2013 Federal Tax Rebate CONFUSION - Requesting fast reply.

6290 Views 21 Replies 17 Participants Last post by Cord, Jan 27, 2014

ANALYST

Discussion Starter · Jan 24, 2014

January 24, 2014, 3:07 p.m. EST: I'm interested in either purchasing or leasing a Volt this weekend but I'm confused buy one post (and a dealership salesperson) that indicated the $7,500.00 Federal Tax Credit ended in 2013. Is this correct? The http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/taxphevb.shtml site appears to indicate that the $7,500.00 Federal Tax Credit is still in effect. Can someone give me a definitive answer?

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

Elemental

· #2 · Jan 24, 2014

Not correct.

The fedral CHARGING credit did, but not the CAR credit.

Paulacton84

· #3 · Jan 24, 2014

still in effect, lots of bad information ou there. There was a similar tax credit on 2 wheel and 3 wheel vehicles and certain non-roadable vehicles which may have ended, I have not found reference to it.

ANALYST

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jan 24, 2014

Hi Elemental. Just to make sure I am reading your reply correctly, the $7,500.00 Federal Tax Credit is still in effect but a Federal tax credit associated with purchasing/installing a charging station has expired. Is this correct?

Additional Question: I've been reading and hearing so many positive things about the VOLT that besides the cost of battery (and supporting electronics) replacement and battery life, are there any other negatives that I should be aware of?

Thanks.

Elemental

· #5 · Jan 24, 2014

ANALYST said:
Hi Elemental. Just to make sure I am reading your reply correctly, the $7,500.00 Federal Tax Credit is still in effect but a Federal tax credit associated with purchasing/installing a charging station has expired. Is this correct?

Correct

Additional Question: I've been reading and hearing so many positive things about the VOLT that besides the cost of battery (and supporting electronics) replacement and battery life, are there any other negatives that I should be aware of?

Thanks.

It might burn a 10th of a gallon of gas when its cold intending to keep you warm.

That seems to REALLY piss off a lot of people.

ANALYST

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jan 24, 2014

Thank you. It's pretty unnerving to read (and be told by a salesperson) conflicting information and not be confident that I would be able to take advantage of the $7500.00 Federal Tax Credit.

css28

· #7 · Jan 24, 2014

For some people outside of the immediate area purchasing a GM car is somewhat a leap of faith (fear of problems and poor customer service).

That might be considered a negative but my experience is that GM has put emphasis on communication and service (thru Volt advisors particularly) and I think many have been positively surprised.

Nick D

· #8 · Jan 24, 2014

GM still has about 140k of those $7500 credits left, so your good for a few years. One thing to make note of, it is not a refundable tax credit, so your total tax liability would have to be at least 7500 to take advantage of the full amount. Just noticed in the title it said "Federal tax Rebate" just making sure you fully understand what the tax credit is relative to a tax rebate (refundable tax credit)

ANALYST

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jan 24, 2014

Thank you. FYI, the VOLT is the only car I can afford that has me inspired / excited to drive. I've been crunching the numbers and just looking at energy costs alone, at $3.20/gal (regular - and using $3.50 premium) at 12,000 miles per year with my driving habits I estimate that I could save about $5,000.00 over six years. About half of the energy savings would be lost to higher insurance premiums. Still... saving a net of $2,500.00 over six years is quite enticing especially when I compare the costs to driving a small SUV.
Do you have a quick perspective regarding lease vs. buy?

Norton

· #10 · Jan 24, 2014

ANALYST,

The first thing you have to do is get all your answers before you ask a car salesman anything.

You do know how to tell when they are lying, correct?

Don't rely on the things they tell you.

"You better shop around"

firehawk72

· #11 · Jan 24, 2014

Nick D said:
GM still has about 140k of those $7500 credits left, so your good for a few years. One thing to make note of, it is not a refundable tax credit, so your total tax liability would have to be at least 7500 to take advantage of the full amount. Just noticed in the title it said "Federal tax Rebate" just making sure you fully understand what the tax credit is relative to a tax rebate (refundable tax credit)

Only if you find this persons example confusing (I know credits are kind of weird) pay close attention to line 44 on your 1040. That is going to be your tax liability. If line 44 is 7500 or above, you can probably take full advantage of the 7500 tax credit. As an example, if line 44 was 6500 last year, and you expect your taxes to be about the same this year, then you may only get back 6500 of the 7500.

BAZINGA

· #12 · Jan 24, 2014

Before buying please answer these questions:

1. How long is your average daily commute

2. Can you charge at work (do you need to)

3. Your cost per kW (example mine is about 8 cents so a full charge costs me about a dollar to go about 40 miles)

4. Can you live with the OEM 120V EVSE (about 10 hours to fully charge a depleted battery). If not you'll want to consider purchasing a Level 2 EVSE on a dedicated 240V 30 amp circuit.

