So here is my strategy. I bought a new 2019 Nissan Leaf S for $27,900 out the door including sales tax in California. I waited for a $3,500 Nissan rebate to get this price which is approximately 20% off MSRP. If you pay a lot of taxes, you qualify for the $7,500 EV federal tax incentive, and if you fit income restrictions, you qualify for $2,500 in a CA rebate (check to you). In my county, you also get a $500 utility credit (up to $3k in other counties). Now as a business owner buying it for 100% business purposes you get to deduct the price of the car over 2 years using bonus depreciation rules on the total price, so $18,000 the first year, and the rest the second year. Assuming a 25% federal and 10% state tax rate, or combined rate of 35%, your tax benefit would be $9,765 once fully depreciated.
So we have:
$27,900
-$7,500
-$2,500
-$ 500
-$9,765
__________
$7,635 effective cost
Now this next part really depends on the rate of depreciation and a little crystal ball work, but assuming you can sell the car for more than $7,635 within 2-3 years (residual value about 33% MSRP), and pay the recapture tax on the sale, then effectively you will have a free car from a net worth standpoint. This strategy will work with most EV's, but the lower cost EV will accentuate the tax credits and rebates. So, VW e-golf, Nissan Leaf, and other lower cost EV's work well.
