Question about tax credits, rebates, and other incentives

[Blastphemy]

In reading through this forum and the Chevrolet website, I have found the following incentives for buying a 2012 Volt in Los Angeles, California:

1) $7,500 Federal tax credit
2) $1,500 California rebate
3) Solo access to carpool lanes
4) LADWP home charger rebate and lower EV charging rates
5) Free home 240v EV charger

My questions are thus:

1) Is the $7,500 applied to taxes owed for the year in which you purchased the Volt, or is it a credit against total annual household income? If a dollar-for-dollar credit against taxes owed, what if I'm getting a refund? Does everyone get a full $7,500 or is it prorated on some predefined scale? When is the program estimated to end (i.e., how long do I have before I lose this opportunity)?

2) The description of this CA incentive sounds like the state sends the buyer a check after applying. Is that correct? When is the program estimated to end (i.e., how long do I have before I lose this opportunity)?

3) How many HOV stickers are available? Does this program apply to all low-emission vehicles? When is the program estimated to run out of Volt stickers?

4) Has anyone done this with the LADWP? How much lower are the EV charging rates?

5) Has anyone done this? Was the installation truly free? Was the installed charger a generic brand, or the one supplied by Chevrolet if you buy it from them?

For your reference, here are the links:

1) http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/taxphevb.shtml
2) https://energycenter.org/index.php/i...rebate-project
3) http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/carpool/carpool.htm
4) https://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/faces/la...e=lzd43rz2o_29
5) http://www.theevproject.com/overview.php and https://homecharging.spx.com/volt/Di...id=29&menu=21?

Thank you!

[tboult]

I'll answer the first. Its applied to taxes libaility. Does not matter if you owe then a check or they owe you a refund. It depends on your tax liability so if your total tax, (not including the withdraw you already paid during the year) is > 7500 you get the full credit. For a single person that means you need to make about 45k (this is from memory.. there is a thread here where I did the computation if you are close). You don't have to wait to get it, if you change your deduction at work, you can get a little more back each month and then you would normally own 7500 in taxes in april (which would incur a penalty), but now you can break even.

Don't know about the cali stuff..

[solar_dave]

1. The Federal tax credit is for taxes owed in the year of purchase. It you have $7500 withheld, and you get nothing back normally you will then get to apply the credit and get your $7500 back as a credit on your tax liability.

5. The chargers are usually brand name but not done by Chevrolet.

[Blastphemy]

The Federal tax credit pages states, "The credit begins to phase out for vehicles at the beginning of the second calendar quarter after the manufacturer produces 200,000 eligible plug-in electric vehicles (i.e., plug-in hybrids and EVs) as counted from January 1, 2010." Do we know how many Volts have been produced by Chevrolet? And do we know how many are produced monthly? Then, at least, I can do some rough math and estimate when this credit will end.

[solar_dave]

The Federal tax credit pages states, "The credit begins to phase out for vehicles at the beginning of the second calendar quarter after the manufacturer produces 200,000 eligible plug-in electric vehicles (i.e., plug-in hybrids and EVs) as counted from January 1, 2010." Do we know how many Volts have been produced by Chevrolet? And do we know how many are produced monthly? Then, at least, I can do some rough math and estimate when this credit will end.

If you search around the site for sales numbers you wills find the best month was 2300 ish. We are Long way from 200K. I would be more worried about the law changing first.

[DonC]

2. Yes you get a check in the mail. You have to own or lease for three years from the date of purchase. No flipping.
3. 40,000. No sweat at this point. The sticker expires Jan 1 2014 without extensions.
5. You get the charger and an installation allowance. Mine was free. I was eligible for a second one but it would have been $1000 above the install cost so I passed.

[Blastphemy]

3. 40,000. No sweat at this point. The sticker expires Jan 1 2014 without extensions.

Are you saying the availability of stickers ends on Jan 1, 2014 or that the stickers only let one drive solo in the carpool lane until Jan 1, 2014?

[DonC]

Oops. That would be 1 January 2015 not 2014. Stickers expire then. But they'll probably be extended for a couple of years since there won't be many white stickers on the road. You can read about this here: http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/carpool/carpool.htm

[SPX EVSupport]

Blastphemy, The units available in the DOE program are the ECOtality Blink and the Coulomb ChargePoint (not generic units). Installation costs will vary depending on your individual situation and the electrical configuration of your home. I encourage you to register and complete the pre-installation survey https://homecharging.spx.com/volt/Register.aspx. Then SPX will send a certified contractor to your home to complete an onsite estimate, free of cost to you. Please call us at 1-877-805-3873. ~Charlie, SPX EV Team