[Perian]

I was shopping for a new SUV last night, and a Ford dealer salesman noticed my Chevy Volt. He then spoke to me about buying a vehicle that I was not looking for - A 2014 Focus Electric.

Look at the deal he offered with absolutely no input from me:

List: $ 29,995.00
Selling Price: $ 27,595.40
Ford Incentive: $ 4,000.00
Ford Financing: 0% for 5 Years (NOT A CHOICE - You get both!*)
Government Incentive: $ 7,500.00

Net cost excluding taxes and fees: $ 16,095.40

I had a neighbor a few years ago who bought a Toyota Prius in a low gas price environment. A year later, gasoline prices had climbed considerably and he sold it for what he paid for it. Not saying that will happen again, but can low gas prices really be counted on in our supply and demand type (world) economy? To say the very least - I am sure those wonderful people in Washington are figuring that now is a great time to increase the gasoline tax.

If you have ever considered an economy car, now may be the best time in years to move forward.



*2014 Focus Electric: 0% APR for 60 months Ford Credit Financing PLUS $4,000 Bonus Cash
$4,000 Bonus Cash (PGM #12646). Not all buyers will qualify for Ford Credit financing. 0% APR financing for 60 months at $16.67 per month per $1,000 financed regardless of down payment (PGM #20564). Residency restrictions apply. For all offers, take new retail delivery from dealer stock by 1/5/15. See dealer for qualifications and complete details.

 

[optiongm]

I was shopping for a new SUV last night, and a Ford dealer salesman noticed my Chevy Volt. He then spoke to me about buying a vehicle that I was not looking for - A 2014 Focus Electric.

Look at the deal he offered with absolutely no input from me:

List: $ 29,995.00
Selling Price: $ 27,595.40
Ford Incentive: $ 4,000.00
Ford Financing: 0% for 5 Years (NOT A CHOICE - You get both!)
Government Incentive: $ 7,500.00

Net cost excluding taxes and fees: $ 16,095.40

I had a neighbor a few years ago who bought a Toyota Prius in a low gas price environment. A year later, gasoline prices had climbed considerably and he sold it for what he paid for it. Not saying that will happen again, but can low gas prices really be counted on in our supply and demand type (world) economy? To say the very least - I am sure those wonderful people in Washington are figuring that now is a great time to increase the gasoline tax.

If you have ever considered an economy car, now may be the best time in years to move forward.



*2014 Focus Electric: 0% APR for 60 months Ford Credit Financing PLUS $4,000 Bonus Cash
$4,000 Bonus Cash (PGM #12646). Not all buyers will qualify for Ford Credit financing. 0% APR financing for 60 months at $16.67 per month per $1,000 financed regardless of down payment (PGM #20564). Residency restrictions apply. For all offers, take new retail delivery from dealer stock by 1/5/15. See dealer for qualifications and complete details.

Isn't the Gov. incentive a tax refund off your taxes or are you saying that it is like a rebate and applied to the sale?

 

[63impala]

Isn't the Gov. incentive a tax refund off your taxes or are you saying that it is like a rebate and applied to the sale?

Seems to me the Feds give you a $7500 tax credit for buying a hybrid or electric vehicle, which would imply the money comes later. But when you consider that we're nearing the end of the tax year, filing early AND buying a hybrid/electric sounds like good advice.

 

[Perian]

Isn't the Gov. incentive a tax refund off your taxes or are you saying that it is like a rebate and applied to the sale?

The government payment is a tax credit. Depending on your tax situation, you may be entitled to the full amount. It is not applied to the sale. You put in for it when you file your taxes during the next tax period. If you are not able to use the full credit, it can possibly roll over to the next tax period.

One bonus with the above offer however: Ford will give you 0% financing for 5 years (depending of course on your credit history) on the $7500, while you can (possible) take the full credit on your next tax filing. Incredible.

A quick bit of info from irs.com:

Federal Tax Credits for Plug-in Hybrids
Plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles (PHEVs) purchased in or after 2010 may be eligible for a federal income tax credit of up to $7,500. The credit amount will vary based on the capacity of the battery used to fuel the vehicle.

 

[optiongm]

The government payment is a tax credit. Depending on your tax situation, you may be entitled to the full amount.

