Shopping for a used PHEV or EV in Colorado? You still may be able to take a tax credit, thanks to the state’s structuring of its EV purchase tax credit.
The credit — up to $6,000 — can be applied to used PHEV or EV purchases so long as it wasn’t claimed already via VIN registration, Green Car Reports says. Though most Colorado-based offerings likely already have the credit cashed-in, out-of-state imports are the biggest beneficiaries.
Per an anonymous source, a Colorado resident could purchase a vehicle registered out-of-state for at least three years after originally leaving the lot, then bring the car back home to register its VIN as used in Colorado, legally claiming the credit on their next tax return in so doing.
According to the publication, the used PHEV/EV credit is the only one of its type in the United States, as the focus of tax incentives is on new vehicles.
[Photo credit: Eric Lumsden/Flickr/CC BY-ND 2.0]
Instead of giving credits to the buyer, why not give credits to the businesses and building owners to install charging stations???
Then people won’t have as much range anxiety.
You can hire a guy (valet) to pull the cable from the full car and move it to the thirsty car.
More charging stations definitely makes it easier. In Massachusetts, we do have incentives to install charging stations. It might be helping since the numbers are increasing.
That’s a really good idea, bigtruck. There are surprisingly more charging stations near me than I’d thought, although not as many as I’d have liked. The nearest one is, naturally, at the Nissan dealer.
Gotta love America capitalism.
Have a product that makes people feel good about themselves, but not enough to shell out the bucks? Just get the government to take money from everyone to subsidize your product AND then give customers a tax credit (that’s a credit, not a deduction!) to buy your product.
Win, win! Except for the sucker taxpayers whose money get spent with no benefit to them.
Oh wait – their money prevented a rise of global temperature of 0.00002 degrees C by the year 2100. Whew, I feel better about the whole scam now.
Yes, it’s such a tragedy. After all, we all know that no subsidies are ever offered to carmakers to locate their facilities within certain jurisdictions. This just destroys the purity of the auto market.
Couldn’t get past the picture. The wheel spokes are pointing different directions! On the Tesla showroom floor, too.
Oh damn! Which one is right?
Probably won’t have much effect except causing the price of used PHEVs to go up in areas around the state line.
Similar to what happens here. The total price of a used PHEV is generally about $2000 more than a new one in the same model year. Used dealers tend to look at the new prices and “forget” to allow for the rebate.
This is a bigger deal than it probably appears at first. I live in WA where there’s a substantial benefit to buying a new EV: no sales tax on new ones (~9% savings). Between that tax break and the federal tax credit that only apply to new sales, dealers have no hope of selling used EVs coming off lease because their new counterparts are effectively the same price.
When shopping for my EV, the Nissan dealer told me that most off-lease Leafs end up on a ship to Norway. Regardless how you feel about tax credits, they haven’t worked as designed. Your tax money essentially subsidies Norwegians getting cheap used EVs. At least now they can be shipped to Colorado. Merica!
I’ve heard that Norway story before, but it doesn’t make sense to me. When I turn in my 3-year-old Leaf, its battery will have lost 15% of its capacity. At its lowest, my winter range this year was 36 miles with a full battery and climate control set to 62 F.
So I can’t imagine the Norwegians would be too excited to purchase used-up Leafs when their incentives for new ones are top-notch (at least for now).
Ouch. After 3 years the battery drops to as low as 36 miles in the winter with a conservative climate control setting? Where do you live?
Too bad – I was toying with the idea of buying a used Leaf – now, 12-13k.
But that’s a substantial reduction in range, and (I’d guess) that battery never saw 100deg F in PA.
Now I know where all the Leafs in Georgia are headed in two years when the leases are up.
How many times are the taxpayers going to be expected to pay for these cars?
For starters – at least this isn’t anywhere near what they used to offer here. EV credits were percentage based. Why do you think Tesla took such a big hold in Boulder and Denver, back during the Roadster days?
My office in the DTC just installed 6 complimentary EV chargers in the parking lot.
With this tax credit, buying a used Volt out-of-state and just driving it to work and back is damn near a break even proposition after 2-3 years.
I realize the free electricity isn’t going to last, but it sure is tempting for the short term…