tax credits for lease

[turtlebud]

Interested in getting an e-Golf so I went into VW today. They were sold out but I talked to the sales rep about the lease plans. He said that you lose the tax credit ($7500) if you lease, but you still get a $2000 federal tax credit. I can't find anything on this. Did he mean state rebate? (I'm in california). Or is there in fact a $2k federal tax credit on a lease?

 

[rwill]

He meant rebate.

When you try to lease they'll say "only $2,500 down, but then you get $2,500 back in a rebate". Don't let them sweet talk you this way.

 

[RonDawg]

The current Federal tax credit for electric cars still remains at $7500. Once a manufacturer reaches 200k units sold, the amount for additional units sold gets lessened and eventually disappears. No manufacturer has reached that point yet, though Nissan is about halfway there and Tesla a bit over 1/4 of the way..

If you lease, you cannot take the tax credit yourself, as it's technically not your car. However, if the car is leased through the manufacturer's financing arm, the manufacturer can (but doesn't have to) pass all or part of the savings to the lessee in the form of a "Capitalized Cost Reduction."

"Cheap" electric car deals rely on this to keep the payments low. Nissan has done this for some time, as do most other electric car manufacturers. VW is currently doing this.

California's $2500 rebate is regardless if the car is bought or leased. All buyers and lessees are entitled unless they make over $250k/year, or have already claimed the rebate twice since 1/1/2015.

 

[DucRider]

California's $2500 rebate is regardless if the car is bought or leased. All buyers and lessees are entitled unless they make over $250k/year, or have already claimed the rebate twice since 1/1/2015.

Leases must be at least 36 months to get the California rebate.

Implementation of the income changes (from the flat $2500 for everyone) is anticipated late in the first quarter of 2016

The income cap for the $2500 rebate will be:
Individual: $250K
Head of household: $340K
Joint: $500K

Lower income individual/households will be eligible for a $4000 rebate if they are <300% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)

FPL for an individual is $11,770 (*3 =$35,310)
Family of 2 is $15,930 (*3 = $47,790)
Family of 3 is $20,090 (*3 = $60,270)
Continues to increase with family size

 

[miimura]

Actually the CA rebate requires a minimum of 30 months, not 36 to get the $2,500.

CVRP Eligibility Guidelines

Also, you should see a $7,500 Cap Reduction in the lease that reflects the $7,500 tax credit that VW Credit will be getting from the Feds.

 

[turtlebud]

thanks all for the confirmation. that makes sense.

wanted to get an egolf to offset some taxes that we'll be paying this year, but didn't want to buy/finance. makes sense that you EITHER buy & get the federal tax credit or lease and get a cheaper base price. leasing seems like a great deal though - the dealer was quoting $70/month for the SE and $170 for the SEL. not sure if that's what it'll be once everything gets added.

guess i'll start by seeing if I can find a dealer with an egolf in stock so I can take it for a spin and go from there.

 

[RonDawg]

The rebate minimum possession requirement was lessened from 36 to 30 months some time ago. When I got my Leaf in Jan 2013, the requirement was still 36 months.

 

[miimura]

The rebate minimum possession requirement was lessened from 36 to 30 months some time ago. When I got my Leaf in Jan 2013, the requirement was still 36 months.

Not only do you have to keep it in your possession for 30 months, it has to be registered in California for the whole 30 months. If you take it out of state and don't renew the registration or if the car is totaled, you have to pay back a pro-rated amount based on the fraction of the 30 months that it was operated in California. They do automated DMV database scans to catch these cases.

The two rebates per entity is why we leased the e-Golf in my wife's name.