Married Filing Jointly and 2023 EV Tax Credit

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
April 19, 2023
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My wife and I will be filing our taxes as married filing jointly for the 2023 tax year (I.e., in 2024).

We bought a model 3 early in 2023 and are considering trading in our other vehicle for a model Y. Both vehicles qualify for the $7500 tax credit.

We make under the $300,000 cap and our tax liability will end up being around $30000-$35000 for the 2023 tax year.

Can we get the EV tax credit for both vehicles if we file jointly? In other words, is there a limit on how many vehicles you can claim credit for if you file jointly, and are under the income cap?

We specifically want to file jointly because we will pay more in taxes if we do married filing separately.

Thanks advance for your help.

Best answer by DawnC

Yes, you can take the credit on both cars. And yes, filing jointly is almost always better than filing separately. You can only claim the credit once for each qualifying vehicle. The tax credit must be claimed in the year when you purchased and began to use your new fully electric or plug-in hybrid model car or fully electric two-wheeled vehicle.

However, if you purchase a separate qualified fully electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle in another year, or two separate qualified cars in the same year, then you can still claim the tax credit for the other vehicle. It is not a once-in-a-lifetime tax credit in that sense.

DawnCAnswer

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TheSappsterAuthor

That is excellent news.

Thanks for the help and the amazing quick response!!

Vpvinesh

Can you please point to where in the IRS site or documentation says that couples filing jointly each can take a tax credit. I am getting conflicting information regarding this.

My wife and I jointly qualify as far as being below income limit and enough tax liability for 2 vehicles. I purchased 1 for myself and considering getting another but told that only one qualify because IRS can’t tell who’s taking the claim when filing jointly.

thank you for your advice

NCPERSON1

@Vpvinesh there is no where that it states that you are limited to one per person person. Hence, you can purchase as many EVs as you please.

The issue is whether they are for for personal use and whether your tax liability (line 22 of Form 1040 prior to the tax credit) is large enough to absorb the credit.

there can't be multiple owners that claim the credit on one car (Q11) but there is nothing that states one owner can't claim multiple credits. See the difference?

suggest reading through these FAQs

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/topic-a-frequently-asked-questions-about-the-eligibility-rules-for-the-new-clean-vehicle-credit

gkr25

I got married in 2023 and our AGI will be above 300k. However prior to marriage in 2022 my spouse had an AGI less than 150k. Can we claim the 7500k tax credit on our 2023 taxes when filing as married jointly? My initial thought is yes but wanted to double check before making the purchase. TIA

NCPERSON1

@gkr25 read Q1 - last paragraph

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/topic-b-frequently-asked-questions-about-income-and-price-limitations-for-the-new-clean-vehicle-credit

If your filing status changes between the preceding year and the current year, you may claim the new clean vehicle credit if your modified AGI is at or below the threshold in the preceding year or current year based on applicable filing status for that year.

dolphine1234

We have been filing jointly since getting married. Our total income is over $300,000 which won't qualify for the EV credit. If we file separately this year, then I will qualify for the full credit, is there any drawback for filing separately for just one year to get the full EV tax credit?