Used EV Prices Are Falling Just in Time for a New US Tax Credit

Since the beginning of this year, US car buyers have been able to get a federal tax credit of up to $4,000 for the purchase of a used electric vehicle, one element of the consumer incentive program baked into the Inflation Reduction Act. It’s the first time that federal credits have been extended to used vehicles. Already, the incentive and its accompanying price cap are sending ripples through the market, according to data from Seattle-based startup Recurrent, and helping to increase the availability of affordable EVs.

While the used-vehicle credit is not bound by the domestic sourcing requirements that apply for new EVs, it does come with conditions: Buyers can’t make more than $75,000 annually or $150,000 a year in jointly filed taxes. The credit can’t be applied to the same vehicle twice. (Once a taxpayer claims it, the car’s next buyer can’t.) And the vehicle has to be at least two years old, sold by a dealer and cost no more than $25,000.