Three in four Americans receive a tax return each year.
If we want better EV adoption, we need a better plan.
A tax return is an IRS Form you have to fill out every year.
If you are talking about a tax refund, you receive it because you are having too much tax withheld from your paycheck every month. You control how much income tax is withheld from your paycheck by filling out a W4 when you get employed. You can also modify your W4 at any time to increase or lower the amount of income tax withheld from each paycheck. The amount of income tax withheld from your paycheck by your employer doesn’t affect the amount you owe in federal income tax annually to the Federal Government. At tax time, the amount in federal income tax that was withheld from your paychecks over the previous year is reconciled with the amount of federal income tax you owe based on your adjusted gross income, and you either get a refund from US Treasury or you have to cut a check to US Treasury.
The ability to take advantage of the federal income tax credit available on your new EV has nothing to do with the tax refund that you may or may not receive after filing your taxes. What it has to do with is the tax amount listed on IRS Form 1040 that you owe in federal income tax, which is calculated based on your adjusted gross income. If the tax you owe is above $7,500, you can take a full advantage of the $7,500 federal tax credit on EVs regardless of whether you have to pay extra when filing your return or if you get a refund because you overpaid your tax during the year.
Even if you don’t owe $7,500 (or more) in federal income tax because you have a low income or because you can take a lot of tax deductions to lower your adjusted gross income, you can still take advantage of the $7,500 federal tax credit by converting a portion of your 401(k) or traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. The federal income tax liability created by this conversion can be offset by applying the $7,500 federal tax credit on EVs.
The misconception that if you receive a tax refund from US Treasury at tax time, you don’t have a tax liability is widespread in this country. Americans should demand that finances be taught in high school because the lack of a basic understanding as to how taxes (and other finances) work cripples people for life by preventing them from making proper financial decisions during their adulthood.