, I forgot to include my 3500 NMAC cash on my form and it delayed my rebate and they ended up correcting the form for me to include that as a rebate when calculating my credit.

Also, keep in mind the MSRP to use on the form is for the base trim level regardless of whether you get the S, SV, or SL.

Oh this is good to know. So I need to use the "starting from" MSRP... That does throw off my calculations a bit! :( Is it the "BASE" MSRP or the real MSRP that includes destination and handling?
 
I used base MSRP FWIW.

Rebate will be almost 2000 more on the 30kwh '16 model (full 6k rebate) if you want to wait for one of those in another month or so! :)
 
Did anyone else have any experience with the NMAC rebate? For me that was just automatically part of the sale and I didn't even consider it a rebate, but looking at my invoice it clearly says rebate so I'm trying to understand if I should risk not including it. It's about an $800 difference and I'd be fine with the delay if it meant a chance at getting that $800.
 
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