Chevy Volt tax credit may not be yours
Monday, June 6th, 2011
The Chevy Volt, General Motors’ electric car, may bring a $7500 tax credit to the original purchaser of the car. But is that you or the dealership? Stories are surfacing that dealers are using the common practice of dealer trades to get the cars titled, claim the tax credits for themselves, and then sell the cars as ‘used’. This maneuver subverts the intent of the credit to subsidize retail consumers’ purchases of the vehicles. It also inflates the sales numbers that GM reports.
The National Legal and Policy Center reported (here and here) on this practice, and the story has been picked up by automobilemag.com and Fox Business Network. IRS Form 8936, used to claim the credit, does not contain a space to record each vehicle’s VIN, raising the possibility that the credit could be claimed twice (that’s $15,000 of our taxpayer dollars) for vehicles involved in such actions. The IRS may also disallow the credit claimed by the retail customer, forcing repayment plus penalties and interest by the taxpayers for whom the credit was intended.
If you are considering buying a Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, or other plug-in electric vehicle, make sure you are buying the vehicle new in order to claim the credit. If the vehicle has been previously titled, you are not eligible. We also suggest saving your paperwork. We anticipate that the IRS will demand various forms of proof that you are eligible to claim the credit. In a similar manner regarding the first-time homebuyer credit, we have seen many taxpayers’ refunds held up for many weeks while the IRS demands and examines stacks of records to ensure that the credits are paid only to those who are eligible.
Look at the form….8936 you can claim over and over again and sell the car over and over again and others can get the tax credit.
NO CHECKS AND BALANCES. Do you really think the IRS is going to check the form….NO PLACE TO PUT THE VIN NUMBER.
The joke is on us. G.M. must have made the form. It is so easy to steal from the Federal Government even a caveman can do it.