5. Does your state offer any tax or other cash credits

6. Do you ever need to carry more than 3 passengers (plus driver)

As far as my feelings about the Volt, I own TWO Volt's so a picture is worth a thousand words

That's what I think about the Volt. Good luck and you'll love the Volt.

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ClarksonCote

· #13 · Jan 24, 2014

ANALYST said:
Thank you. It's pretty unnerving to read (and be told by a salesperson) conflicting information and not be confident that I would be able to take advantage of the $7500.00 Federal Tax Credit.

Remember though, you do need to earn enough to have the tax liability to claim the credit.

DonC

· #14 · Jan 24, 2014

ANALYST said:
FYI, the VOLT is the only car I can afford that has me inspired / excited to drive. I've been crunching the numbers and just looking at energy costs alone, at $3.20/gal (regular - and using $3.50 premium) at 12,000 miles per year with my driving habits I estimate that I could save about $5,000.00 over six years.

The Volt is a fun car to drive. Very hard to beat lots of low end torque and the smooth and quiet drive. Coming from "luxury" German and Japanese cars I can tell you the Volt is way better a car than its price would indicate.

Do remember as has been pointed out that you're dealing with a credit. Probably won't make a difference but do understand this.

Also keep in mind that IF you LEASE the car the lessor -- the bank or finance company -- gets the $7500 credit. You as the lessee don't get it other than indirectly since it's being used to reduce your monthly payment over the course of the lease. So when comparing buying versus leasing keep this in mind. Also note that if you don't know if you can take advantage of the credit then leasing will allow you to do that.

On the costs to operate, my costs went down dramatically. What you're looking at is an oil change every couple of years and tire rotations. My insurance costs went down by quite a bit since they treat the Volt as a hybrid and apparently we hybrid drivers are a careful lot. Some of that may be due to the fact that we have a high deductible. Don't really know.

Good luck in your quest for a new Volt!

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flmark

· #15 · Jan 24, 2014

Yup, SOOOO much wrong information out there. I read something on MSN just yesterday (ALLEGED things that expired last year, as discussed in the FINANCIAL section) about the credit for plug-ins expiring. So I went over to IRS.gov and did a search- that confirmed the only number that counts is the 200k units for each manufacturer. It sucks that you have to work so hard to overcome lunacy, ignorance and stupidity.

imacmike

· #16 · Jan 25, 2014

One more thing to note that no one else has pointed out.

You are requesting a "fast reply" in this thread as though you intend to buy the car soon and claim it on your 2013 taxes. You cannot do this. If you buy the car now, you will have to wait until you do your 2014 taxes to realize the benefit.

If you are 100% certain you will qualify for the whole credit, you may consider adjusting your withholding in the meantime. This will lower or eliminate entirely your return next year, but you'll be taking home the credit now over the course of the year instead. This can be risky, if you've miscalculated your estimated liability, or lose your source of income, you could wind up owing.

Upper5Percent

· #17 · Jan 25, 2014

imacmike said:
One more thing to note that no one else has pointed out.

You are requesting a "fast reply" in this thread as though you intend to buy the car soon and claim it on your 2013 taxes. You cannot do this. If you buy the car now, you will have to wait until you do your 2014 taxes to realize the benefit.

If you are 100% certain you will qualify for the whole credit, you may consider adjusting your withholding in the meantime. This will lower or eliminate entirely your return next year, but you'll be taking home the credit now over the course of the year instead. This can be risky, if you've miscalculated your estimated liability, or lose your source of income, you could wind up owing.

BINGO...I think we have a winner here...

fotomoto

· #18 · Jan 25, 2014

imacmike said:
You are requesting a "fast reply" in this thread as though you intend to buy the car soon and claim it on your 2013 taxes. You cannot do this. If you buy the car now, you will have to wait until you do your 2014 taxes to realize the benefit.

He also said he was also thinking about leasing. You can NOT get the $7500 tax credit if you lease. That credit goes to the lease company.

focher

· #19 · Jan 25, 2014

fotomoto said:
He also said he was also thinking about leasing. You can NOT get the $7500 tax credit if you lease. That credit goes to the lease company.

Actually that's the surest way to get the benefit of the credit. The full 7500 is always added to the residual regardless of your personal tax situation, so you get a reduction of lease payments equaling 7500. It just gets you there a different way.

helierez

· #20 · Jan 26, 2014

And on the subject of tax withholding on the year you buy your volt, if you have an option to contribute to a roth 401k (after-tax) rather than standard 401k, consider it. Contributing "before tax" reduces your taxable income, so if you fall under that $7500 threshold, you are loosing the difference. So whatever I put away this year into roth 401k is considered after tax, even though my tax bill will be near zero thanks to the credit. When I retire, the money I put in my 401K and the interest on it will be considered after-tax.

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