Prius Prime Preliminary State Tax Credit Discussion

Not that I know of. I am pretty sure that it is a non-taxable item, like a rebate.

 

How did you get $3500?
I thought it was $1500 California.

 

It's only for low-income buyers. Some people register their vehicles under the name of a nonworking relative to be able to get the additional rebate.

 

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has started a new $1,500 rebate program for used EV's. The vehicle needs to be at least two-years-old; so, it applies to 2017 Prius Prime. If your residence is served by LA DWP, even if you don't have an account, you're qualified.

https://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/faces/wcnav_externalId/r-sm-rp-usedev

 

Low to moderate income is $3500 for PHEV. But it's expiring on 12/3 because the Prime's EV range is not 35 miles.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.latimes.com/business/autos/story/2019-11-13/california-pulls-back-clean-vehicle-rebates-to-point-them-at-lower-income-buyers%3f_amp=true

 

What income do you need for a family of 5? Married filling jointly and 3 children.
Is it a different rebate form?

 

/\ It says here below $90,510.

Income Eligibility | Clean Vehicle Rebate Project

 

so stupid .... you couldn't afford a one-room Bachelor Studio in the san fran Bay Area ... even making $10K more than that paltry $90K. The rule fails because it doesn't allow for areas where cost of living may be 3X more than some other areas.
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I hear you, but I bet 90% of people who live in San Francisco don't make over $90k.

 

Massachusetts has reintroduced a 1500$ PHEV rebate after getting rid of it last year (MOR-EV | MOR-EV is a statewide program that issues up to $1,500 in rebates for plug-in electric vehicle buyers)

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) with a sales price under $50,000 and an all-electric range of 25+ miles are eligible for a $1,500 rebate.​

They haven't updated their eligibility list, but I assume this includes the Prius Prime?

 

If you buy certified prius prime, do you qualify for state tax or the car has to be new?

 

seeing that most models come out 2 or 3 months before the end of the year, even the 2018 Prime would apply - not even counting that it's 2020 now.

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free tax advice (don't forget, you know what they say, you get what you pay for ) rebates are not held to be income, rather a return of monies previously paid - even tho it's not returned from the entities that you paid.

Link?

Respectfully disagree. Consider the hypothetical example below;
I'm a Scofflaw and didn't earn a single lick last year. Thus I owed no tax. How do I get a tax 'rebate' when I didn't even work & didn't pay tax. Now pretend that no work / no tax example goes up and I earn virtually no income. I earn $500? Now I'm going to get a rebate of $1,000 or more?
Obviously, there is nothing in the code that says you get a tax rebate even if you only earn 5 or 20 or a hundred or thousand dollars before you get a 'rebate' of thousands, even though your liability may only be 50 or $100.
You have to owe the tax at the time you file - not have it already paid. If you already paid, you don't owe. That's why for business purposes (ONLY), if you only owe $50 (because you properly make your quarterly payments) the rule says you can carry over tax rebates one year .... because you didn't 'owe' tax, in the current year, if you made the appropriate quarterly payments.
btw - NO one should believe anyone online about tax liability whether they say yes or no, because only tax attorneys can legally be relied upon for screw-ups.
.

 

The form 8936 credit is nonrefundable, meaning the amount of the credit cannot exceed a taxpayer's tax liability and you cannot carry the excess forward for use in future years.

It does not matter how much you prepaid in taxes (quarterly estimated payments etc), so long as your total liability for the year exceeds $4502. If your liability was less than $4502 you lose the excess and cannot carry it forward to the next year.

Used it on our 2018 Prime Premium and will use it on the 2020 Prime Limited we have on order.

 

Is anyone else getting asked for some sort of credit certification letter? I'm filing with H&R Block and they want me to go to the certification letter I got from the dealer (I didn't get one) to get the potential tax credit figure. I'm assuming from reading this thread that it's the $4,500 number but ... How do I know for sure, and do I really need a letter?

This is for federal, not state.

Thanks!

 

Nope, just need a bill of sale. The 2019 tax year IRS 8936 isn't on the IRS site yet, so some programs might need updating:

"This form, instruction, or publication is being revised to reflect legislation enacted December 20, 2019. The updated revision will be posted here as soon as possible. We apologize for the delay and inconvenience. The most recently issued final revision begins on the next page, but, again, is being updated to reflect recent legislation."

From the IRS site:

The following requirements must be met to qualify for the credit:

•You are the owner of the vehicle. If the vehicle is leased, only the lessor and not the lessee, is entitled to the credit.
•You placed the vehicle in service during your tax year.
•The vehicle is manufactured primarily for use on public streets, roads, and highways.
•The original use of the vehicle began with you.
•You acquired the vehicle for use or to lease to others, and not for resale.
•You use the vehicle primarily in the United States

 

Brilliant, great info y'all. Thank you!

 

And that's why I specifically bolded the word 'owe' and said to use the word tax liability. People have different definitions of the word 'owe' when it comes to taxes.

 

For MA users: MOREV updated its website and the Prius Prime is now officially listed as eligible: Eligible Vehicles List | MOR-EV

Note that this incentive comes with strings attached. You need to own the car for 3years, else you need to pay it pack.

 

I'm confused on IRS 8936 part II line 5 instructions. They want me to tell them the % of use for "income generating" for the car and only claim credit for that amount.

Does that mean if I'm not a business owner or Rideshare Driver I can't claim anything?

Is this just something everyone claims 100% anyways? Why does the IRS care about what % is for "income generating" besides commuting?

Also, I bought it in mid-Dec 2019. Do I need to claim it all on my 2019 IRS tax, and will it be OK to claim $4502 for less than even full month?


Instructions for Form 8936 (2019) | Internal Revenue Service
"
Line 5
Enter the percentage of business/investment use.

Enter 100% if the vehicle is used solely for business purposes or you are claiming the credit as the seller of the vehicle.

If the vehicle is used for both business purposes and personal purposes, determine the percentage of business use by dividing the number of miles the vehicle is driven during the year for business purposes or for the production of income (not to include any commuting mileage) by the total number of miles the vehicle is driven for all purposes. Treat vehicles used by your employees as being used 100% for business/investment purposes if the value of personal use is included in the employees’ gross income, or the employees reimburse you for the personal use. If you report the amount of personal use of the vehicle in your employee’s gross income and withhold the appropriate taxes, enter "100%" for the percentage of business/investment use.

If during the tax year you convert property used solely for personal purposes to business/investment use (or vice versa), figure the percentage of business/investment use only for the number of months you use the property in your business or for the production of income. Multiply that percentage by the number of months you use the property in your business or for the production of income and divide the result by 12. For example, if you converted a vehicle to 50% business use for the last 6 months of the year, you would enter 25% on line 5 (50% multiplied by 6 divided by 12).

For more information, see Pub. 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses."