Tax Credit, read before you buy

[boogie]

So, if you are looking to buy and wondering if you'll receive the full $7,500 tax credit look at your tax return from 2011. If nothing much has changed in you income or tax withholding then look at line 44 of your 1040. This line shows how much tax you have paid to the US Treasury for that tax year. If the line is greater than or equal to $7,500 you have no worries, you should be entitled to the full tax credit. If that line is under $7,500 then you are only eligible to recoup the amount of line 44.

So, line 44 is $10,000, you receive the full $7,500.

Line 44 is $5,000, you receive only $5,000.

The tax credit only allows you to recoup an amount up to $7,500 that you have paid the US Treasury during that tax year.

If you income does not allow for the full tax credit then the lease option may be the better option for you since the credit can be applied to the lease.

Good luck on getting your Volt! Hope this has helped your calculus.

I am not a professional tax representative or agent....work was completed using internet research on IRS website and Turbo Tax gaming.

Oh yeah.....we just purchased our new 2012 Volt this week. Boogie-woogie-woogie-woogie!

[Cheezmo]

No, but the lease terms are better than you would receive on a similarly priced car because the leasing bank does get the credit and passes it on (mostly) by either a cap reduction ("lease cash") and/or a higher residual.

[DonC]

Congrats on your new car. I think you'll love it.

[ronk]

Let me check, humm, mine reads 0. I better get a job.

[Cheezmo]

The first word of my post was "No", as in "No, you can not apply for the credit". Hope that is more clear?

Many of us leased specifically because we could not get the tax credit (acquiring 3 EV's this year would have made that VERY difficult for me, without some kind of windfall!), and the lease terms are better than normal given the creditors ability to take advantage of the credit. I wasn't aware that there were areas where the lease terms did not include some benefit from the bank taking the credit. (other than the normal dealer trying to pull a fast one on you).

I don't think we should advertise this as a "given". An individual leasing company may or may not be able to claim the tax credit and pass on the credit via a reduced lease cost.

I want to make sure that people don't think they can lease the Volt for 24 months or 36 months and claim the $7500 federal tax credit. Leasing can be confusing enough.

[Cord]

with all the tax credit threads on the forum I find it strange only 3 show in the similar threads area.

[jbfalaska]

Lease for you Ron.

[jbfalaska]

We should get the full $7500. I'm going again late next year, or 1 Jan 2014 before some JackAnkle politician kills off support for EVs, yet decides to continue oil companies ventures to import more foreign oil. I'm all in on this.