List: $ 29,995.00
Selling Price: $ 27,595.40
Ford Incentive: $ 4,000.00
Ford Financing: 0% for 5 Years (NOT A CHOICE - You get both!*)
Government Incentive: $ 7,500.00

Net cost excluding taxes and fees: $ 16,095.40

So to actually buy this car you need ...$23,595.40 huge difference.....

Then when you file your taxes you get the tax incentive.....so lets say you pay 25% Federal income tax you save
$7,500.00 X.25%= $1,875.00 off your taxes......

 

[Ed753]

I've been buying; VDE and XLE like they are going out of style, our energy price dip is only temporary; I don't know if it's 6/12/24/36 or 48 months, but I'm getting a respectable dividend to wait.

If a Focus EV works for you, buy it, that is a heck of a deal!


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

[Perian]

So to actually buy this car you need ...$23,595.40 huge difference.....

Then when you file your taxes you get the tax incentive.....so lets say you pay 25% Federal income tax you save
$7,500.00 X.25%= $1,875.00 off your taxes......

Incorrect.

It is a tax CREDIT, not a tax DEDUCTION. You get the full $7500, and can roll over any unused balance, depending of course on your tax situation.

In addition, you can finance the $7500 with Ford for five years at no cost, meaning that the government could be giving you a three or four year no cost loan.

For more information on a personal basis, discuss IRS form 8936 with your tax adviser.

 

[optiongm]

Incorrect.

It is a tax CREDIT, not a tax DEDUCTION. You get the full $7500, and can roll over any unused balance, depending of course on your tax situation.

In addition, you can finance the $7500 with Ford for five years at no cost, meaning that the government could be giving you a three or four year no cost loan.

For more information on a personal basis, discuss IRS form 8936 with your tax adviser.

Your correct it is a credit and not a deduction...but you still need $23,595.40 to purchase this car then you receive the benefits when you file your taxes and credit the $7,500 against what you owe....

Still a very good deal.....

 

[All Star]

Incorrect.

It is a tax CREDIT, not a tax DEDUCTION. You get the full $7500, and can roll over any unused balance, depending of course on your tax situation.

Are you sure you can roll it over?

 

[Perian]

Are you sure you can roll it over?

I am not in a position to give tax advise, nor should anyone take any from this thread.

I believe the information below to a good source of information on the subject, but you would be best served by your individual tax adviser or by contacting the IRS Help Line as the information is possibly not current.

To the extent the credit is treated as a personal credit (i.e., attributable to personal driving) any unused credit can’t be carried over to another tax year. However, to the extent the vehicle is used in the purchaser’s business, a proportionate amount of the credit is treated as a general business credit and the unused business credit can be carried over to another tax year.

Thus it sounds like from a personal basis - It would be best to have a tax liability of at least $7500 in the filing year.

Source:
http://insideevs.com/top-15-faqs-income-tax-credit-plug-vehicles/

 

[F14CRAZY]

The government payment is a tax credit. Depending on your tax situation, you may be entitled to the full amount. It is not applied to the sale. You put in for it when you file your taxes during the next tax period. If you are not able to use the full credit, it can possibly roll over to the next tax period.

One bonus with the above offer however: Ford will give you 0% financing for 5 years (depending of course on your credit history) on the $7500, while you can (possible) take the full credit on your next tax filing. Incredible.

A quick bit of info from irs.com:

Federal Tax Credits for Plug-in Hybrids
Plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles (PHEVs) purchased in or after 2010 may be eligible for a federal income tax credit of up to $7,500. The credit amount will vary based on the capacity of the battery used to fuel the vehicle.

So for those that receive a refund at tax time rather than having to send money in, the $7500 means nothing, right?

 

[Perian]

So for those that receive a refund at tax time rather than having to send money in, the $7500 means nothing, right?

Not true. Again, let me first state that I am not qualified to give tax advise.

However, there are two ways to get a tax refund: You either have a very low income and qualify for tax credits, or your estimate payments were high. I would assume you are speaking of your estimate payments, thus your statement would not be true.

Again, the best thing to do is consult with an qualified tax adviser.

 

[TruckMan]

Perian is correct. It's a credit, not a deduction. And I also think that even if you didn't pay $7500 in taxes, you can still get a refund for the full amount - no rollover. So, if you only owe $7000 in taxes and you buy an electric car, you'll still get the full $7500 refunded. I think it's similar to the first time home buyer tax credit that was popular a few years ago. I'm also not a tax professional, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.

