How to obtain Georgia ZEV certificate to claim 5K Tax Credit

This is from a post in the "Anyone in Georgia" thread.

To claim the $5,000 income tax credit for Zero emission Vehicle in Georgia, you need to mail the approved LEV/ZEV certificate with your taxes; this form has to be signed by the Environmental Protection Division.

First, you need the form: if the dealer does not have it, download it from here: http://www.georgiaepd.org/Files_PDF/forms/apb/apb_LEVZEVTAX.pdf and print in in color.

Mail the following documents to the address below:

-LEV/ZEV form, completed and signed
-A copy of your purchase or lease contract
-A copy of the registration
-Pictures of the car from the front, back and side (the license plate must be attached and legible in the picture)

Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Environmental Protection Division
Mobile and Area Source Program - LEV/ZEV Certification
Att: Harry Parikh
4244 International Parkway, Suite 136
Atlanta, GA 30354

They will verify the information, sign the form and mail it back to you.

A copy of the approved form needs to be mailed with the income tax form when we file our taxes in order to receive the credit.


EDIT: Your tax professional (or you, if you prepare your own tax return) will use the Schedule 2 in the form GA-500 to claim the credit.

I sent the form and supporting documents yesterday; let's see how long it takes to get the signed form back.

Did you also get Alternate Fuel Vehicle plates so you can drive in the HOV lanes?

I did not get the AFV plates as there are no HOV lanes west of Atlanta and the ones in downtown are still accessible for 2+ occupants (I ride in the car with my wife 99% of the time)

Wow, $5K back; but in the form of a tax credit, just curious -- assume that this is off your GA state income taxes, what is your income tax rate?; I mean unless it's say 5% and you make 100K you wouldn't have enough state income taxes to be offset unless they refund it anyway if it exceeds what you've already paid in taxes? It seems all the states do this differently, here in IL we get a 10% off MSRP up to $4K but it comes back to us as a check along with having to fill out a W-9 that assumes we'll get a 1099 form to claim it as income on our federal returns as income for the following year. As with the Federal tax credit (unless you lease it) the income level on some of these programs is more on the high side --- before the comments, I know the fed program has been debated a lot, just asking our GA LEAF buyers as I have some relatives down there who may ask me ...

The GA tax rebate requires you had a tax liability of $5000 for the year.
Unless you make over 100k, you likely won't have that high a liability.

The good news is: Unlike the Fed Credit, you can carry the remainder over to subsequent years. So if your GA tax liability was only 3k this year, you can apply the 2k to the following year's taxes.


I went to the tag office in South Fulton this morning and when I asked for the AFV plates they looked at me like I had two heads. Eventually they figured it out (I showed them a picture of the tag from the GDOT website via my smartphone) and they processed my application. They don't stock these plates in the office, so I'll receive mine via mail.

widgetboy's answer is correct!

It seems that the EPD received, processed and sent the form back the same day; I received it today after 4 business days.

Now, to wait for those W-2's to file our taxes...

Any idea how this works for a lease? I have contacted my dealer and am waiting for them to call me back with the answer, but figured I would post the question here as well.

I leased as well.

You need to send the documents that I listed in the first post in this thread, one of them is the lease contract. You can also download the GA LEV/ZEV form from the link in that post.

(BTW, they returned my self-addressed envelope, so, just send the documents and they will send your dated and signed certificate back by mail)

For some reason, the link to the form in the first post lost its marbles and was not working; I edited it so it works again.

So, assuming you have $5000 in state tax liabilities, in what form will one recieve the $5000 "credit"?

gergg said:

So, assuming you have $5000 in state tax liabilities, in what form will one recieve the $5000 "credit"?

Click to expand...

In the form that it reduces your tax liability to zero, therefore, all the income tax you have paid to the State for the year will be returned.

i.e: Assuming a tax liability of exactly $5,000, and having paid anything above that, say $5,800 (most us us pay more than our liability will be to avoid penalties for under-payment; which is the reason why we get a "refund" when we file our taxes).

Your tax liability will be reduced by $5,000 to zero.

Your refund will be $5,800, which is what you had paid.

In the form that it reduces your tax liability to zero, therefore, all the income tax you have paid to the State for the year will be returned.

i.e: Assuming a tax liability of exactly $5,000, and having paid anything above that, say $5,800 (most us us pay more than our liability will be to avoid penalties for under-payment; which is the reason why we get a "refund" when we file our taxes).

Your tax liability will be reduced by $5,000 to zero.

Your refund will be $5,800, which is what you had paid.

Click to expand...

Figured/hoped that is the way it worked, thanks!

Have anyone gotten the GA tax credit form without having to submit pictures?

There is no such requirement on the web site. In addition to the color form, it requires a copy of the sales receipt and the copy of the tag receipt.

I did request the ALT Fuel tag which I expect to get in about two weeks. I will definitely need that access to the HOT and HOV lanes on days I need to fly out of ATL. Other than PEACHY - has anyone found other extended parking with access to free charging?

I got mine back about two weeks ago. I did not send pictures. It took them two weeks to get it back to me from the time I sent it in till I received it.

The tax rule states "20% of the vehicle cost or $5,000 tax credit is allowed for the purchase or lease"

This makes sense for purchase but do I claim $5,000 on a lease too? If not what would I claim. $5,000 on a lease just seems wrong.

Anyone have any better understanding of the tax law?

Does anyone else pay quarterly self employment tax and know how that works? We are wondering whether we can just skip our quarterly payment and then send in the form at the end when the yearly payment is due. It won't be over $5000 just for 2013.

ETA: we have googled the heck out of this and it appears that if you are self employed, you submit the form when you pay your quarterly payment for the year you bought or leased the car. You do not pay for anything that the credit does not cover, as in, our payment is $750 per quarter and obviously that is less than $5000. Hope that makes sense and if anyone has any additional information, please let us know!

The GA tax credit for a lease is definitely $5000. You do not get a federal tax credit for a lease. I did see that you do get a 10% tax credit for your charger plus installation, which I didn't know. Not a ton of cash for us but every little bit helps!

Thanks, the one thing I noticed about the charger credit is that it is only available to businesses.

Anyone know if you can claim the credit for two vehicles? I own a LEAF and am considering leasing a 2nd. I still have tax credit rolling over from my 1st LEAF — would I be able to claim the 2nd vehicle, come next tax season?