Changes coming for EV credits in 2024

DENVER (KDVR) — There is a push for more Americans to go green with the cars they buy.
Here in Colorado and at the national level, tax incentives and rebates are in place to help more drivers make the switch, but some of the incentives will look different in the new year.

The state and federal governments are trying to make it more affordable for people to get an electric vehicle. Qualifications for some of the incentives will become stricter starting in 2024.

“There’s a lot of exciting developments in the EV industry happening,” said Kevin Favro, founder and co-CEO of EV Life, an EV finance platform. “There are new charging networks opening up that are going to make it easier for people to public charge. There are a lot of new body types coming out on models. There are sub-$30,000 vehicles coming to market, really helping to drive down the affordability barrier.”

Changes are coming to programs meant to drive down the cost of electric vehicles. The biggest changes are coming at the federal level.

Favro explained the key changes coming in 2024.

2024 electric vehicle credits to change

“One: It has to be manufactured in North America. Two: It has to be underneath an MSRP cap, and it’s different for trucks, sedans and SUVs, then the battery minerals were sourced, and the components were sourced and where they were sourced from will determine how much your vehicle is eligible to receive,” Favro said.

If you meet those qualifications along with income qualifications, the full credit available at the federal level is up to $7,500 at the time of purchase. 

Good news for Coloradans: The state offers some generous incentives that can save you even more money, including an existing $5,000 tax credit and a new additional $2,500 credit if you buy an EV next year that costs less than $35,000.

Additionally, the state is continuing its Vehicle Exchange Colorado program.

“If you have an older polluting gas car, they’ll literally give you $6,000 to retire that vehicle, they’ll scrap it, and you’ll get $6,000 towards an electric vehicle. So in Colorado, for people that have an old car they want to get rid of, you can qualify for over $18,000 in incentives,” Favro said.

EV savings calculator

Totaling and keeping up with all of the discounts can be headache-inducing. Favro and his team at EV Life created an EV Savings Calculator to help folks stay on top of everything.

“Our goal is to show people that driving electric can be possible. It is affordable if you know where the money is and how to apply for it all. So we built what we call a savings calculator, which looks at three main pillars of savings for our customers,” Favro said.

Favro said the calculator is built to be user-friendly, like an online tax service but for electric vehicles. Their site offers some other helpful resources if you are thinking about getting an EV.