WRT the article, that does sound like a decent deal. Gas prices will likely be low through most of next year according to the "experts". And now with Republicans making big gains last night, low gas may be around for even longer than that. But hey, if the car is nice and practical, good mileage is a bonus. This would make a good college kid car.

 

[Oldsmobile stopped]

I had a neighbor a few years ago who bought a Toyota Prius in a low gas price environment. A year later, gasoline prices had climbed considerably and he sold it for what he paid for it. Not saying that will happen again, but can low gas prices really be counted on in our supply and demand type (world) economy? To say the very least - I am sure those wonderful people in Washington are figuring that now is a great time to increase the gasoline tax.

If you have ever considered an economy car, now may be the best time in years to move forward.

What normally happens when the oil price drops so low over a long period, the oil companies cutback on exploration as there is no incentive to drill/reinvest find new find as its costing them to much, but what then normally it bounces back up to a very high price with a very high spike in prices. When they are forced into doing something about the supply and you end up with $148 a barrel oil as the speculators join in as the price starts to spike, that helped to push GM & Mopar in to Chapter 11, and Ford remortgage the house sold off their silverware as the huge profits on the trucks headed south with a big drop off in sales.

Yes you are absolutely right if you can get a good deal now while the oil price is cheap, enjoy the smart buy as the oil prices/EV prices bounce back on a spike back upwards, your neighbor seems like a wise sort of a guy..

 

[tripowergto]

Despite being a proud 2014 Volt owner, with gas prices continually decreasing of late I'm much more apt to drive my new Vette or Pontiac G8 GT then our Volt. The V8 FUN factor is becoming an even greater value, WOO HOO!!

 

[sepi]

YOU DO NOT GET A $7500 INCENTIVE - that is a TAX CREDIT and you have to pay at least that much in taxes BEFORE you qualify for all of that and it is not given to you at time of purchase. And it is unlikely that credit even exists since Ford has already sold more than enough vehicles that qualify to make the credit not available.

 

[JBsZ06]

Lease that bitch and you get the tax credit immediately (actually the leasing company does)

Never do an outright purchase on these electric cars in my opinion...much smarter to lease and run..

What's the residual on the 36 month lease...

Taking a guess...I'd say a three year 10k mile lease should be no money down and around 250 a month payment..

Not a bad deal considering a savings on average of about 150 a month in Gasoline purchases...

Your net monthly cost should be 100 a month for the 800 miles of usage...

That's a good deal if you don't mind driving that little electric ford...

I'd rather walk! (Kidding) it's not a bad deal.

 

[eaton53]

No brainer. You buy a fuel sipper when gas prices are low. You buy a gas hog when gas prices are high.

If you pay enough taxes you will get a check for $7500 come tax time. It really is that simple. State money is a different story.
Here in Broke-Ass Illinois, you get to wait until they scrape together enough pennies to send you your money. It'll be awhile.
If you don't want to fork over the cash today, just finance the $7500, then pay it off in a few months.

 

[briandors]

If you pay enough taxes you will get a check for $7500 come tax time. It really is that simple.

It is simple, but some people still don't get this.

If you have a tax liability of $7500 or greater, you will get $7500 back into your pocket as a refund.

Your tax liability is the total amount of taxes you owe the federal government for that year. This is NOT the same number as whatever dollar figure you owe, or are refunded, on April 15 as the bottom line figure on the back of your 1040; that number (your refund or your payment) is only the difference between what you really owe and what you've paid over the year. It is not decreased by any other credits or deductions or by the amount of taxes taken out of every paycheck.


Let me give this example.

Say you earn $50,000 a year. You are in the 25% tax bracket.

Let's say you are paid bi-weekly, and the federal government is taking $500 out of every paycheck.

Come tax time, you have already paid $13,000 in taxes over the year through your paychecks. Your total tax owed is 50000 * .25 = $12,500. You have slightly overpaid.

So you would normally get a $500 refund.

If you had bought a Volt, that $500 gets $7,500 added and your refund will be $8,000 that year.

This is a grossly simplified example because I'm leaving things out like standard deductions, but I hope it helps clarify things for people.

 

[BlackGTP]

Wow - that's a deal!

I wouldn't even consider today's gas price, as quickly as it went down it will go up twice as fast. Right now the Saudi's are pumping out a lot of oil creating the glut, all they have to do is turn down their production and gas will go right back up.