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Comment by arbuge | Hacker News Reader

Re: the tax credit, note the income requirements here:

https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/used-clean-vehicle-cr...

I don't know anything about your situation, but I'm guessing quite a bit of the readers here on HN from the US won't qualify.

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>The sale qualifies only if:

>You buy the vehicle from a dealer.

This is such an annoying part of the tax incentive.

It's a huge, pointless gift to car dealers (who need no help) because it means they don't have to compete for price with private sellers or buyers. If I have a used EV to sell, I basically have to sell to the dealer because no buyer wants to bother buying from me when they can get the same thing from a dealer with a $4k tax credit on top.

Not to mention there are severe income limits on the rebate

Right, set too low (imho). And not a graduated phase out either. And the market for these cars are going to be people typically past the income limit. My instinct tells me that people below the income limit ($75K/$150K) probably aren't really in the market for an EV. They are probably just trying to keep their regular gas vehicle running. An EV is almost a second/third car for a lot of people, commuters trying to offset their gasoline costs.

Individual tax credits/deductions shouldn't have income limits / phaseout at all. We get the progressive taxation on the front end, with marginal tax brackets.

Totally agreed. But unfortunately, they often do.

KeySavvy is the normal workaround for this. $99 extra cost to both sides for them to handle the title verification and shipping, and to act as the dealer to make it qualify for EV credits.

Wow, great tip! Thanks!

Maybe the car dealers have had a lobbyist that has influenced this to their favor. Wouldn't surprise me. But likewise, there's some formality and paperwork trails that exist when a dealership is involved vs. private party, so I wonder if the concern is some fraud or abuse in the private market as well. Regardless, I agree with you.

Car dealers are a well-known, hugely influential lobby.

Given that, probably lobbyist influence then more than anything.

My YouTube (mostly now) income is a fraction of what I used to make as a software architect—I'm well within the limits these days :)

What's your channel :)

Jeff is a treasure! https://youtube.com/@jeffgeerling

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR-DXc1voovS8nhAvccRZhg

Jeff Geerling. Also the owner/author of the site we're discussing in this thread.

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