Tax Incentives for Buying a New Car

Tax credits to purchase new cars sit firmly in the electric automobile and hybrid categories. These tax credits are made possible through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and are managed by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Internal Revenue Service. If you're thinking of purchasing a plug-in electric vehicle, check the Department of Energy guidelines to see if your vehicle of choice qualifies.

Plug-In Electric Vehicles

According to the U.S Department of Energy, the government offers a tax incentive of $2,500 to $7,500 toward the purchase of a plug-in electric motor vehicle. To qualify for this tax credit the vehicle must be newly purchased after Dec. 31, 2009, have four or more wheels, have a gross vehicle weight of less than 14,000 lbs. and be propelled principally from a rechargeable battery with at least four kilowatt hours of power. The amount of tax credit a consumer receives is dependent on the battery size of the vehicle purchased.

Plug-In Hybrid Conversion Kits

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act also provides a tax credit for consumers wishing to a convert a hybrid gas automobile to a full plug-in electric. A credit of 10 percent of the cost of converting the vehicle to a full plug-in electric may taken by the consumer as long as the car was in service after Feb. 17, 2009. The maximum tax credit for this conversion kit is $4,000. The consumer may claim this tax credit even if he claimed a newly purchased hybrid automobile on his taxes a year earlier. Conversions made after Dec. 31, 2011, will not be accepted.

Low-Speed Electric Vehicles

Newly purchased low-speed and two- or three-wheeled electric vehicles may also be eligible for a tax credit. This credit is calculated at 10 percent of the cost of purchase of the vehicle to a maximum of $2,500. Purchases are required to be made after Feb. 17, 2009, and before Jan. 1, 2012. For the vehicle to qualify for this credit it must operate using an electric motor that draws power from a rechargeable battery with four kilowatt hours of power.