Earlier this month, we published a blog warning that the list of electric vehicles (EVs) that qualify for the federal tax credit would change on April 18, when the battery requirements written into the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) finally kicked in. The big day has arrived and we now know which vehicles meet the battery requirements, at least for now.

New Vehicle List

This week, the U.S. Department of Energy published this fueleconomy.gov page that shows the following list of vehicles and credit amounts based on whether they meet certain battery requirements.

As a reminder, to qualify for the federal Clean Vehicle Credit:

1. Your income must be under the income cap
2. The vehicle must be assembled in North America
3. The vehicle’s MSRP must be under the listed MSRP limit

(You can learn more about all these requirements on our website.) The list published this week shows us how much each vehicle qualifies for if it (and you) meet these three requirements - $3,750 if it meets one of the two battery requirements and $7,500 if it meets both.

A note on that fourth column: The IRA requires that eligible vehicles have a Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) under a certain limit depending on whether the vehicle is a sedan/hatchback or an SUV/pickup/van. In the table below, the MSRP column tells you which limit is applicable. To find the actual price of the vehicle, check out our Drive Green shopping tool. 

Aren’t There More Models Than That?

The list published by the Department of Energy does not include some popular models you may be looking for. For example, it doesn’t include the Nissan LEAF, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Rivian trucks, and several others. 

Some vehicles are not on the list – and haven’t been eligible for a federal tax credit since the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act – because their final assembly location isn’t within North America. These include:

Other vehicles aren’t on the list because they meet neither of the two battery requirements, even though they are assembled in North America. These include popular vehicles like the Nissan LEAF and the Rivian R1T. 

Then there are vehicles you might have heard of that aren’t on the market yet. For these, it’s not yet clear what kind of federal tax credit they’ll qualify for. We’re talking here about vehicles like the Genesis Electrified GV70 and the new Solterra. 

However, it’s important to note that this list will change over time. As manufacturers come into compliance (by shifting their battery supply chains or moving assembly to North America) and/or the United States signs more mineral-specific free trade agreements, more vehicles will become eligible. And in 2024, when the battery requirements ramp up, the list of vehicles may change again. 

Bottom line: fueleconomy.gov tells us what vehicles qualify for what credit amount and we will, unfortunately, need to check it frequently as things change. 

Use Our Shopping Tool

All of these eligibility requirements are, frankly, confusing. (The New York Times published a whole article about how confusing this situation is.) But, we’re here to make it less confusing! We’ve updated our Drive Green shopping tool with the latest information for EVs on the market, so you can see in one place what federal and state incentives any model you’ve got your eye on qualifies for. 

If you’d like a refresher on those incentives, check out this page on our website too. 

Remember the Leasing Loophole

If your vehicle of choice no longer qualifies for a federal tax credit, you may want to consider leasing. The IRA set up commercial vehicle tax credit that does not have all the complicated requirements of the individual vehicle tax credit discussed here. That means that a manufacturer can sell a vehicle to a dealership and that that dealership can then take advantage of the federal tax credit. Many are deciding to pass on the savings to consumers in the form of lower monthly payments. So if you haven’t considered leasing an EV before, now might be a good time!