Staggering buying an EV and EV charger - eviltoast

Something to consider:

Everyone knows about the US tax incentives for buying an EV, but less considered is the incentives for buying an EV charger.

The incentives come in the form of a tax credit, up to the maximum of $7,500/$4,000 or how much you owe in taxes (pre withholdings and the like) whichever is lower. The charger credit is up to $1,000.

So, if your taxes are, say, $3,000, then it doesn’t matter if you bought a new or used EV, you’re only getting $3,000 off your taxes, and your charger credit is effectively worthless.

Consider, if practical, buying your EV towards the end of the tax year, and your charger at the beginning of the next one. You’ll minimize the inconvenience of being locked to level 1 charging speeds, while maximizing your tax credits.

Obviously, if you need a level 2 charger you shouldn’t self sabotage and should just buy one. But if you’re counting your pennies, and think you can get by with level 1 for that window, then it’s something to keep in mind.

  • XeroxCool@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    This is the math people should look at instead of using an emotional reaction saying “EVs don’t work”

    The 2023 average USA Ev range is 291 miles. The average USA commute distance is 41 miles round trip. Right there, the average EV will make 7 average work commutes before needing a full charge. As you said, the weekend is a likely place to make up a deficit.

    But what if you also do a trip on the weekend? Forbes has some aggregated stats we can use. As of 2021, 91% of US households had a car. 59% had more than one car. I would expect the single-car households are more central to cities which pair with shorter car commutes and a higher rate of non-car commutes. The 5 lowest metro area ownership rates span the metro areas from Boston to Philly. In all likelihood, swapping one car for an EV per household would go completely unnoticed - it’d never stop someone from reaching their destination.

    Common arguments:
    “I buy mulch at home depot” [once a year]
    “I might do a road trip” [forgetting how boring it was to drive 6+ hours at a time 7 years ago]
    “this is my vehicls, not hers” [yelled from a offroad rig that hops a curb in traffic]
    “most of America is desolate” [95% of Americans live within 100 miles of a border, a fun Border Patrol jurisdiction loophole]