Why We Moved to a Chevy Bolt from a Nissan Leaf

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GetOffYourGas said:
Actually, you have to have the money in Traditional IRAs which you then convert to Roth IRAs. I think I'm going to do this just to be safe - I will be kicking myself if I only get a part of that $7500 for the Bolt I bought this year.

I just got up, but I swear I've seen several times that the money has to be in Roth IRAs. Oh well, it doesn't affect me!
 
This is all speculation:

Why will I move to a 2017-2018 Chevy Bolt?

Because years from now the new EV's will have even longer ranges, charge much more quickly ane cost much less than even ICEV's. This will cause cars like the Bolt to depreciate greatly. Also, since Nissan has been keeping a one-size-fits-all battery approach someone will eventually invent an aftermarket high capacity (+90Kw) Leaf battery, using the newest technology of that time, that fits every Leaf ever made. This will likely happen be someone invents something like that for other older EV's, like the Bolt, which in turn will make used Leaf prices go up and used Bolt prices go down even further.

It will be at that time when I'll be able to afford a Bolt. Either that or I'll get the 90kW aftermarket battery and put it in my Leaf.
 
With a Traditional IRA, no taxes are paid on money put in (you claim contributions on your tax return), but you pay taxes when you withdraw. With a Roth IRA, taxes are paid on money going in, but you withdraw the money (and gains!) tax-free.

Therefore when you transfer from a Traditional to a Roth, you take untaxed money and incur the taxes on it today. The obvious benefit is the ability to therefore collect the full (non-refundable) $7500 tax credit.
 
Other tax opportunities include taking your profit on any stocks you may own. For instance, I could cash out the TSLA stock I own, creating a taxable event for capital gains, of which would be beneficial to increase what I would get back from the EV tax credit. I've messaged my representatives but of course they gave generic responses about the tax bill, not even addressing the specific portion of the bill of which I wrote about. :roll:

Edit: You don't have to exit your investment if you're just wanting to sell for tax purposes.. Just sell the stock then buy it back the next day.
 
powersurge said:
Also, the poster appeared to complain that he was inconvenienced in needing to charge the car every few days.... Is that unreasonable??
As I posted at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=387710#p387710, a former coworker of mine wanted a 400 (!) mile range EV even though his commute was only ~12 miles each way. I posted his reasons there.

That guy left the company and ended up later leasing a 107 mile EPA range '16 Leaf. Haha. He also had access to free charging at his new work (just like at my current and his former work) but I think he mainly wanted it because his commute as going to TERRIBLE and thus the CA HOV stickers would help.

Not sure what's going on w/the car now as he left that company and went back to Taiwan for some (blockchain? crypto-currency?) startup. AFAIK, his wife remains in the SF Bay Area, where she works.
 
IssacZachary said:
Thanks! That definitely ends my own personal aspiration of buying a new long distance EV such as a Bolt. I had to take a wage cut and am definitely not going to owe that much to the IRS.
Your income is low enough that you don't have have at least $7500 of tax liability? I'm not talking about how much you might pay when you file your taxes in April. You need to include the amount of Federal tax withheld (and thus being paid to the govt). This assumes that you aren't significantly over-withholding though.

As others have suggested, one could create more tax liability by generating taxable events such as by converting some traditional IRA $ into a Roth IRA (https://www.fidelity.com/tax-information/tax-topics/roth-conversion).
 
I think you'd be surprised at how many of us can't use the tax credit to buy a car. I'm retired, and most of my pension and Disability isn't taxed, so I owe about $1k a year. My housemate, even when she was working at a good government managerial job, never owed anywhere near $7500 in taxes. Maybe half that...
 
cwerdna said:
IssacZachary said:
Thanks! That definitely ends my own personal aspiration of buying a new long distance EV such as a Bolt. I had to take a wage cut and am definitely not going to owe that much to the IRS.
Your income is low enough that you don't have have at least $7500 of tax liability? I'm not talking about how much you might pay when you file your taxes in April. You need to include the amount of Federal tax withheld (and thus being paid to the govt). This assumes that you aren't significantly over-withholding though.

As others have suggested, one could create more tax liability by generating taxable events such as by converting some traditional IRA $ into a Roth IRA (https://www.fidelity.com/tax-information/tax-topics/roth-conversion).
Closer to $5,000 to $6,000 total. And no IRA's. I'm guessing I'd still get at least that back? The Leaf is the most expensive car I've ever had. But it sure is cheaper paying $15 per month in electricity than $200 in gasoline.
 
IssacZachary said:
cwerdna said:
IssacZachary said:
Thanks! That definitely ends my own personal aspiration of buying a new long distance EV such as a Bolt. I had to take a wage cut and am definitely not going to owe that much to the IRS.
Your income is low enough that you don't have have at least $7500 of tax liability? I'm not talking about how much you might pay when you file your taxes in April. You need to include the amount of Federal tax withheld (and thus being paid to the govt). This assumes that you aren't significantly over-withholding though.

