I installed a Tesla charging station at home for $1000, but TurboTax is not giving me the tax credit -- even though it said I qualified. Why am I not getting the credit?

[tsgoodrich]

I bought a Tesla in 2018 and installed a Tesla charging station at my home at a cost of $1000.  I got the Federal tax credit for the car but not for the charging station.  I entered the data and Turbo Tax said I qualified for the credit, but did not reduce my tax.  It also does not show up on the Deductions and Credits page -- there's a $0 for Energy-Efficient Charging Station.

[Texas Roger · Accepted solution]

The federal tax credit for electric vehicle charging stations was extended to the end of tax year 2017 but not for tax year 2018. As of now, there is no federal tax credit for charging stations purchased in 2018.

[JohnW152]

Please clarify -- Do you have any tax for this credit to offset? 

You're claiming a non-refundable credit, one that will offset tax that you might otherwise owe. 

Any amount of the credit that is not used in offsetting that tax will not be reimbursed to you as part of your refund.

Please see the TurboTax article What Is the Difference Between a Refundable and a Nonrefundable Credit? for more information, and Part III of Form 8911 to see how the calculation is made.

[andrewjoslyn]

Based on another response I received, this appears to be an issue related to the Tentative Minimum Tax, which I knew nothing about when purchasing the charger, unfortunately.

[smv13]

would you please elaborate on Tentative Minimum Tax?

[DoninGA]

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@smv13 wrote:

would you please elaborate on Tentative Minimum Tax?

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That probably is reference to the Alternative Minimum Tax.

Go to this IRS website for the AMT tax topic - https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc556