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Goodbye $2500! California EV credit eliminated for high income buyers

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Seriously bad news is on the horizon for CA prospective buyers that have income >$340,000....the $2500 credit is disappearing. Federal $7500 is still available. While admittedly not a game changer, losing $2500 is still disappointing.

I haven't been able to find a date (that makes sense) of when this goes into effect. The articles I found say it starts "fiscal year 2015-2016" with the year starting July. If so, this means that they passed the change at the end of June '15 and then a few days later it is official. Does this make sense? Isn't there usually more notice than this?

Here's one of the better articles I found on it:
California gives low-income drivers a break on electric cars - SFGate
 
Seriously bad news is on the horizon for CA prospective buyers that have income >$340,000....the $2500 credit is disappearing. Federal $7500 is still available. While admittedly not a game changer, losing $2500 is still disappointing.

I haven't been able to find a date (that makes sense) of when this goes into effect. The articles I found say it starts "fiscal year 2015-2016" with the year starting July. If so, this means that they passed the change at the end of June '15 and then a few days later it is official. Does this make sense? Isn't there usually more notice than this?

Here's one of the better articles I found on it:
California gives low-income drivers a break on electric cars - SFGate

Glad we took delivery June 22, and got the application submitted on-line same day. Got the e-mail confirmation that application has been accepted. Just beat the July 1 date.
 
I think this is a good move overall. If I were still a college student (which I'd still like to think was not too long ago), I'd be heading down to lease a Spark EV/500e/etc. right now given that the larger rebate would make the lease effectively ~$50/mo including taxes.

I doubt it, but I wonder if there's some sort of requirement to have your income stay below whatever level you got your rebate for over the three-year period that you're supposed to retain ownership of the vehicle. Again, if I were a college student with a solid job offer in hand, and knew my commute would be within the car's range, this seems like a no-brainer.
 
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$2500 is still $2500, right? The policy change is definitely the right move...I'm not complaining about that. I just wish I had followed ev credits policies closer/been given a xx months warning before the policy went into effect. If so I could've planned for this better. I've always loved the s but thought "what do I have to lose" by just waiting for the x to come out and then I'll make my decision. Well...I guess I've lost $2500! I'm not searching for sympathy but just looking to complain, just cuz.
 
Do the people making 340k+ a year actually make that much on their tax return after deductions? I'd think if you're making 340k a year after deductions and such (which is about 28500 a month), you either have a mediocre accountant, or you're making a chitload of money.

in which case, 2500 is a moot point
 
I am in favor of means tests for many benefits, including this one. Nearly anybody making this level of reported net income has tax advisors who help them reduce taxes in a variety of ways. I no longer live in California but the rebate would not alter my decision and I rather doubt it would for other Tesla buyers in this income category. The public incentives ought to be devoted to people whose behavior would be altered.
 
Glad I purchased my Tesla on June 24th ... keep in mind that $350K is middle class in Silicon Valley.


$2500 is still $2500, right? The policy change is definitely the right move...I'm not complaining about that. I just wish I had followed ev credits policies closer/been given a xx months warning before the policy went into effect. If so I could've planned for this better. I've always loved the s but thought "what do I have to lose" by just waiting for the x to come out and then I'll make my decision. Well...I guess I've lost $2500! I'm not searching for sympathy but just looking to complain, just cuz.

I make much less than 340k and getting or not getting the $2500 CA rebate would not have affected my decision to buy the car in one or another way.

Do the people making 340k+ a year actually make that much on their tax return after deductions? I'd think if you're making 340k a year after deductions and such (which is about 28500 a month), you either have a mediocre accountant, or you're making a chitload of money.

in which case, 2500 is a moot point
 
What if you put the car in one of your children's name?

Lloyd, if someone gave the money to their child, then the car would be in the child's name. The car would belong to the son or daughter. He/she would have to file a gift tax return for the year of the gift and start to eat away at the unified credit amount that is available upon death.

CARB has a three-year program that audits the ownership of the vehicle. Do you think that maybe the DMV shares registration information with other state agencies? I know they do with the FTB and BOE.

I am no lawyer. But I would never suggest to one of my clients to make this sort of arrangement. Somehow this starts smelling like the "F" word.
 
Glad I purchased my Tesla on June 24th ... keep in mind that $350K is middle class in Silicon Valley.

I can appreciate that it may feel that way sometimes (I'm reminded of this editorial written by a Bay Area resident who went to Michigan for college), but let's keep in mind that the median household income in Santa Clara County is $93,500 (source), and that's the highest in the country. While making $350k/year in the Valley may not go as far as what many would think that it should, if you're making $350k/year, you're doing significantly better than most.