As others have suggested, one could create more tax liability by generating taxable events such as by converting some traditional IRA $ into a Roth IRA (https://www.fidelity.com/tax-information/tax-topics/roth-conversion).
Closer to $5,000 to $6,000 total. And no IRA's. I'm guessing I'd still get at least that back?
Yes. You just won't get any more than that of the credit. And, any remaining credit can't be carried over to the next tax year.

And, if the EV tax credit is killed in the final Senate and House reconciled version, it'll be a moot point.

You may want to consider contributing to an deductible IRA (https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/ira-deduction-limits). My income is WAY over the limit, so I can't deduct but I contribute anyway, besides also maxing out my 401(k) contributions.
 
LeftieBiker said:
I think you'd be surprised at how many of us can't use the tax credit to buy a car. I'm retired, and most of my pension and Disability isn't taxed, so I owe about $1k a year. My housemate, even when she was working at a good government managerial job, never owed anywhere near $7500 in taxes. Maybe half that...

She either doesn't make much money, or she has a TON of deductions. My father, living on just his retirement income (pensions and social security, no IRA's), still pays about $4k/year in income taxes just to the Feds alone. He lives alone (Mom died years ago) and his home is paid off.

According to https://smartasset.com/taxes/income-taxes#DGtsCEeSaQ, a single filer taking the standard deduction and personal deduction and making about $58k/year will just hit the $7500 threshold. Median income in NY state was a bit over $60k in 2015.
 
In any case it's irrelevant. If she did had that much tax owed she still has no desire to own a BEV, and you can't own one jointly. My income is very far below $58k.
 
It's relevant because making the US median wage of about $59k (for 2016) puts you pretty close to the threshold, if you're a single filer with no itemized deductions. You don't have to make a lot of money to be taxed that much.
 
Going back to Bolt discussion: I sat in a Bolt at the LA Auto Show earlier this week. I specifically wanted to check out the seats to see if they're as bad as some folks say.

A bit of background: I'm short and stocky. And the reports of the seats being uncomfortable for us "wider" folks appears to be true, and I think I figured out why.

It's more than just the narrowness of the seats; most seats get wider when going from back to front, but the Bolt's seats seem to be pretty close to the same width at the front as they are at the back. They're fine at the butt, but are uncomfortable for my lower thighs as the relatively stiff contouring of the seats tends to dig in there, just behind the knees. If this bolstering was a bit softer it may not be as uncomfortable.

So if you're thin and female, you probably won't have an issue. If you are a male and don't "manspread" then you probably won't have an issue. Larger guys like myself might find it uncomfortable though. Definitely take a test drive and sit in one for as long as you possibly can if you fit into this last category.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Did you feel the over-long bolt sticking into the left side of the seat at the driver's thigh, or have they maybe finally fixed that?

Leftie, I haven't felt that bolt. It may be there but the rest of the seat's contours overwhelm that sensation.

My conclusion is that the seats are "tolerable." They are clearly defective in design or manufacturing, but tolerable. I've driven it for a week with a auto cushion memory foam and a back support. I am driving it now with out either. The car is easier to use as a tool without all that stuff.

Entering and exiting, because of that hard plastic bolster is difficult using the swing both legs over the sill technique. Again, I've learned to accommodate. I pull myself in with the steering wheel and I pull myself up and out with the steering wheel. That technique works without back pain and without hitting the back of my leg on the plastic bolster.

We've driven two one-hour segments without pain or problems. We'll try some longer trips probably in February.

I agree with one poster that the seats seem mis-designed. And no, I don't plan to take them apart to modify them. I don't trust my skills to do that.

Paul
 
I felt the overlong bolt in the car I drove, but also found the seats tolerable otherwise. The padding fix I helped come up with, plus fixing the bolt, would likely make the seats "just OK" for me.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Did you feel the over-long bolt sticking into the left side of the seat at the driver's thigh, or have they maybe finally fixed that?

I sat in the front passenger seat (someone else was already in driver's seat) and both thighs were getting "poked" but it felt more like it was due to the hard bolstering combined with a narrower-than-usual front edge of the seat than anything metallic.
 
paulgipe said:
Leftie, I haven't felt that bolt. It may be there but the rest of the seat's contours overwhelm that sensation.

My conclusion is that the seats are "tolerable." They are clearly defective in design or manufacturing, but tolerable. I've driven it for a week with a auto cushion memory foam and a back support. I am driving it now with out either. The car is easier to use as a tool without all that stuff.

Entering and exiting, because of that hard plastic bolster is difficult using the swing both legs over the sill technique. Again, I've learned to accommodate. I pull myself in with the steering wheel and I pull myself up and out with the steering wheel. That technique works without back pain and without hitting the back of my leg on the plastic bolster.

We've driven two one-hour segments without pain or problems. We'll try some longer trips probably in February.

I agree with one poster that the seats seem mis-designed. And no, I don't plan to take them apart to modify them. I don't trust my skills to do that.

Looking at your avatar, you look like a relatively thin person, and that could be why it doesn't bother you as much as someone like myself.

I wonder if GM engineers specifically designed those seats to fit around Mary Barra and nobody else :lol:
 
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