Colorado makes EV tax rebate a rebate at point of purchase

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_29905113/new-way-buy-electric-cars-would-offer-5.html

The good news for Nissan is that is sounds like the base model Leaf gets the full $5000 rebate starting next year. Prior to this bill, there was a formula based on KwH of the battery, now is sounds like if the vehicle is designated as an "alternate fuel vehicle", it gets the full $5000 from the state, and the dealer can knock it off the price at the time of sale and apply for it from the state for the buyer. Much better than having to wait for a tax refund, and it also sounds like everyone gets the rebate now, rather than it being based on a State Income Tax credit.

The bad news for Nissan is that it sounds like the plug-in Prius, the Volt, the C-Max and all of the other plug-in hybrids also now qualify for the full $5000. I'm still in for a 2018 Volt if prices of them drop as expected, due to the usual third year lowered demand.

Combined with some local incentives in Boulder, after the first of the year you should be able to get a brand new Leaf S out the door for about $10,000+taxes, etc.. Today your net is about $11,500 but you have to wait for your state tax refund.

Interesting. The bad news for me is that the current $6000 credit is reduced to $5000 (although since it takes effect next year it doesn't affect my used Model S purchase this year). The good news from the perspective of increasing EV sales is that the point of sale incentive is simple and easy to understand. (But does it apply to used cars, as the current one does?) And it will sure make things easier for taxpayers and the DOR.

dgpcolorado said:

Interesting. The bad news for me is that the current $6000 credit is reduced to $5000 (although since it takes effect next year it doesn't affect my used Model S purchase this year). The good news from the perspective of increasing EV sales is that the point of sale incentive is simple and easy to understand. (But does it apply to used cars, as the current one does?) And it will sure make things easier for taxpayers and the DOR.

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Well, the article is in the Denver Post, so there is very little actual information. Sorry for the editorial comment, but that rag has fallen to about the reporting level of a high school newspaper.

I looked at the actual bill, House Bill 16-1332, and it looks like they are ending the rebate on used EVs. The bill clearly states that the rebate applies only to a new vehicle unless it is a conversion. Yes, CO will pay you to convert your car to an EV. GreenEyed Motors in Boulder is crying Green Tears right now, I'm sure. They have built their entire business on bringing used EVs in from other states. I'm guessing that won't be much of a business model if a buyer can't get the state rebate.

The rebate goes to $5000 on January 1, 2017, down to $4000 on January 1, 2020, and down to $2500 on January 1, 2021. It phases out completely on January 1, 2022. The rebates for leases have been cut to $2500 as of January 1, 2017, and they also gradually taper until they are gone on January 1, 2022. The net is that while this makes it a little easier on the customer, there is LESS of a rebate than there is today if you pay over $6000 in state income tax, or if you lease.

Why do they have to make this so complicated? Welcome to the Colorado Legislature. There are actually over a dozen Categories and sub-categories of vehicles talked about in the bill but NOWHERE in the bill does it define the attributes that make a vehicle a Category 1, 1A, 2, 7, 9, etc. Categories are already defined in a CRS somewhere, so you have to track it down. Most EVs or plug-ins are Category 1.

It is all beyond dumb how they have to make this so complicated.

Bottom line: If you want to buy a used EV and get a rebate, you must do that before the end of the year. If you pay more than $6000 a year in state income tax, you may be better off buying this year. If you lease, you will be better off buying this year.

If you don't want to bother with waiting for a tax rebate, or if you are buying an EV or plug-in that currently nets you less than $5000 under "the formula", wait until next year.

leafdecision said:

...I looked at the actual bill, House Bill 16-1332, and it looks like they are ending the rebate on used EVs. The bill clearly states that the rebate applies only to a new vehicle unless it is a conversion. Yes, CO will pay you to convert your car to an EV. GreenEyed Motors in Boulder is crying Green Tears right now, I'm sure. They have built their entire business on bringing used EVs in from other states. I'm guessing that won't be much of a business model if a buyer can't get the state rebate...

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Yes, I also skimmed the bill and agree that used EVs are no longer included.

...Bottom line: If you want to buy a used EV and get a rebate, you must do that before the end of the year. If you pay more than $6000 a year in state income tax, you may be better off buying this year. If you lease, you will be better off buying this year.

If you don't want to bother with waiting for a tax rebate, or if you are buying an EV or plug-in that currently nets you less than $5000 under "the formula", wait until next year.

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The current tax credit has nothing to do with how much state income tax one pays since it is fully refundable, unlike the federal tax credit.

We just bought our new Leaf in Boulder a couple of weeks ago after doing the math and figuring that we could maximize the refundable CO state tax rebate and the federal tax credit. But getting that $5000 up front would have been nice instead of waiting for the state tax rebate, as long as the local (Boulder county) incentives would still be still in place. It remains to be seen if they will hold or if they might decrease after Jan 1 2017.

Does anyone know if CO will let you use the higher base MSRP for the 30 kwh battery when doing the calculations? Right now, you would use the base S model MSRP in the calculations but that doesn't make any sense for 2016 where the S was 24kwh and the SV is 30. I would think you use the base price of the SV model in the calculations. Anyone come across this yet?

Anyone in co want to buy a car and resell it immediately for a $500 profit?

Leafdom said:

Does anyone know if CO will let you use the higher base MSRP for the 30 kwh battery when doing the calculations? Right now, you would use the base S model MSRP in the calculations but that doesn't make any sense for 2016 where the S was 24kwh and the SV is 30. I would think you use the base price of the SV model in the calculations. Anyone come across this yet?

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It doesn't really matter. The rebate is 30% (based on battery size) times MSRP. So any MSRP over $20,000 would exceed the $6000 cap. (Even the S model caps out at $25,000 MSRP.)

I need to amend the previous post. Those numbers should be after deducting the $7500 federal credit. So if the MSRP is $27,500, then the credit is $20,000 x 30% = $6000. So a 24kWh battery at the entry MSRP of $29,010 would have a CO tax credit of $5162.

Ok thanks, I didn't think that through, but given the larger battery size it seems to make the issue moot. Just use the MSRP for lowest price model and multiply, should work. Tough this year, they now have a S24 and an S30, so which to use in the calculation? I think just use the lower one otherwise your taxes will probably be sent back.