Correction on $4,000 Used EV Tax Credit in USA – CleanTechnica

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Last Updated on: 7th August 2025, 03:54 am

I recently wrote an article about the used electric vehicle tax credit that is available from the US government through September 30, and the key details to know about it.

However, I apparently got something wrong in there. Here’s something I wrote in that article, with the key part of it that I got wrong highlighted via italicized text: “Now, there’s also an important matter to decide here, because either you can transfer the tax credit to the dealer immediately or you can decide that you want to claim the tax credit yourself when filing taxes. ‘You can apply the Clean Vehicle Tax Credit immediately toward the amount you pay for the vehicle by transferring the credit to the dealer or you can wait and claim the credit when you file your tax return.’ Either way, though, note that you can’t get more of a tax credit than you’re qualified to get.”

Looking at discussions of the tax credit around the web, I had seen several people who seemed to know what they were talking about making that claim that you had to have $4,000 worth of tax liability or, even if you had the dealer claim the credit, the IRS would come and take any portion of it back beyond what you were required to pay in taxes if you weren’t required to pay at least $4,000.

I stated that you can’t get more money than you owe in taxes. quoting the following line from the IRS: “If you do not transfer the credit, it is nonrefundable when you file your taxes, so you can’t get back more on the credit than you owe in taxes.”) One of our readers, freedomev, noted in the comments that wasn’t true. “I recently did and I owe no taxes. And the dealer took care of it. Any dealer giving this has to do the work to get it, never leave without it deducted from the price,” he said.

Furthermore, someone from Recurrent Auto wrote in with the following comment: “If you decide to transfer the credit to the dealer at the point of sale, you can claim the full 4K/30% regardless of your year end tax liability. That’s why we’re recommending that people go that route, but the dealer has to be enrolled for the transferability program.” Recurrent Auto certainly knows what’s up with the fine print, so it’s appreciated that they wrote in with this correction. And it’s good news for used EV shoppers who intend to buy an electric car before October. Find one at a price you like, negotiate and don’t budge on the stuff they try to push on you, and then request that the dealer take the tax credit and cut $4,000 off the price. Just make sure you’re getting the full $4,000 discount and the dealer is enrolled in the transferability program.