Hybrid Vehicles - a car buff seeking automotive redemption

We are pleased to say that another state has jumped on the hybrid rebate bandwagon - making the transition easier for consumers who are worried about the higher upfront cost of purchasing a hybrid vehicle.

The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office has partnered with the Valley Bell Credit Union to offer a $1000 rebate for purchasers of hybrid vehicles who finance their purchase through the Union.

The offer is open to customers in Elgin or Kane, McHenry and Boone counties - and is limited to the first 2000 purchases.

Full details of the scheme can be found here (including its eligibility for people living outside the designated areas).

The IRS made a very important announcement yesterday. I felt it was particularly important to bring it to your attention because of the series I’ve been running on employers offering benefits for employees who purchase hybrid cars.

Some confusion arose as to the taxable status of that bonus.

To summarise the current position:

1. Cash incentives of this nature are taxable

2. Your employer should include this amount on your year end Form W-2 earning statement

3. These bonuses are subject to income tax witholding

If you are in the position of having received one of these bonuses and feel that your tax obligations have not been met I would urge you to contact your employer or a relevant legal/financial professional as soon as possible.

technorati tags:irs, tax, credit, bonus, hybrid, vehicle, automobile, car

In the spirit of my eternal quest to bring you the information about every single rebate, tax credit, or advantage of hybrid car ownership comes this latest piece of news from Pennsylvania.

State authorities had been running a rebate scheme for hybrid car owners - however the budgeted amount was depleted by March of this year.

The legislature announced today that an additional 3 million dollars has been set aside to continue the rebate scheme. Importantly, people who purchased a vehicle during the suspension period will still be eligible to claim the rebate. Note that this rebate scheme is separate from the Federally funded grants for their shortlist of vehicles I blogged about earlier.

Information about the Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant can be found here (note that the website is out-of-date and doesn’t reflect the new grant information.

Application forms for the grant can be found here (may require a login)

Please don’t be shocked at the size of the guidelines (38 pages!!) The complexity for applying for these kind of grants for hybrid vehicle purchases is in my opinion a major barrier to ensuring greater uptake.

I don’t think it warrants a post of its own - but if anybody would like guidance in filling out the forms - drop me an email on mark.kitchener@gmail.com and I’ll be happy to help out.

technorati tags:pennsylvania, hybrid, automobile, vehicle, car, grant, credit, rebate, bonus, environment, tax

Most people should be aware that its possible to get tax-credits for purchasing a hybrid vehicle. However, the system is complex and its important to know how this will work in your individual circumstances.

Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 the Government replaced clean fuel burning deductions with a tax credit for the purchase of certain vehicles.

There are a number of conditions its important to remember:

1. The vehicle must have been purchased after January 1st 2006

2. It cannot be a lease

3. The tax credit is time-limited - after the manufacturer sells 60 000 vehicles it is progressively reduced over the next 4 quarters (Toyota is the only manufacturer to reach this benchmark as of June 2006)

Tax-credits range from $600 to $3150 so they can represent a powerful incentive for puchase.

To ensure access to the most up-to-date information - it is worth the IRS at the time of purchase or checking out their website on www.irs.gov