§30D New Clean Vehicle Credit

Maximum credit and the two stacked components

§30D pays up to $7,500 per qualifying new clean vehicle, structured as two stacked $3,750 components. A vehicle qualifies for the critical-mineral component if it meets the critical-mineral sourcing requirement under §30D(b)(2); for the battery-component component if it meets the battery-component sourcing requirement under §30D(b)(3). A vehicle that meets both gets the full $7,500; a vehicle that meets one gets $3,750; a vehicle that meets neither — even if otherwise a clean vehicle — gets nothing on §30D. ^[1]

Component amounts ($3,750 each, $7,500 max) per the Wave 1A statute digest cross-referenced against §30D(b)(1)-(3) on law.cornell.edu (verified 2026-05-07). For the verbatim sourcing-rule subsection text, see 26 USC §30D(b) at law.cornell.edu.

MSRP cap, MAGI limits, and North America final-assembly

Three additional gates beyond the sourcing rules: MSRP, MAGI, and where the vehicle was finally assembled.

The MAGI test is run on the lesser of the current-year or prior-year MAGI. A taxpayer over the threshold in the year of placement-in-service who was under the threshold in the prior year still qualifies. The MSRP cap is binding at any price level — a single dollar over the cap and the vehicle is ineligible.

The North America final-assembly rule under §30D(d)(1)(G)requires that the vehicle's final assembly occur in North America. The vehicle's manufacturer label shows the "final assembly point"; the IRS Energy Credits Online portal and the dealer-issued time-of-sale report carry the substantive eligibility flags. Cross-check the VIN against the federal fueleconomy.gov tax-credit lookup or the manufacturer's certification before filing.

The binding-contract acquisition test

§30D(h) terminates the credit for vehicles acquired after 2025-09-30. The IRS FAQ and the Form 8936 instructions clarify what "acquired" means.

"No credit shall be allowed under this section with respect to any vehicle acquired after September 30, 2025."

"For purposes of sections 25E, 30D, and 45W, a vehicle is ‘acquired’ as of the date a written binding contract is entered into and a payment has been made. A payment includes a nominal down payment or a vehicle trade-in."

Plain-English implication: a written binding contract signed by both parties, plus any payment — including a nominal downpayment or trade-in valued in the contract — by 2025-09-30 is enough to fix the acquisition date. Delivery / placed-in-service can be after that — a vehicle delivered 2025-12-15 on a binding contract dated 2025-09-22 with a $500 deposit paid that same day still qualifies. The credit is then claimed on the return for the year of placed-in- service (when the taxpayer takes possession). ^[1]

What does NOT satisfy the test: a non-binding reservation, a deposit on a model that was not yet identified by VIN, a contract subject to a financing-contingency that the buyer could walk away from, or a contract-without-payment. "Binding" carries the standard contract-law meaning — both parties must be obligated. If the buyer could cancel with no penalty, the contract is not binding for these purposes.

Dealer point-of-sale credit transfer (§30D(g))

Under §30D(g), an eligible buyer may elect to transfer the §30D credit to the selling dealer, which the dealer then uses to reduce the purchase price at point of sale. The dealer registers in the IRS Energy Credits Online portal and is reimbursed via IRS advance payment. ^[1]

The transfer election lives on Schedule A (Form 8936) Line 4. One important wrinkle: if the buyer transferred the credit at point-of-sale but is later determined to be over the §30D MAGI threshold (MAGI is computed on the lesser of current or prior year MAGI per §30D(f)(10)), the buyer must repay the transferred amount on the return — the recapture is on the buyer, not the dealer. Verify your prior-year MAGI before electing transfer. For the verbatim mechanics of the MAGI-fail repayment, see the i8936 instructions and the IRS FS-2025-05 Q4 on credit-transfer election timing.

Form 8936 — line-by-line for §30D

§30D is claimed on Form 8936 Parts I, II, III with one Schedule A filed per vehicle. Line numbers below are pulled from the 2025-revision i8936 instructions; re-verify against the printed PDF at first content commit per Wave 1A honest-gaps note.

Lines verified against the 2025 i8936 PDF (Catalog 67912V dated 2025-10-14): Schedule A Line 4 (credit-transfer election Yes/No + amount transferred to dealer at sale per seller's report), Schedule A Line 9 (tentative credit amounts for new clean vehicles per seller's report), Form 8936 Part II Line 7 (total new clean vehicle credits from Schedule K-1 partnership / S-corp aggregation). Personal- use §30D credit flows through Form 8936 Part III. Verbatim cutoff per i8936 "What's New": "Taxpayers cannot claim clean vehicle credits for new, previously owned, or commercial clean vehicles that they acquired after September 30, 2025." Wave 7 V1 verification 2026-05-07.

The amend path

If the original return omitted §30D (or claimed an incorrect amount), file Form 1040-X for the affected year with an amended Form 8936 + the corresponding Schedule A attached. Documentation requirements:

• · The signed binding contract dated on or before 2025-09-30
• · Proof of payment (deposit receipt, trade-in documentation) on or before 2025-09-30
• · The IRS Time-of-Sale Report (Clean Vehicle Seller's Report) issued by the dealer through the IRS Energy Credits Online portal at the time of sale
• · The vehicle VIN and final-assembly certification
• · MAGI documentation for both current-year and prior-year

If the credit was transferred at point of sale and the IRS later issues a CP-series correspondence-audit notice disputing the credit (typical reasons: MAGI exceeded, final-assembly evidence not satisfactory, MSRP cap exceeded), the response packet is the same documentation set above. Note: Letter 6612, sometimes cited online as a generic credit-denial letter, is the IRS's ERC (Employee Retention Credit) audit letter — not used for §30D. Generic CP-series correspondence-audit framing applies.

Amend window

Standard 3-year window under 26 USC §6511(a): a 2025 §30D claim filed timely on 2026-04-15 can be amended through 2029-04-15; an extended-filer 2025 return through 2029-10-15. The 2024 window (for vehicles placed in service in 2024) closes 2028-04-15 / 2028-10-15.