For Heatmap: The EV Tax Credits Are Changing. Here’s What It Means for Car Buyers.
If you’ve been considering a new electric vehicle or hybrid these past few months, and you think you’ve gotten a pretty good handle on how the revised EV tax credits work, the U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS have an unspoken message for you: Do it soon. The rules are about to change.
On March 31, federal officials announced changes to the EV tax credit plan around minerals and batteries. As esoteric and complicated as it sounds (and in fact, is) the headline for prospective buyers is that starting April 18, fewer EVs will be eligible for the new $7,500 tax credits unveiled last year as part of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
In short, these changes are being made today to guarantee that the full $7,500 EV tax credit goes toward not just cars built in North America, but cars containing battery components made on this continent as well. Moreover, it seeks to guarantee that certain critical minerals in those batteries come from countries with which the United States has a free trade agreement. Each requirement is worth up to $3,750.
Granted, “Where are your minerals from?” doesn’t quite have the same ring as “How much horsepower are you putting down?” to car aficionados. But these changes to the EV tax credits will reverberate through the car market and the entire auto industry.
