If you’re claiming the charging station credit and it’s being limited to zero, it’s most likely because of other credits you're receiving.
Please read through this to see whether or not this applies to you. It's a complicated explanation and it relates to alternative minimum credit (AMT), but can affect taxpayers who aren't subject to AMT..
If it doesn't apply to you, please post back.
You may be seeing your charging station credit limited, or reduced to zero, if you've claimed these credits:
- Child tax credit or credit for other dependents from Schedule 8812
- Credit for child and dependent care expenses from Form 2441
- Education credits from Form 8863, line 19
- Retirement savings contributions credit from Form 8880
- Residential energy credits from Form 5695
- Adoption Credit from Form 8839
- Credit for the elderly or disabled from Schedule R
- Alternative motor vehicle credit from Form 8910
- Qualified plug-in motor vehicle credit from Form 8936
- Mortgage interest credit from Form 8396
- District of Columbia first-time homebuyer credit from Form 8859
- Qualified electric vehicle credit from Form 8834
- Partner's Additional Reporting Year Tax from Form 8978
Even if these credits, combined, wouldn't be enough to offset your tax, your charging station credit may be limited.
There's a limitation on claiming the refueling credit that's not always apparent when you're working on your return, and it's quite possibly the cause of what you're seeing. It's called tentative minimum tax. It's related to Alternative Minimum Tax, but isn't quite the same thing.
If you have significant credits, as described below, your ability to claim the charging station credit may be limited by tentative minimum tax, even if you don't owe Alternative Minimum Tax.
In determining whether you can claim the refueling credit, the TurboTax program takes into account the computation for net regular tax, which is a computation made on line 16 of Form 8911, Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit. (Please see the linked form; this is an involved computation, and seeing it might make this easier to visualize.) This amount equals your regular tax before credits (line 14), minus certain credits reflected on line 15.
This net regular tax is then compared to your tentative minimum tax (line 17). If your tentative minimum tax is greater than your net regular tax, you can't claim the credit.
If you'll look at Form 8911, linked above, you'll note that line 15 reflects credits that reduce your regular tax (line 14) before the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit can be applied. This includes foreign tax credit on line 15a.
But it also includes certain credits included on line 15b. If you'll look at Line 15b in the Instructions for Form 8911, the taxpayer is instructed to:
Enter the total of any credits on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 19, and Schedule 3 (Form 1040), lines 2 through 5, and 7 (reduced by any general business credit reported on line 6a, any credit for prior year minimum tax reported on line 6b, or any credit to holders of tax credit bonds reported on line 6k).
So, line 15b is:
- Form 1040, line 19, which is Child tax credit or credit for other dependents from Schedule 8812, plus
- Schedule 3 (further down the page in the link), line 2, which is Credit for child and dependent care expenses from Form 2441, line 11, plus
- Schedule 3, line 3, which is Education credits from Form 8863, line 19, plus
- Schedule 3, line 4, which is Retirement savings contributions credit from Form 8880, plus
- Schedule 3, line 5, which is Residential energy credits from Form 5695, plus
- Amounts totaled into Schedule 3, line 7 from
- Line 6c, Adoption Credit from Form 8839
- Line 6d, Credit for the elderly or disabled from Schedule R
- Line 6e, Alternative motor vehicle credit from Form 8910
- Line 6f, Qualified plug-in motor vehicle credit from Form 8936
- Line 6g, Mortgage interest credit from Form 8396
- Line 6h, District of Columbia first-time homebuyer credit from Form 8859
- Line 6i, Qualified electric vehicle credit from Form 8834 and
- Line 6l, Partner's Additional Reporting Year Tax from Form 8978
And, if you have any of these credits, they can lower your net regular tax from what your regular tax amount is.
In the end, net regular tax on line 16 equals line 14 (regular tax before credits) minus line 15 (the foreign tax credit plus any of the credits listed above).
If your tentative minimum tax on line 17 is greater than the net regular tax amount on line 16, you can't claim the refueling property credit.
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