The world needs to fight climate change and California wants to lead that fight by giving you a FREE (or heavily subsidized) electric vehicle or hybrid. For a used electric vehicle, you can get up to $21,000 in government grants. The California electric vehicle incentives covers the car, charging station and gives your discounted electricity. New electric vehicles are eligible for up to a $7500 Federal EV tax credit depending on the model and is eligible for $5000+ in California state electric vehicle grants. Used cars are a better deal so we’ll focus on that.
Additionally, California will restrict new car sales to ONLY zero-emission vehicles by 2035. They phase out process has begun by incentivizing people to make the switch to electric vehicles.
Finding Government Car Incentives:
Where to begin, right? Searching Google for electric car rebate will take you through a rabbit hole of different sites. Since it’s a government program, I began my search by narrowing my Google results to .gov domains. Since only government entities can use a .gov domain, you are going directly to the source when it comes to getting a federal electric car rebate. I’ve already found the top two sites regarding the electric vehicle tax credit so check these out:
- US Department of Energy: Alternative Fuels Data Center: Find all the current government incentives for renewable energy including vehicle grants and rebates.
- This has all the government incentives, so much that it might be hard to find what applies to your specific area.
- Electric For All: Organization that helps find government incentives based on zip code
- This one is easy to use but does might not be completely up to date and may have some offers missing
The Alternative Fuels Data center has every rebate you’d ever want to know about, but you’d have to dig in to each of them to really figure out what incentive applies to you since you can’t filter by area or entity. You’ll see a lot of incentives for individuals, businesses and non-profits. Just to get a feel for what’s available, I’d start with the Electric for All since you can search for electric car incentives by zip code.
TIME LEFT: How long are these electric vehicle tax credits available?
Each of the grants and electric car tax credits have very specific dates timelines and need to each be looked at before making your vehicle purchase. Some have a hard date on when funding will be cut-off while other electric car rebates might only last while funding is available. All of these electric car incentives are first come first served. Meaning, you gotta do this now before funding runs out!
Electric Car Incentives For Southern California
USED EVs: Get over $21,000 in government EV Rebates towards your used electric vehicle in Southern California!
If you have low income, live in a qualifying neighborhood and currently have an old non-electric vehicle, you would be eligible for up to $21000 in California electric vehicle rebates. It’s hard to make ends meet on a low income, but now is your time! California will give you a free used electric vehicle.
Even if you don’t qualify due to a high income, you can help give a low income worker a free car by sharing this knowledge. For higher income workers, there are tax rebates towards the purchase of a new electric vehicle. Lower income workers are eligible for grants which mean they just get free money instead of a tax rebate.
I really wish more people would talk about the California EV rebates, but the government isn’t going to spend money to give away money. AND, everyone else that knows about it is probably just focused on getting their rebate before the funding runs out. But no worries, I’m here to help guide you on getting your California electric vehicle rebate so you can get a free car. I’m also from Los Angeles so this is something I’m also doing for myself. California EV Rebates:
- [$14500+*] Replace Your Ride: Money is only eligible to current vehicle owners (low to moderate income):
- Have a vehicle title issued in your name for at least 12 months prior to the date of application submittal
- The vehicle title must NOT show a lienholder (all lienholders must be cleared with the DMV)
- Be operational (emissions data will need to be provided - different options are available)
- Be powered by gasoline or diesel
- Have a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or less
- Vehicle Model Year must be 2011 or older
- Vehicle must be able to demonstrate that it is operable and has sufficient remaining useful life
- [$7500] towards the purchase of a new or used EV
- [$5000*] You can get up to $5000 in additional funds if you have low income and live in a qualifying area towards the purchase of a battery-electric or fuel cell vehicle
- [$2000*] Battery-Electric Vehicle may be eligible for an additional incentive up to $2,000 for the installation of electric vehicle charging equipment (typically costs $1200)
- [$5000*] Clean Vehicle Grants: Up to $5000 towards a new/used clean vehicle purchase for low income workers
- [$1500] Rebate through LADWP (list of eligible cars)
- Must be for a used electric vehicle between 2-8 years old (So it’s it’s 2020, you can get cars from 2013)
- Ensure that LADWP has issued less than 2 rebates for the vehicle. Can’t just keep having people buying 1 vehicle.
- If a rebate was issued to a previous owner for the EV you are considering, you may only apply for a rebate after twenty-four months following the issue date of the first rebate by LADWP.
- Members of the same household as the applicant who received the first rebate are not eligible to receive a second rebate for the same EV.
Charging Station Incentives:
- [$1000] Up to $1000 in tax credits towards installing a residential electric charging station.
- [$750] Up to $750 in rebates from the LADWP for the purchase and installation of a Level 2 charging station and a dedicated EV meter.
- [$500] Up to $500 in incentives for the purchase and installation of a Level 2 charging station.
Cheap Electricity: The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) offers a $0.025 per kilowatt-hour discount for electricity used to charge PEVs during off-peak times. Residential customers who install a separate time-of-use meter panel will also receive a [$250 credit]. For more information, see the LADWP Electric Vehicle Incentives website.
