There is no federal tax credit for buying a new or used electric vehicle in 2026, and as of 1 July 2026 there is no federal credit for a home charger either. That is the short answer buyers need before they shop, because the old $7,500 figure still appears in outdated guides, dealer advertising and online calculators. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed on 4 July 2025, terminated the federal clean-vehicle credits for vehicles acquired after 30 September 2025. New EVs, used EVs and the commercial credit that funded the so-called lease loophole all lost their federal support on the same day. The home-charger credit outlived them by nine months and closed on 30 June 2026. If you bought on or before the applicable date and met the rules, you keep the credit on that year’s return. If you are shopping now, plan on $0 federal off the sticker.
What expired, and when
The §30D new clean vehicle credit, worth up to $7,500, ended for vehicles acquired on or after 1 October 2025. The §25E used-vehicle credit, worth up to $4,000 for cars under $25,000, ended on the same date, and dealers can no longer transfer it at point of sale. The §45W commercial credit, worth up to $7,500 (or $40,000 for larger vehicles), ended too, so leases no longer carry a built-in $7,500 discount passed through by the leasing company. That last change matters for shoppers comparing a lease quote from 2025 with one from 2026: the monthly payment may look worse not because the car got more expensive, but because the hidden federal subsidy behind the lease disappeared.
State help still exists — check before you shop
State and utility incentives still pay out, but they vary widely and several programmes have repeatedly paused and reopened. California offers up to $7,500 depending on the programme, with Clean Cars 4 All offering up to $12,000 for lower-income households scrapping an older petrol car, subject to income caps of $135,000 single or $200,000 joint. Colorado offers a $3,500 state tax credit in 2026, stepping down from $5,000 in 2024 to $2,500 by 2028, assignable to the dealer at point of sale. New Jersey offers up to $4,000 through Charge Up NJ, with a $55,000 MSRP cap and a cash rebate at purchase. Used EVs are the value story now. With the $4,000 used credit gone, used pricing is set purely by supply — and post-2023 lease returns are arriving in volume, which may help buyers who do not need the newest model. Whatever route you take, check the programme’s current status before you shop: a rebate that was open last month may be paused this month.
