The amount of electric vehicle tax credit that a taxpayer can get is limited by the amount of tax liability. This is because it is a non refundable credit. If the tax liability was $6000 and the taxpayer had $10,000 withheld, he or she would get back the $4000 of overpayment plus $6000 of electric vehicle tax credit. For the taxpayer to get the full $7500 of electric vehicle tax credit, the tax liability must be at least $7500. For a single taxpayer, the taxable income on a 2018 tax return after subtracting the standard deduction or itemized deductions must be near $52,000 for the tax liability to be about $7500.
CORRECTION: If the tax liability was $6000 and the taxpayer had $10,000 withheld, he or she would get back the full $10,000 of tax withheld and $6000 of the electric vehicle tax credit would offset (pay) the tax liability. The taxpayer would not get the additional $1500 of electric vehicle tax credit because the tax liability was not high enough to offset the rest.
