EV Charger Tax Credit 2026: The 30C Credit Expired
The federal 30C tax credit for EV chargers, 30 percent of cost up to $1,000, expired for equipment placed in service after June 30, 2026. In the second half of 2026, incentives come from utility rebate programs (several pay up to $1,000) and state programs that vary widely. Check your utility's EV page before scheduling installation; several programs require pre-approval or a licensed electrician with a finaled permit.
For years, the federal 30C credit softened every EV charger quote by 30 percent up to $1,000. That ended mid-2026. This guide explains what expired, what is left, and how to capture the rebates that remain before you pay full price.
What expired: the 30C credit
Section 30C of the tax code offered a 30 percent credit, capped at $1,000 per location for residential installs, on EV charging equipment and installation costs. Under 2025 legislation, the credit expired for property placed in service after June 30, 2026. Like the heat pump 25C credit that ended at the close of 2025, the cutoff is the in-service date: a charger installed and operational by June 30, 2026 could still qualify on the 2026 return, but anything placed in service later does not.
Note the residential wrinkle that applied even before expiration: in its final years the credit was limited to chargers in eligible census tracts (generally non-urban or low-income tracts), so many suburban homeowners never qualified anyway. If your install was in 2025 or the first half of 2026, check the tract eligibility rules with your tax professional before claiming.
What is left: utility rebates
Utilities are now the primary incentive source. Programs vary by utility, but the pattern is consistent: $500 to $1,000 toward the charger and installation, usually requiring a licensed electrician, a permit, and sometimes enrollment in a time-of-use rate or managed-charging program. Examples in 2026 include major California utilities rebating up to $1,000 for the charger and install, with the rebate conditioned on a finaled permit. Municipal utilities and rural co-ops often have the simplest programs: a flat rebate with a one-page application.
Managed-charging strings are attached to some of the richest rebates: the utility can throttle your charging during grid emergencies in exchange for the incentive. Read the terms; for most overnight chargers the practical impact is zero, but know what you signed.
State programs
States layer their own programs on top of utility rebates, and they change often. New Jersey, New York, California, Colorado, and several others have run charger rebate or tax-credit programs; amounts and eligibility shift with state budgets. The DSIRE database (dsireusa.org) is the national catalog: search your state plus EV charging to see what is live. State programs are the most likely to have income caps or to favor multifamily and workplace charging over single-family garages, so read the fine print.
How to capture what is left
Check incentives before you schedule work, not after. Several utility programs require pre-approval or enrollment before installation; installing first can disqualify you. Keep the paid invoice, the permit card showing final inspection, the charger model and serial number, and photos of the installed unit. Most rebate applications want all four. If your utility offers a time-of-use EV rate, enroll at the same time: shifting charging to overnight hours often saves more per year than the one-time rebate.
Watch for stale marketing
As of fall 2026, a surprising number of installer websites still advertise the 30C credit with no end date. If a quote includes a 30 percent federal credit line for an install happening now, the quote is out of date; ask for a revised total. The same staleness affects older blog posts and buyer's guides. When any source claims a federal EV charger credit in late 2026, check the publication date before believing it.
The bottom line
Budget your charger install with zero federal credit, then hunt utility and state rebates to recover $500 to $1,000. The paperwork is a single afternoon; on a $1,700 average install, that is a meaningful discount. And enroll in your utility's EV rate while you are at it: the ongoing per-mile savings dwarf the one-time rebate.
Figures current as of October 2026. Sources: U.S. DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center, Qmerit and Treehouse 2026 installer guides, Argonne National Laboratory.