Carpool sticker: You are eligible to get the “Access OK Clean Air Vehicle” Carpool stickers in California. More info at the official California DMV website.
You get the car, the charging station, cheap electricity, and a carpool sticker so you can beat traffic in Los Angeles. These California electric car incentives are incredibly generous and more people need to know
NEW EVs: Get over $25,000 in government EV Rebates towards your NEW electric vehicle in Southern California!
- [$7500*] Federal Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicle Credit: Up to $7500 for new electric or hybrid vehicle purchases. Here’s a full list of eligible vehicles and the rebate amounts. All Teslas are currently not eligible for these tax credits.
- [$14500+*] Replace Your Ride: Money is only eligible to current vehicle owners (low to moderate income):
- Have a vehicle title issued in your name for at least 12 months prior to the date of application submittal
- The vehicle title must NOT show a lienholder (all lienholders must be cleared with the DMV)
- Be operational (emissions data will need to be provided - different options are available)
- Be powered by gasoline or diesel
- Have a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds of less
- Vehicle Model Year must be 2011 or older
- Vehicle must be able to demonstrate that it is operable and has sufficient remaining useful life
- [$7500] towards the purchase of a new or used EV
- [$5000*] You can get up to $5000 in additional funds if you have low income and live in a qualifying area towards the purchase of a battery-electric or fuel cell vehicle
- [$2000*] Battery-Electric Vehicle may be eligible for an additional incentive up to $2,000 for the installation of electric vehicle charging equipment (typically costs $1200)
- [$5000*] Clean Vehicle Grants: Up to $5000 towards a new/used electric/hybrid vehicle purchase for low income workers.
- [$4500] Clean Vehicle Rebate: Up to $4500 towards a new electric/hybrid vehicle purchase.
- Rebate amount varies between types of eligible vehicles. See List.
- [$3000] Costco Auto Program: Costco member can get a $3,000 discount towards the purchase of a 2020/2021 Chevy Bolt EV (available until January 4, 2021)
Charging Station Incentives:
- [$1000] Up to $1000 in tax credits towards installing a residential electric charging station.
- [$750] Up to $750 in rebates from the LADWP for the purchase and installation of a Level 2 charging station and a dedicated EV meter.
- [$500] Up to $500 in incentives for the purchase and installation of a Level 2 charging station.
Cheap Electricity: The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) offers a $0.025 per kilowatt-hour discount for electricity used to charge PEVs during off-peak times. Residential customers who install a separate time-of-use meter panel will also receive a $250 credit. For more information, see the LADWP Electric Vehicle Incentives website. FYI: The average household spends $0.133 per kilowatt-hour on electricity, getting it subsidized to $0.025 is getting a 80% discount on your electric bill.
Carpool sticker: You are eligible to get the “Access OK Clean Air Vehicle” Carpool stickers in California. More info at the official California DMV website.
Using the Tax Credits For A Tesla
Teslas are the most popular electric vehicle and the federal funding to get a Tesla tax credit has run dry. That’s because the Federal electric car tax credit is limited to 200,000 rebates per manufacturer. Once 200,000 rebates have been used for a specific manufacturer, the rebate begins to get phased out by dropping the EV credit amount. With the release of the Tesla Model Y and Cyber Truck, there will still be no additional Federal funding to get the $7500 tax credit.
If you still want to use a government electric vehicle tax rebate for a Tesla, you might be eligible through the other EV rebates/incentives especially if you qualify through the low income requirements.
NEW Tesla vehicles are no longer eligible for the Federal Government $7500 EV tax credit
USED EV or NEW?
Why buy a used electric vehicle? If you’re not buying a Tesla, a new EV can lose up to 50% of its value in the first year. That's because many buyers used government rebates to buy the car at a discounted price and with the multiple amount of sellers combined with low demand, the resell price for a used EV is very low after the first year.
Teslas hold their value over time much better due to the limited supply. Additionally, buying a lot of new cars causes a lot more impact on the environment while older cars are still functioning, that’s why California is incentivizing people to buy used electric vehicles while getting rid of their old gas cars.
The resell price for a used EV is very low since the government incentives the original buyer got are priced in.
TLDR:
There’s a lot of state and federal electric car rebates that you might be eligible for. I’m not listing all the electric vehicle tax credits because there’s a lot of them. More realistically, I’m going to run through the process for an individual that lives in Los Angeles and the rebates available. Be sure to check out the full list of State and Federal electric car rebates listed on the US Department of Energy: Alternative Fuels Data Center.
For low-income workers, you could potentially be getting over $30,000 in federal and California EV rebates for a new electric vehicle. Be sure to check out the income requirements because if you have a family of 4+, they start to get very reasonable with the low-income requirements so you might be eligible. Higher earners are still eligible for EV tax rebates, but it's not a completely free car. Businesses (big and small) are also eligible for government EV tax credits so if you want your employer to install an EV charger, let them know.
California is extremely generous with the number of rebates available for NEW and USED electric vehicles. Pretty much, they will give you a car, the charging station, and discounted electricity for you to convert to an electric vehicle. Some of these EV rebates/credits are for very specific car types and most are geared towards people with lower income. But there's still something for just about everyone.
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://slycredit.com/california-ev-rebate/