Expired June 30, 2026
The EV Charger Tax Credit Is Gone — Unless You Already Installed
The federal 30C credit ended on June 30, 2026, and nothing replaced it. But there's a detail a lot of people are missing: if your charger went live at any point before that date, you probably haven't claimed it yet — that money comes off the return you file in 2027, and it's still yours to take.
Updated August 17, 2026. Based on IRS guidance for Section 30C and the Form 8911 instructions — not tax advice.
Charger live before July 1, 2026?
You can still claim up to $1,000, on the return covering the year it was placed in service. Jump to how to claim it.
Installing now?
There's no federal credit any more, and no replacement. State and utility programs are where the savings are.
If your charger went live before July 1, 2026
Here's the thing people get wrong. The credit expiring on June 30 doesn't mean the window to claimit closed that day. The 30C credit is claimed on the tax return for the year the charger was placed in service — so a charger energized in, say, March 2026 goes on your 2026 return, the one you file in early 2027. You haven't missed anything yet.
What you need:
- •The date the charger was placed in service — installed, energized and ready to use. Your electrician's final invoice or the inspection sign-off is the cleanest evidence.
- •Itemized receipts for both the hardware and the installation labor. The credit covers 30% of the combined cost, capped at $1,000 per port.
- •Confirmation that your address sits in an eligible census tract. For anything placed in service from January 1, 2025 onward, that check uses the 2020 census tract identifier — your 11-digit GEOID has to appear on the IRS list.
- •Form 8911, filed with that year's return. It's a nonrefundable credit, so it reduces what you owe rather than generating a refund on its own.
The census tract rule is the one that bites.It catches people who did everything else right. It's worth checking your GEOID against the IRS list before you build the claim into your planning — if the address isn't on it, the credit never applied, no matter how early you installed.
What the credit was, briefly
Officially the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit, known as “30C” after its section of the tax code. For a home it was 30% of equipment plus installation, capped at $1,000 per charging port. Spend $2,500 on a charger and a licensed install in an eligible tract and you got the full grand back.
For businesses the numbers were different: 6% of cost up to $100,000 per item, or 30% with the same cap where the project met prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements. Same June 30 cut-off either way.
It was originally written to run until the end of 2032. Public Law 119-21 — the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed in July 2025 — pulled the termination date forward to June 30, 2026, cutting more than six years off the program.
What's left if you're installing now
Federally, for home charging: nothing. No credit, no rebate, no successor program.
Careful: a lot of sites still list this credit as available
We checked in August 2026 and found major EV comparison sites, installer directories and utility round-ups still presenting the $1,000 as something you can claim on a new install. Some of them rank well for it. They haven't been updated since the law changed — the credit was legislated to run to 2032, so most of the content written about it assumed years of runway.
Where this actually costs you money: if a quote leans on the federal credit to make the price look better — “it's $2,400, but you get $1,000 back” — that thousand dollars isn't coming. Ask the installer to confirm the credit in writing against current IRS guidance before you sign anything that assumes it.
The state and utility programs, though, never ran on the federal schedule and most of them are still going. That's where the real money is now — utilities regularly knock several hundred dollars off the wiring or the charger, and a number of states add their own rebate on top. We keep a sourced, per-state list:
Start with EV charger rebates & incentives by state, or go straight to California, New York, Texas or Florida. And if you're still working out the budget, what Level 2 installation costs by state has the labor and permit figures.
Still worth doing without the federal credit
Get an instant estimate for your install and see which state and utility programs you qualify for.
Get a free estimateFrequently asked questions
Is the EV charger tax credit still available?
No, not for new installations. The federal 30C credit ended on June 30, 2026. A home charger placed in service on or after July 1, 2026 gets no federal credit, and there is no replacement program.
My charger was installed in early 2026 — can I still claim it?
Yes, if it was placed in service on or before June 30, 2026. You claim it on the tax return for the year the charger went into service, which for a 2026 installation means the return you file in 2027. Missing the credit because you assumed the expiry wiped it out is a genuinely common mistake.
What does "placed in service" actually mean?
Installed, energized and ready to use — not ordered, not delivered, not scheduled. The IRS ties it to the date the property is ready and available for use, whether or not you actually used it that day. Buying the unit in June 2026 and having it wired in July does not qualify.
How much was the credit worth?
For a home it was 30% of the equipment and installation cost, capped at $1,000 per charging port. It's a nonrefundable credit rather than a rebate cheque: it reduces what you owe the IRS, so you need enough tax liability to absorb it. You file it on Form 8911.
Does my address still matter for a 2026 claim?
Yes. The charger had to sit in an eligible census tract — broadly a low-income community tract or a non-urban one. For property placed in service on or after January 1, 2025 the check uses the 2020 census tract identifier. If your 11-digit GEOID isn't on the IRS list, the property doesn't qualify, however early you installed.
Was it different for businesses?
Yes. Business property got 6% of the cost up to $100,000 per item, rising to 30% with the same cap if the project met prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements. The same June 30, 2026 placed-in-service cut-off applied to both.
Why did it end so early?
The credit was originally legislated to run through December 31, 2032. Public Law 119-21, passed in July 2025 and known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, moved the termination date up to June 30, 2026 — cutting more than six years off it.
Why do other sites still say the credit is available?
Because most of the content about 30C was written when it still had until 2032 to run, and a lot of it hasn't been revisited since the law changed in July 2025. As of August 2026 we still find comparison sites, installer directories and utility round-ups quoting the $1,000 as claimable on a new install. Check any figure against current IRS guidance, and be especially wary of a quote that subtracts the credit to make the price look lower.
Not tax advice, just a heads-up. Figures here come from IRS guidance for the Section 30C credit and the Form 8911 instructions, but everyone's tax situation is different — check current IRS guidance or ask a tax professional before you rely on a specific number.
The rebates that didn't expire
State and utility programs are still paying out. Get an instant estimate and connect with a licensed electrician who knows which ones apply where you live.
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