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(Modified 2/17/09 to reflect amendment to plug-in hybrid credit provision and to correct a typographical error in same section.) Now that the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has passed through Congress and is awaiting the signature of the President who so adamantly has wanted it, we thought we'd revisit, as best we can, the provisions that apply directly to the green car world. We say "as best we can" because a full and final version of the bill is still hard to find - and we couldn't. The closest we can come is the official White House website, which has the conference committee version that was approved on Thursday, but hasn't updated it to the final version that passed both the Hue and Senate on Friday. So here's the most accurate info we have as of this morning: Sales Tax Deduction There is, of course, a sales tax deduction provision aimed at stimulating new car buying in general. It would make state sales taxes for new car purchases a federal income tax deduction and it would apply to purchases of hybrids and other fuel-efficient vehicles as well as to purchases of Hummers and Dodge Rams and Lincoln Navigators. It won't put a lot of money in anyone's pockets, and many automakers say it isn't likely to turn things around dramatically this year, but it will help reduce tax bills for people who've got the wherewithal to buy a new vehicles in the first place and could at least keep a bid situation from getting worse. Status Quo For Conventional Hybrids The measure, far as we know, doesn't alter the diminishing tax credits system already in place for conventional hybrids: Up to $3,400 until an automaker sells 60,000 hybirds, then a 50 percent drop each six months until the credit disappears. Toyota, by dint of its sales lead in the hybrid segment, had used up all of its credits by the end of 2007; Honda's disappeared on Jan. 1; Ford's start dropping at the end of March. GM and Nissan still have full credits available for qualifying models, according to the Department of Energy website that tracks such stuff. Plug-Ins Win The bill aims to promote development and sales of plug-in hybrids and some pure EVs, though, by instituting a new tier of tax credits ranging from $2,500 to $7,500 for a vehicle, like the upcoming Chevrolet Volt, with a battery large enough to provide 40 miles of so of all-electric drive on a single charge (the Volt uses an on-board generator to keep things humming along once the initial grid charge is depleted). The battery pack for an eligible vehicle has to have a capacity of at least at least four kilowatt hours, and the credit increases by $417 for each additional kilowatt hour of capacity after that, topping out at $7,500 for vehicles of 10,000 pounds or less (most cars and light trucks). For vehicles weighing from 10,001 pounds to 14,000 pounds, the maximum credit is $10,000; it jumps to $12,500 for 14,001- to 26,000-pound vehicles; and tops out at $15,000 for vehicles in excess of 26,000 pounds. Don't Hold Your Breath, Though Sorry to say, though, that in most instances, the money for those credits will just be sitting there for the next 23 months.
