Problems remain at plug-in incentive page at IRS

With the term “Byzantine tax code” long entered in the public lexicon, it’s somehow appropriate that the IRS and its classification of plug-in vehicles eligible for federal tax credits is a bit confusing. As we reported last September, the IRS’ list of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles for which owners can claim a tax credit doesn’t exactly jibe with what’s been reported out there by automakers. Green Car Reports says the most recent list from the IRS was updated November 17, so the concept of keeping current doesn’t quite apply either.

At issue is the rule that, once a certain vehicle reaches 200,000 in cumulative units sold, it is no longer eligible for a tax credit. The all-electric Nissan Leaf is furthest along that path, though Nissan has already gone on record saying it’s going to negotiate with the feds to get that number increased.

Right now, fewer than a third of the plug-in vehicles available in the US are listed on the IRS page of tax-credit-qualifying vehicles, with models such as the Honda Fit EV and Kia Soul EV excluded from that list. And as far as cumulative numbers, things don’t match up there, either. The IRS’ numbers are quite a ways from Ford’s in terms of plug-in vehicles sold, for example. For more, start with our original post and then get the update from GCR.